Koreans to face off in 2013 MLB season

Ryu Hyun-jin

Choo Shin-soo

By Kang Seung-woo

Korean fans are expected to gather in front of TV screens for Major League Baseball (MLB) games next season with three of their countrymen competing in the big leagues.

With veteran right-hander Lim Chang-yong striking a two-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, there will be at least three Korean players in the majors.

Choo Shin-soo was recently traded to the Cincinnati Reds after spending six seasons with the Cleveland Indians and has been tagged as a legitimate leadoff hitter and center fielder by the team. And Ryu Hyun-jin signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last week, expected to fill the No. 3 spot on the team’s rotation.

This number could swell should shortstop Lee Hak-ju, playing for the Tampa Bay Ray’s minor league affiliate the Montgomery Biscuits, be promoted as he was added to the 40-man roster last month.

Since Park Chan-ho made his MLB debut in 1994 with the Dodgers, players including Kim Byung-hyun, Seo Jae-weong and Choi Hee-seop have followed in his footsteps and Korea was once seen as one of big league pipelines by producing seven players in both 2004 and 2006.

However, extended unproductive spells brought them back to Korea and Park finally left the majors for Japan two years ago, leaving Choo as the lone Korean in MLB for the past two years, compared to Japan’s six in 2012.

With all three Koreans set to play in the National League (NL), local fans will have the opportunity to watch their compatriots square off against each other.

Although Lim is recovering from Tommy John ligament replacement surgery and expected to take the mound in the second half of the season at the earliest, the Cubs and the Reds, both in the NL Central division, are scheduled to face each other three times in each of October and September.

The Reds are slated to play the Dodgers seven times in the 2013 season after three exhibition games.

There could also be another Korean player to feature in the playoffs following Kim and Park, the former a World Series winner in 2001 and 2004. The Reds are the defending NL Central champions, while the Dodgers are loaded with talent following a spending binge.