KBO heavily reliant on imported players

• Published May 11, 2015 5:09 PM KST
• Updated May 11, 2015 5:09 PM KST

By Baek Byung-yeul

Ever since the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) began importing players in 1998, the biggest challenge faced by the country’s top baseball league teams during the offseason has been picking the best.

The reigning champion Samsung Lions owe much to its success to imported second baseman Yamaico Navarro, who was named the MVP of the Korean Series last season with four home runs and 10 RBIs (runs batted in) to clinch its fourth straight championship title.

The Lions, who top the league standings with 22 wins and 12 losses as of Monday, could be the most balanced team with both imported and domestic players complementing each other — with existing domestic players such as leftfielder Choi Hyoung-woo, and pitchers Yun Sung-hwan and An Ji-man playing well, their three imported players are also making noise so far this season.

Navarro continues to shine this season, leading the league in home runs (13) together with his teammate leftfielder Choi, and starting pitchers Tyler Cloyd and Alfredo Figaro have each garnered four wins, which is the second-most behind the SK Wyverns’ Kim Kwang-hyun and the Doosan Bears’ Yoo Hee-kwan, who have five wins.

The third-place Wyverns, who had trouble locating quality imported players last season, have benefited this season from new players from overseas.

Starting pitcher Merrill Kelly, spent most of his career in the minor leagues of Major League Baseball, has come up big for the Wyverns. Although the 26-year-old has won only one game thus far, he has only allowed a total of 14 runs in six games as a starter and is ranked fifth in the league in terms of his ERA (earned run average).

Former New York Mets outfielder Andrew Brown has also performed well as a cleanup hitter, hitting nine homers, fifth-most in the league. There seems to be reason for even more optimism once another American starting pitcher, Travis Banwart, makes a successful comeback. He had nine wins and one loss in 11 games for the Wyverns last season. He was hit in the face by ball hit by the Nexen Heroes Park Byung-ho on April 16. The 29-year-old currently plays in the Futures League, the second division of the KBO, and is expected to be called up by next week, according to local media reports.

The fifth-place NC Dinos are another team doing well thanks in large part to the play of their imported players.

Their first baseman Eric Thames, has been leading his team’s offense, and ranks close to the top in almost every offensive statistical category, with 35 hits, including 11 home runs, 33 RBIs and 30 runs. He has also earned 29 walks, which is the second-most in the league, followed by Lotte Giants slugger Choi Joon-seok, who had 32.

Two imported pitchers — Charlie Shirek and Eric Hacker — have also played well early in the season. The two, who have each won four games, have thrown more than 84 innings.

Not every team is celebrating the accomplishments of its foreign players.

Though they don’t have issues with their two imported pitchers, the Doosan Bears, who are in second-place a game behind the Lions, released their slumping and injured infielder Zack Lutz on May 4. Lutz became the first foreign player to be put on waivers. The Bears said the team is currently looking for his replacement.

The sixth-placed Hanwha Eagles also have suffered from poor performances of their imported players. The Eagles recently dismissed their much-anticipated outfielder Nyjer Morgan in a bid to seek a better hitter.

The LG Twins, who share their home with the Bears, have also been criticized for inking an overseas player based primarily on his name recognition, rather than his abilities.

The Twins signed a contract with former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jack Hannahan during the offseason, and it was reasonable for Twins fans to have great expectations for the 35-year-old big leaguer as their favorite team struggled last season.

But the veteran, who played more than 600 games in Major League Baseball, had to miss all of April due to a series of injuries. Though he was available to play as the designated hitter from Thursday, it is still not clear whether Hannahan will be much help to the team over the remainder of the season.