We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019.
Trying to figure out who to cheer for in KBO? Here is a list of the people who used to bleed Cubbie blue to keep an eye on.
EDITOR’S NOTE: While Josh is no longer being paid by SB Nation/Vox Media, as he explained here at the end of March, former California contributors like Josh can remain as Community Insiders. He can write here when he wants to, I just can’t assign him to write anything. And so when he asked me if he could write something about the KBO, I said, “Sure!”
Hak Ju Lee
OK, so after seven weeks of sheltering in place, I’m desperate enough to write something for free. At least it means I can put off making a trivet out of all the wine corks I’ve gone through.
Last night the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) started their 2020 baseball season and thanks to ESPN, you can see the games live on American TV for the first time. I don’t pretend to be an expert on baseball in Korea, but I am an expert on who has played for the Cubs over the past dozen years or so. I’ve also said for years that “Baseball is better in Korean” in MLB Bullets, mostly because of all the crazy stuff that goes on with the fans and mascots and first pitches. Unfortunately, we won’t be getting any of that for a while since KBO will be playing without any fans for the time being. At least we may still get some incredible, Jose Bautista-worthy bat flips from the players. Some of them will be after a single.
Baseball was first brought to Korea by American missionaries in 1905. The KBO League started in 1982. Baseball is Korea’s most popular team sport, which isn’t something the United States can say anymore. They’ve also become much better at it over the past 25 years or so. Fifteen years ago, I remember experts saying that KBO is about the level of the Double-A minors. Now, most say it’s at Triple-A level and that is evidenced by the kinds of US-born players who compete there. Pretty much all of them have at least Triple-A experience and most of them have some major league experience. Players like Eric Thames and Josh Lindblom have gone to KBO to resurrect their careers and have returned to MLB.
Cubs Pitcher Signing With Korean Team
Since there won’t be baseball anywhere else for a while, you may want to pick a KBO team to cheer for. And if you want to pick a team based upon their Cubs connections, here’s a guide for you.
If you want a more general guide on the ten teams, I’d suggest checking out this primer by Liz Roscher. And if you want to go more in-depth, there’s mykbo.net, which has news and stats in English for you. (And here’s an interview with Dan Kurtz, the creator of that site.) You can also go to the English-language version of KBO’s official site, but the information there is limited.
I have tried to catch every single player who played in the Cubs organization currently in KBO through the rosters on mykbo and the official team sites, which are in Korean but they at least also spell out the names of players in a Latin alphabet. But I can’t promise I didn’t miss someone. Also, I’m going with the western tradition of putting the family name last, since that is the way that most of you would know them. But if you go to those Korean sites, former Cubs pitcher Jae Kuk Ryu would be listed as Ryu Jae Kuk. (Ryu played for the LG Twins in 2019 before retiring this past offseason.)
Rangers Call Up Star Korean Pitcher Hyeon Jong Yang
Who: First thing you need to know is that like Japanese teams, Korean teams are named after the corporation that owns them and not the city they play in. If you’ve watched the MLB playoffs on TV last year, you know from their commercials that Doosan makes heavy machinery and construction equipment, among other things.
Also, Korean teams have English-language team nicknames for the same reason that American soccer teams call themselves things like Real Salt Lake, DC United and Inter Miami. It just sounds cooler and more authentic to mimic their more established MLB counterparts.
Doosan is one of three teams in Seoul. They are also the most successful team in recent years, having won the Korean Series last year as well in 2015 and 2016. They have six titles overall in their history. They’ve only missed the playoffs once since 2004. This is the team to cheer for if you’re looking for a winner or you’re a bandwagon fan.
:format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26125581/181759678.0.jpg?strip=all)
Relief Pitcher To Sign With Cubs
Who: The Eagles play in Daejeon, which is in the central part of the country. Hanwha is a conglomerate that makes explosives. They’ve branched out into chemicals and financial services and other things in recent years, but they’re mostly known for explosives. It makes for fun pre-game shows.
