Ex-big league pitchers clash today

By Jung Min-ho

Park Chan-ho and Kim Byung-hyun, both ex-Major League pitchers, will go head to head today when the Hanwha Eagles take on the Nexen Heroes at Seoul’s Mokdong Baseball Stadium.


Former L.A. Dodger Park will take the mound as the starting pitcher for the Eagles with Kim also in line to play for the Heroes. As all four games took place Tuesday as scheduled despite the rain, the two former big leaguers are almost sure to start.

After wrapping up a victory against Hanwha on Tuesday, Heroes manager Kim Si-jin confirmed that the two legends would face off saying, “Let’s have them play.”

Fans’ expectations shot up when the two were scheduled to take the mound as starters on June 8 after returning home from America to play in the Korean league this season for the first time in their careers. However, Eagles manager Han Dae-wha was concerned about Park’s fitness at that time and deployed Yu Chang-sik instead saying, “Keeping the players in a good condition is more important than creating a big match up.” But this time, the 39-year-old seems just fine, a good sign for the game.

In his last outing against the Lotte Giants on Thursday, Park threw 104 pitches in five innings, allowing just two runs with 3.6 ERA. For the past four games, he has sent down 374 deliveries for a 4.15 ERA, with one win and one loss.

Kim, a two-time World Series winner with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001) and the Boston Red Sox (2004), still hasn’t fully adjusted to the domestic league. He earned a first victory at against the Doosan Bears on June 20 after two losses in six games. In his last four appearances he threw 353 deliveries and allowed 15 runs for a 5.23 ERA. With another win against the Bears on June 26, he seems to be on the right track. Despite high expectations for Kim, he had to swallow his pride and undergo intense personal training after a year-long break from baseball while with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in the Japanese league due to a left ankle injury.

As long as the weather permits, this confrontation is expected to further heat up the baseball fever that has gripped the nation this season.