When Wooyeoul ‘Woo’ Shin arrived in South Florida three years ago as a 19-year-old freshman at Miami Dade College, he could speak very little English.
Fast-forward to present day, and while Shin’s English isn’t flawless, one would be hard-pressed not to think that the South Korean transplant hadn’t been speaking the language his whole life.
When the Charleston RiverDogs first baseman arrived in the United States in 2021, he realized that learning English would be paramount to his success on the baseball diamond.
It was also going to be a matter of survival.
The Charleston RiverDogs' Woo Shin has been impressive defensively for the club this summer.
“I knew there wasn’t going to be many people around baseball that spoke both English and Korean,” said Shin, now 22. “If I didn’t learn the language, I wasn’t going to become the baseball player I wanted to be and knew I could be. I would probably end up going back to Korea.
“My parents and friends were worried about me when I came over because I couldn’t speak English. I had confidence in myself. I believed in myself. I knew I would figure it out.”
Still, after a few months in Miami, Shin was struggling to pick up English. He made a point between classes and before practices to grab random teammates and start talking to them in English.
“I would talk to them about anything, classes, homework, music, sports,” Shin said. “It didn’t matter. I started to pick up more and more English. Watching TV and movies helped, too, but it wasn’t like talking to someone one-on-one.”
As his English improved and he began to talk about the nuances of baseball with his teammates and coaches, his game began to make similar strides on the field.
During his final season at Miami Dade, Shin hit .407 with 15 home runs and 47 RBIs.
“The more comfortable I got with everything, the better I got on the field,” he said.
Major League Baseball scouts began to take notice. Last summer, Shin was selected in the 16th round with the 483rd overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays.
“This is what I’d been dreaming about,” Shin said. “To be able to play the game I love every day, professionally.”
Shin’s quick mastery of English has impressed the RiverDogs coaching staff.
“We usually see a language issue with some of the Latin players that come through the system,” said RiverDogs manager Sean Smedley. “But there are normally some coaches or staff that can speak Spanish, so that minimizes it. With Woo, it was amazing to see how well he spoke English. He’s put in the time and understands everything we’re talking about. It’s been really impressive to be around him.”
On special occasions, Shin will belt out a couple of American tunes on the bus or in the clubhouse after games — Bruno Mars is his favorite.
“I won’t sing every day, just when something good happens for the team,” he said with a chuckle.
Shin’s dream of playing professional baseball began at a young age. He was 7 years old when the South Korean national baseball team won gold at the Beijing Olympics. A year later, the Korean team reached the finals of the World Baseball Classic.
“It seemed like every kid in my class wanted to play baseball after the Olympics,” Shin said.
Like most rookies, Shin has had his share of ups and downs during his first full season at the professional level.
So far this summer, Shin has hit .212 with a solid .352 on-base percentage along with four homers and 18 RBIs. He has also stolen 22 bases and been caught just twice.
“This has been the most challenging season of baseball for me,” Shin said. “I knew making the jump to the pros wasn’t going to be easy. It’s something I’m going to have to continually work at.”
Shin has showed his versatility in the field playing first base and some in the outfield.
“Woo is a really good athlete,” Smedley said. “He’s done some things defensively that have been really impressive. He’s like a lot of young players, he’s struggled a bit at the plate. He’s got good power and he knows being on time with his swing is important for him. When he finds his timing, he’s going to take off. He’s got a bright future.”