Why do you recommend going to Korea? Foreigners who ignored KBO have changed 180 degrees...How Did ML Experience Surge

Dec 19, 2024

3rd semi-PO match between SSG and NC held at Changwon NC Park on the 25th. Peddy is sitting in the dugout watching the game. Changwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2023.10.25/

"When we first contacted Eric Pedi (31, St. Louis Cardinals), he was angry, saying, 'Why would you recommend me to go to Korea when I'm not old enough yet?"

This is what Lim Sun-nam, the head of the NC Dinos, said. NC offered Peddy to go to Korea ahead of the 2023 season, but there was a moment when he felt embarrassed for a while. At that time, for foreign pitchers, the KBO League meant finishing their careers rather than new challenges. It is true that players who judged that it was no longer difficult to challenge the major leagues in the United States visited Korea more often when they tried to extend their active careers or when they failed in the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB).

Peddy, a former Washington Nationals prospect, was a full-time starting pitcher in the Major League until 2022, just before coming to Korea. His performance in the 2022 season was not good with 27 games, 6-13, 127 innings and a 5.81 ERA, but he was a player Washington has raised as a starter in the big leagues since 2018. Even if Washington released Peddy after the 2022 season, NC's proposal to go to Korea could have been upset because the player himself was not in the stage of giving up the major leagues and was young in his prime.

NC persistently persuaded such a pedi. Korea is no longer a place where foreign players spend their last years, but introduces examples of reverse exports such as Merrill Kelly (36, Arizona Diamondbacks) and Chris Flexen (30, Chicago White Sox), and asked them to consider the KBO League as a stepping stone to challenge the big league once more.

Inspired by NC's sincere persuasion, Peddy eventually agreed to a $1 million (about 1.4 billion won) contract. He swept the KBO League MVP and the Golden Glove in pitchers with 20-6 losses, 180 ⅓ innings, 209 strikeouts, and a 2.00 ERA in 30 starts last year. Ahead of this season, he returned to the Major League after signing with the White Sox.

Starting with Pedi, the number of players showing off their major league careers in Korea began to surge. Jaime Barria (28), who played for the Hanwha Eagles this year, drew attention as a pitcher who won 22 games in 134 games in the Major League. The foreign players who will be with us next season have become even more spectacular. SSG Landers pitcher Mitch White (30), LG Twins pitcher Yoni Chirinos (31), Doosan Bears pitcher Cole Irvin (30) and NC Dinos pitcher Logan Allen (27) are young and have quite a lot of experience in the major leagues. Although it has not been announced, infielder Patrick Wisdom (33), who has signed a contract agreement with the KIA Tigers, boasts 88 home runs in the Major League.

SSG Landers new foreign pitcher Mitch White. Photo courtesy = SSG Landers

Chicago Cubs home run batter Patrick Wisdom is on the verge of signing a contract with the KIA Tigers. AP Yonhap News

It can be seen that the perception toward the KBO League has changed positively. "In terms of name bellies and careers, there is a feeling that the level of foreign players has risen across the 10 clubs," Lim said. In the past, the Asian League was often recognized as the last market where they could make money. As a result, some players spent time idly, and there was a perception that they should get a lot of money. Now, it seems that the perception has changed a lot due to many cases of reverse export. Kelly is doing well in the U.S., and players who have stalled in the U.S. seem to think of Korea as an opportunity to revive their careers."

There is also a change in the atmosphere of the foreign player market itself, and the NPB's extreme possibility of survival also served as a positive factor for KBO.

KIA general manager Shim Jae-hak said, `Minor league players are sometimes burdened with split contracts these days, and if you say players who can get more than 1 million dollars or 1.5 to 2 million dollars to some level, the season is not guaranteed in Japan. It's a league that sends you to the second division right away when your performance drops. Players who receive between $1 million and $1.2 million and $1.3 million may have a culture to come to Korea and re-bounce and go back to the major leagues."

Director Lim also said "When you go to Japan, you often get paid in the second division. Japan has quality in baseball itself, and Japan can have unlimited foreign players, so foreign players compete. Japan gives a little more money than Korea because they often don't give them a chance in the first team, but they don't give them a chance to play. For players who want to return to the U.S. by saving their careers, money rather than Japan can be an attractive option, at least Korea. They are guaranteed to play, and they can be seen by American scouts only once they play. That's why we are emphasizing this point because competition with Japan is inevitable when recruiting. He said, "When I come to Korea, I am treated like an ace, and I often appeal by explaining that I will take the mound once a week unconditionally."

If you remove the good words, it can be seen that KBO is a little more likely to rebound than NPB. An official from a club said, `In Japan, it is difficult to succeed because the players are so good. On the contrary, it is often ruined. So at first, I was reluctant to Korea because of the $1 million cap on (new foreigners), but when I went to Japan, I didn't guarantee time to adapt, and I came to Korea even if I could earn about $500 to $1 million more from Japan. Recently, there have been more cases of gold returning to the United States through Korea than through Japan. And since foreign players who have experienced KBO are well treated as ace, they usually say good things. He pointed out the reality.