Park Chan-ho to start negotiation with Hanwha

By Cho Mu-hyun

With returning baseball legend Park Chan-ho set to open talks with the Hanwha Eagles at their Seoul office Monday, the question is just how much he is worth.

The 38-year-old was initially ineligible to play next season due to draft regulations but was cleared to take the mound thanks to a decision by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in a board meeting Tuesday.

The rules state that players who went overseas prior to 1999 can only enter the KBO league through August’s rookie draft. Park left in 1994 to join the Major League and only returned in October.

The Eagles have pushed strongly for an exemption since November and declared more than once that they wish to sign the right-hander.

Hanwha has shown that they are far from thrifty when it comes to spending in preparation for next season, signing up slugger Kim Tae-kyun for 1.5 billion won a year, the highest ever salary in the KBO’s 30-year history.

But the Eagles are not the only club to spend big. Other deals for high-caliber players this year have had plenty of zeros on the contract, and are a good start in estimating what Hanwha may offer Park.

The Samsung Lions offered Lee Seung-yeop, who returned from Japan in October along with Park from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), 800 million won a year and 300 million in performance bonuses. The Lotte Giants signed Chong Tae-hyon who will earn 500 million won a year. Lee Dae-ho agreed an 11 billion won, two-year contract with Japan’s Orix Buffaloes, albeit a foreign contract.

Park’s name also has high promotional value and will likely draw many fans to the stadium for an opportunity to see pitches that earned him the nickname the “Korean Express.”

But name value and promotional benefits aside, no one would disagree that his best days are behind him. Sports commentators have been relatively positive in their expectations concerning the 38-year-old, but a recent survey of the eight KBO managers anticipating the number of Park’s wins for 2012 was bleak.

“I think around 7 to 9 (wins). He was a top pitcher in the Major League, and I admit that he is great player but he is no longer at his best,” said Kia Tigers manager Sun Dong-yul.

Doosan Bears manager Kim Jin-wook, a former pitcher himself, had an even colder forecast, stating that Park’s pitching was far weaker than before while also pointing out that the level of KBO batters has improved drastically since Park was at his best.

Hanwha manager Han Dae-hwa, who may soon be the pitcher’s new boss, refused to comment. Now nearing 40, stamina and a high chance of injury are also negative factors.

The $65 million for five years with the Texas Rangers in 2002 was Park’s peak, and his Major League Baseball career went downhill from then, with none of his performances with his six teams outstanding. However, he did set a new record for an Asian pitcher in MLB with his 124th win while with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010.

His recent outings for the Orix Buffaloes were disappointing. Playing in the Japanese League for the first time, he lost his debut game in April and was relegated to the second division and continued to struggle in the minor leagues, ending 1-5 with a 4.29 ERA in 42 innings, which many deemed unworthy of his reputation.

But some players are more than flesh and blood as they are an indelible memory to fans. This is especially true for Park Chan-ho in Korea. A recent comment by Eagles starting pitcher Ahn Seung-min sums it up well: “I can’t believe I will be taking the mound as teammates with (my) idol Park Chan-ho. I couldn’t have dreamed of it.”