Will lack of star power hurt?

The Nexon Heroes’Park Byung-ho scores after hitting a solo homerun off Kia Tigers starter Seo Jae-weong in the top of the first in their game in Gwangju Sunday. The Heroes won 6-4, avenging their 10-9 loss against the Tigers in Saturday’s season opener. / Yonhap

Lions, Tigers, Bears touted as favorites in new KBO season

By Kim Tong-hyung

Korea’s impressive showing in international events, highlighted by its spirited run in the first two World Baseball Classics (WBCs) and their gold-clinching Beijing Olympics campaign, fueled an attendance boom in domestic professional baseball. Fans seemed finally convinced they were paying to watch a world-class product.

So it’s understandable that the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is opening its new season to subdued excitement as the bitterness from the country’s listless exit from the recent WBC last month remains fresh.

After selling more than 7 million tickets last year, the KBO is aiming for 8 million in the next six months. The league is hoping that the brewing southeast region rivalry between the Busan-based Lotte Giants and Changwon-based NC Dinos will inject new energy into the newly-nine-team league.

The glass-half-empty argument is that the league is suffering from a paucity of transcendent stars to keep fans intrigued.

For those who smoke the objective pipe, Korea’s disappointing WBC run was predictable. Handed a squad built around aging, big-name players whose abilities are starting to abandon their experience, manager Ryu Joong-il attempted in vain to polish the country’s "golden generation" one last time and helplessly watched as they went out with a whimper.

Ryu, the skipper of the defending KBO champions Samsung Lions, was bashed by critics for putting reputation over ability in selecting his players. In his defense, the KBO at the moment isn’t exactly overflowing with game-changing youngsters.

Glancing across the opening-day rosters of the nine teams, it seems obvious the league doesn’t have a single star player with the talent and charisma to fill up a stadium on his own.

Sweet-swinging Lions first baseman Lee Seung-yeop is clearly over the hill. Lee Dae-ho, considered one of the best right-handed hitters not playing in Major League Baseball (MLB), is plying his trade in Japan. Ryu Hyun-jin, arguably the KBO’s best pitcher of the past decade, is now a beefy rookie with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The country hasn’t seen a five-tool player ― a position player who excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, base-running skills, throwing ability and fielding abilities ― since the retired Lee Jong-beom and Park Jae-hong were in their primes.

The void left by these players will be hard to fill. It could be said that the league’s best hitter is now Park Byung-ho, the 26-year-old slugger of the lowly Nexon Heroes who led the league in homeruns and RBIs last season, and the best pitcher Jang Won-sam, coming off a 17-win season for the Lions. But aside of hardcore fans, it will be difficult to find anyone who can recognize Park or Jang on a street.

What the KBO desperately needs is its own version of Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, super-rookies who set MLB afire last season and generated a massive fan interest. However, the rookie corps is full of players projected to be good but not great.

The Dinos are hoping that their flame-throwing rookie Yoon Hyung-bae can establish himself in the starting rotation, although his lack of quality secondary pitches could hurt him. LG Twins believe it has its shortstop of the future in Kang Seung-ho, who is still unpolished defensively but is showing the potential to hit for both contact and power at the plate. The Giants have high hopes for rookie outfielder Cho Hong-seok.

The Lions are pegged as the favorites to defend their title, having a potent lineup and arguably the deepest pitching pool. While the 36-year-old Seung-yeop isn’t the player he once was, he still managed 21 homeruns and 85 RBIs last season in what was considered a down year by his standards. He could continue to regress, but the Lions still have Park Suk-min and Choi Hyung-woo to provide firepower at the heart of the order.

Jang is the ace of the Lions’ starting rotation that will feature two new foreign players Rick van den Hurk and Aneury Rodrigeuz. The team’s bullpen anchored by closer Oh Seung-hwan is picked as the league’s best by a considerable margin.

The Kia Tigers may give the Lions a run for their money. Yoon Suk-min and Yang Hyeong-jong represent a solid 1-2 pitching combo and the bullpen has been bulked up by the team’s decision to turn Anthony Lerew, an 11-game winner last year, into a closer.

The Tigers provide plenty of speed on the bases, with Lee Yong-kyu and Kim Joo-chan, acquired from the Giants in the winter, expected to hit first and second in the order. However, they desperately need a rebound from their heart-of-the-order hitters Choi Hee-seop, Kim Sang-hyun and Lee Beom-ho, who combined for a dismal 2012 season.

Perennial contenders SK Wyverns and Doosan Bears could also join the mix of contenders.