Baseball hero remains active at WBC

Former pitcher Park Chan-ho, right, helps national team member Kang Min-ho during a practice session at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, the venue of the WBC, last Thursday. / AP-Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

• Published Mar 5, 2013 6:35 PM KST
• Updated Mar 5, 2013 6:35 PM KST

By Do Je-hae

Korea's most famous baseball export Park Chan-ho may be retired but he seems to be constantly on the go, with TV appearances and public engagements like participating at the Feb. 25 presidential inauguration ceremony.

Last week, he made his commentating debut at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Taichung, with the cable channel JTBC. He has served as commentator for two games so far; first, at Korea's disastrous loss to Netherlands 5-0 on Saturday in its first WBC game, and again on Monday as Korea beat Australia 6-0 Monday night in their Pool B matchup.

Fans were relieved as the national team avoided elimination and kept its title hopes alive, while being delighted by Park's new role as commentator.

Park showed up for Monday's game with a new hairdo. His thick bangs had covered all of his forehead until last Saturday, but his new hair style had all of his bang pulled upwards, showing his forehead.

A jubilant Park said that the new hairdo symbolized his hope for Korea's WBC success during a commentating wrap-up after following Korea's victory over Australia. "I pulled my hair upwards, in the hope that our team's chances for proceeding to the second round will go up as well."

The former pitcher brought a wealth of experience to the commentator's box, having experienced professional baseball in Korea, Japan and the United States since 1994 until his retirement last year.

His commentating debut has received favorable reviews from fans and media reports. In particular, Park was the only source of joy for Korean fans last Saturday when the Korean team suffered an embarrassing loss against the Netherlands.

He may not be as eloquent as professional commentators.

But what he lacks in speech, he made up with his pioneering experience as a player, combined with an unrelenting passion for the game and members of the Korean national team that still idolize him.

His overseas career enables to explain to viewers about foreign players that he has personally experienced, like outfielder Andruw Jones of the Netherlands. "Andruw Jones and I played together for the Dodgers in 2008. He is a powerful hitter, but has a weakness in handling breaking pitches," park said during the Korea-Netherlands game.

Based on his experience, Park also provided insightful explanations about the state of mind of players at certain junctures of the games and suggestions about what players should do in difficult situations.

After Korea's loss to Taiwan, Park urged the Korean team recharge with some spicy Korean food.

"When things got rough, I used to eat ‘kimchi jjigae’ and ‘yukgaejang’ to upgrade my physical condition and prepare for the next game," in a JTBC interview following the Korea-Taiwan game.

Park will appear as commentator only during games that Korea plays during WBC. His next appearance in the commentating box will be on Tuesday night against Taiwan.

"Park accepted the commentating appointment because he wanted to be near the national team and encourage them during WBC," a JTBC official said after the appointment was made public in late January. In Taiwan, Park was also seen in the practice sessions of the Korean team.

Park was the first Korean player in MLB, and he got his start with the Dodgers, where he spent the first eight seasons of his career. He subsequently played for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Pittsburg Pirates and Orix Buffaloes.

For the 2012 season, he returned to Korea, signing a one-year deal with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization and announced his retirement in November.