Korean Major Leaguer Choo Shin-soo was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk near his home, police said Monday.
The Cleveland Indians outfielder was arrested at 2:25 a.m. on Monday after failing a sobriety test, according to the police statement.
A breathalyzer test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.201 percent, above Ohio’s legal limit of 0.08 percent, the statement added.
According to police, the Korean slugger first told patrolman that his GPS had broken, and asked directions to his home in Avon Lake.
He was allowed to continue driving, but the officer followed Choo’s white Cadillac SUV and pulled him over later as he was driving erratically across the double-yellow lines.
Cleveland Indians’ Choo Shin-soo. (The Korea Herald/Park Hae-mook)
Choo was taken to the police station and released later after being given the breathalyzer test. Choo has a hearing scheduled for Thursday at the Sheffield Lake Mayor’s Court.
“The Indians organization takes these issues very seriously and we are disappointed in the matter,” the club’s general manager Chris Antonetti said in a statement Tuesday.
Choo has now become the sixth Major League player to be cited on a drunken driving charge this year.
“I sincerely apologize to my family, teammates, fans and the Indians organization for the attention stemming from this matter,” Choo said in a statement.
“I am hopeful that this incident will not be a distraction to the Indians organization while we remain focused on continuing to play winning baseball,” he added.
The Indians are having their best season so far this year, marking their longest home winning streak in 15 years, sitting pretty at the top of the table in the American League Central division.
Cleveland plays a three-game series against Oakland this week, and Choo, regardless of the incident, is expected to be in the starting lineup.
The 29-year-old right fielder hit a .300 batting average last season with a career-high 22 home runs, 90 runs and 22 steals.
He was the first Cleveland player since 1901 to have back-to-back seasons with at least a .300 batting average, 20 home runs and 20 steals.
By Oh Kyu-wook (
596story@heraldcorp.com)