SSG Landers will hold a retirement ceremony for Choo Shin-soo, the team's owner representative (also in charge of player development, hereafter referred to as the representative), at the home game against the Lotte Giants on the 14th (Saturday) at Incheon SSG Landers Field.
Choo Shin-soo, who has bridged Major League Baseball and the KBO League, is widely known as a representative hitter of an era and the player among Korean baseball athletes who has made the most donations.
This retirement ceremony is organized to express gratitude to the fans who have been together for a long time and to practice warm sharing through baseball once again. On the day of the ceremony, various programs will be conducted in collaboration with the local community. The representative plans to directly invite 500 children from underprivileged backgrounds and youth baseball players from the Incheon area to provide them with an opportunity to watch the game. In particular, children from the child welfare facility 'Pintree Home,' who were visited last year for a mentoring program and received gifts, will also be invited to participate in the national anthem event before the game.
In addition, the 'Bithumb Donation Challenge' for youth baseball development will also be conducted. From the 6th (Friday) to the 23rd (Monday), donations can be made by signing up for Bithumb and entering coupons, and the collected donations will be used to sponsor baseballs for middle and high school baseball teams in the Incheon area.
A special event has also been prepared to share memories with the fans. On this day, the SSG players will wear retirement commemorative uniforms inscribed with Choo Shin-soo's player number '17' and name. All spectators attending the baseball stadium will receive a special cheering towel that reads 'CHOO 17.' These cheering towels will be distributed at Frontier, Legend, Starbucks, Skybox, Gate 1, Gate 3, and Gate 7.
The representative plans to convey his gratitude by personally presenting a gift set of La Roche-Posay cosmetics prepared for the on-site staff, including groundkeepers and stadium security, who have quietly dedicated themselves for the players and fans at the baseball stadium.
A fan signing event will be held for 50 pre-selected fans. Additionally, the 'CHOOeok Donation Event' will allow fans to donate their collectibles, and five participants will be selected to receive retirement commemorative uniforms and participation tickets for the fan signing event.
The retirement ceremony will also hold significance as family members will attend. The opening pitch will be thrown by his wife, Ha Won-mi, his daughter, Choo So-hee, will perform the ceremonial first hit, and Choo Shin-soo will take the mound for the ceremonial first pitch.
Following the game, the official retirement ceremony will proceed, starting with a video letter from the team, followed by the opening, a retirement video screening, presentation of commemorative gifts and bouquets, a special performance, the retirement remarks, a celebration, and a fireworks show.
Meanwhile, on the 13th (Friday), the 'MLB Legend Mentoring Day' event will also take place. This event will feature Major League Baseball legends Adrian Beltre and Cole Hamels, who are visiting Korea, and they are expected to hold a fan signing event.
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