Major Absence
Korea Not Expecting Help From MLB Stars in Olympics
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Park Chan-ho will not pitch for the South Korean national team at the Beijing Olympics, while a chance of outfielder Choo Shin-soo of the Cleveland Indians playing is still alive, but slim.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is reported to have submitted its first official 60-man roster selected on June 15 to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) Wednesday, and it does not include Park, the 34-year-old hurler who threw for his country at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2006 and the Olympic qualifying round last winter. Choo, however, was included.
Park, who is 2-2 with one save while posting a 2.83 ERA for the Dodgers this year, still can provide big support to Olympic manager Kim Kyung-moon's squad. But as the former All-Star, who has resurrected his big league career as a long reliever this season, has established himself in Dodger manager Joe Torre's bullpen, taking him to Beijing will be tough.
In addition, according to an agreement by Major League Baseball (MLB), the MLB Players Association and International Baseball Federation (IBAF), a player who belongs on an MLB team's 25-man roster by Aug. 1, is not qualified to participate in the Beijing Olympics, which take place from Aug. 8 - 24.
Unless he is demoted to the minor leagues or released, Park, who is unlikely to go to a lower league, will not be able to play for his country this summer.
The new rule will prevent Choo, an improving player who has two homers and 13 RBIs with a batting average of .259 in 21 games for the Indians, from joining the national team, although he and Cleveland might want him to play in the Summer Games because of his obligation to military service.
A South Korean male athlete can be exempt from otherwise mandatory military duty if he earns a gold medal at the Asian Games or a podium finish at the Olympics.
To make Choo's situation more difficult, the 25-year-old is out of minor league options, so the American League (AL) Central division club cannot send him down for the Olympic Games.
Along with Choo, first baseman Lee Seung-yeop of the Yomiuri Giants, closer Lim Chang-yong of the Yakult Swallows and outfielder Lee Byung-kyu of the Chunichi Dragons made the Olympic entry list.