This is not a successful team. They’ve won the Korean series only once in 1999. They’ve only managed to make the playoffs once since 2008.
Former Cubs? Right-handed reliever Jin-Young Kim pitched for the Cubs in 2011 and 2012, mostly for the Cubs’ rookie ball team in Mesa. He did make nine appearances and two starts for Boise in 2011.
Addison Russell, The Former Chicago Cubs Infielder, Signs A 1 Year Deal With The Kiwoom Heroes Of The Korean Baseball Organization
Who: You’ve heard of Kia. Maybe you drive a Kia. The team plays in Gwangju, which is in the southwestern part of the Korean peninsula.
The Kia Tigers have won more Korea Series title than any other team with eleven, although most of those came in the eighties and nineties. They’ve been more up and down this century, but they did win the Korea Series in 2009 and beat the Bears to take the title in 2017.
Former Cubs: Well-loved former Cubs first baseman Hee-Seop Choi, famous for his scary collision with Kerry Wood in 2003, is the Tigers’ hitting coach. In case you were wondering, former Nationals manager Matt Williams is the Tigers manager. He never played for the Cubs, but he did hit .300 with two home runs in the 1989 National League Championship Series against the Cubs. (Sorry for reminding you. At least he’s not Will Clark.)
Korean Baseball Player's Bat Flip Puts Cubs' Junior Lake To Shame
Right-handed pitcher Aaron Brooks has just over 170 innings in the majors and none of them came with the Cubs. But they Cubs did trade Chris Coghlan to get him in 2016 and he pitched for the Iowa Cubs in 2016 and 2017. Had he not gotten hurt in 2016, there’s a very good chance he’d have a World Series ring.
Who: Kiwoom is the only team in KBO not owned by a corporation, but rather by a group of really rich people, just like American sports teams. They do sell the name of their team to Kiwoom Securities, an investment firm.
The Kiwoom Heroes are one of the three Seoul teams and they play in the Gocheok Sky Dome, which hosted first-round games of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. I remember the atmosphere of those games being pretty awesome.
Highly Touted Korean Pitcher Jun Seok Shim Highlights Pirates' International Class
The Heroes were an expansion team in 2008 and have never won the Korea Series, although they have qualified for the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons. They lost the Korea Series to Doosan last year.
.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize?strip=all)
Former Cubs: The big name here is left-hander Eric Jokisch, an 11th-round Cubs draft pick out of Virginia, IL and Northwestern in 2010. He pitched four games, including one start, for the 2014 Cubs. Jokisch was in the organization from 2010 to 2016. He had a great year as a member of the Heroes’ rotation in 2019, going 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA.
Jake Brigham came to the Cubs from the Rangers in 2012 in a mid-season trade for Geovany Soto. They traded him back to Texas after the 2012 season. He only pitched two games for Double-A Tennessee before he missed the rest of the year with an injury.
Dodgers Win Bid Of $25.7m For Korean Pitcher
Who: The KT Wiz are an expansion team that joined the league in 2015. They’re owned by KT, or Korea Telecom. They play in Suwon, which is just south of Seoul.
The Wiz finished sixth last year, which was their best finish ever. They finished in last place in their first three seasons and got all the way up to ninth place in 2018. So they’re the team to cheer for if you want to cheer for a real underdog.
Former Cubs: Right-hander Dae-Eun Rhee wowed Cubs fans when he went 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his first 10 professional starts with Peoria in 2008. Unfortunately, Rhee needed Tommy John surgery right after that.
Column: Baseball Is Back — In The Middle Of The Night And Half A World Away. But For Those Longing For Mlb's Return, Will The Korean Baseball Organization Cut It?
Ranked Rhee as the Cubs’ No. 4 prospect after that season despite the surgery, Unfortunately, he was never really the same. He pitched in the Cubs organization from 2008 to 2014 and made it as high as Triple-A
0 komentar
Posting Komentar