Heroes accept $12.85 million posting bid for Park Byung-ho

Nexen Heroes’ Park Byung-ho practices batting in a training session ahead of the Premier 12 tournament at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 3. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

The Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Saturday they had accepted a sealed bid of $12.85 million for posted first baseman Park Byung-ho by a Major League Baseball (MLB) club.

The Heroes, who asked the KBO to post their right-hand hitting infielder to the MLB on Nov. 2, said they were notified of the decision by the KBO and accepted the winning bid. The club added the MLB club that submitted the bid will be announced by the KBO by Tuesday morning (KST), at the earliest.

With the Heroes accepting the posting bid, the MLB club will have an exclusive 30 days to negotiate with Park. If he and the team sign a contract, the Heroes will pocket the posting fee for Park as compensation.

The winning bid of $12.85 million is the second highest amount for an Asian position player, following the $13.12 million that the Seattle Mariners paid to the Orix BlueWave for the exclusive rights to Ichiro Suzuki in 2000.

It is also the second highest amount among Korean players following the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, who drew a bid of about $25.7 million in November 2012. It is more than double that for the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Kang Jung-ho, whose winning bid was $5,002,015 in 2014.

Upon hearing the news, Park was cautious in commenting on it.

“I haven’t thought about the posting in particular. I was surprised that the amount was bigger than my expectation, and thank the club for making a swift decision,” Park, who currently stays in Sapporo, Japan as a member of Korean national team competing at the international baseball WSBC Premier 12, told reporters, Saturday.

When asked about the contract, Park said “I don’t know which team will be my destination, and I will start negotiating through my agent.”

Park also added he received a call from his former teammate Kang, saying “He called me to congratulate for the posting result.”

Park has been drawing the attention of MLB scouts this year as he was eligible to be posted for overseas clubs. Making his KBO debut in 2005 with the LG Twins, Park recorded a batting average of .281 with 210 home runs in 2,748 at bats.

Spending five seasons with the Twins, Park failed to live up to his immense power potential, hitting only 24 home runs. His breakthrough came a year after being traded to the Heroes in 2011, leading the league with 31 home runs and 105 RBIs and winning his first league MVP. In 2013 season, he seized his second straight MVP award, leading the league with 37 home runs, 117 RBIs, 91 runs and a .602 slugging percentage.

In this season, Park had a breakout season, batting .343 with 53 home runs, 146 RBIs and 129 runs, becoming the first KBO player to lead the league in home runs and RBIs in four consecutive seasons.

The bidding amount for Park is a clear example that the MLB teams think highly for Park in their league. While Suzuki has displayed an exceptional performance from his MLB debut leading the American League in batting average and stolen bases, Asian country-born position players have been given “meager receptions.”

It is also relevant to say that Kang’s “soft-landing” in the big leagues apparently helped and benefited Park.

Kang, the former Heroes shortstop, joined the Pittsburgh Pirates from this season and until he was out for the season after takeout slide in a match with the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 17, had been enjoying a solid rookie season, batting .287 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs in 126 games.