Shin-Soo Choo

One of the Cleveland Indians rising young stars Shin-Soo Choo may have to report for South Korean military service ESPN reports.

South Korea has two-year mandatory military service that must be completed by age 30 for all citizens.

Choo has one chance to avoid service without damaging his reputation in Korea and that’s to play for South Korea in the 2010 Asian Games and win gold.

While South Korea, along with Japan, is one of the Asian powers in baseball, a gold medal is anything but guaranteed.

Choo stands to lose significant money if he chooses to go to military service just as he’s hitting the prime of his career, but if abandons his country forgoes military service it will be a blow to his many Korean fans and hurt Major League Baseball’s status in that country.

This year not a lot is expected of the Cleveland Indians, so it’s probably a good idea to let Choo attend the 2010 Asian Games. The over/under for Cleveland Indians wins is 74.5.

Shin-Soo Choo Military Service by MLB Baseball Previews