One flap or two, at the moment, Shin-Soo Choo is unflappable in the batter’s box.
The Rangers outfielder is not a superstitious man, either, but he knows you don’t mess with a good thing.
That’s why he’s likely to stick with his new helmet, the one he’s worn while knocking seven hits in the past two games, including four Thursday night in the Rangers’ 8-2 win over the Astros at Globe Life Park. The first-place Rangers open a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners at 7:05 p.m. Friday night.
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On Tuesday night, Choo slammed his usual helmet to the turf after flying out against Oliver Perez in the eighth inning. The blow cracked the helmet, which is different than most because it offers protection over both ears.
Here’s the two-flapped helmet Shin-Soo Choo usually wears, along with first base coach Hector Ortiz. Choo cracked his red one when he slammed it to the turf after flying out late in Tuesday’s game. Without a replacement, he wore a one-flapped model the next two games and collected seven hits.
Jim Cowsert
Special to the Star-Telegram
Most hitters use one-flapped helmets that cover their ear pointed towards the pitcher when they’re in the batter’s box.
Rangers Shin-Soo Choo wore a one-flapped helmet for the second consecutive game Thursday night and collected four singles. He has seven hits without his usual two-flapped helmet, which he cracked Tuesday night.
Richard W. Rodriguez
Star-Telegram
The Rangers didn’t have a red-colored double-flap replacement for Wednesday’s game so Choo went with the single-flap style. He knocked three hits, including a double, and scored three runs.
“It was just one game, so OK,” Choo said. “But I got three hits and my teammates said, ‘Choo, why don’t you use it?’ And [Thursday] I got four hits so I’ll probably use it for a while.”
Choo has raised his average to a season-high .267. He was hitting .235 a month ago. In 16 games in September, he’s hitting .424 with 25 hits, four doubles, two homers, 10 RBI, and 15 runs scored.
Stefan Stevenson, 817-390-7760
Twitter: @StevensonFWST
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