Kim Byung-Hyun ``A Year Like a Dream``

The eventful 2001 Major League regular season closed its curtain yesterday.

Let us ruminate the 2001 ML baseball full of unforgettable events such as the single season home run record of Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants), the cyclonic ML debut of Suzuki Ichiro (Seattle Mariners), and the game suspension by the terrorist attacks on the U.S..

▼A Korean `Diamondback` Stands On the Postseason Stage

The year 2001 was the fantastic season for Kim Byung-Hyun (Arizona Diamondbacks). Kim earned his career best record of 5 wins, 6 losses and 19 saves, and his team moved up the postseason. More importantly, he was surely admitted as a credible closer with a heavy responsibility. Among the team`s relief pitchers, Kim has shown the unquestionable performance with 113 strikeouts and 0.173 opponent`s batting average, solidifying his position as a closer. The division series with the St. Louis Cardinals would be the stage at which he cannot help but be excited.

▼ Home Run, and Home Run

By smacking a homer in first inning of the regular season last game with the LA Dodgers yesterday, Bonds closed out the remarkable season at 73 home runs as Mark McGwire exactly anticipated. Bonds set the new record for slugging percentage (0.863), breaking the 81 year-old record of former Yankee Babe Ruth (0.847) established in 1920. And he set a new mark for walks during a season, finishing this year with 177. However, coupled with his racial background as an African American unlike McGwire, the comeback of `the basketball emperor` Michael Jordan, and the terrorist attacks on the U.S., Bonds has not received the intensive attention from the American press.

▼ Power of Seattle, Power of Ichiro

The Seattle Mariners has dominated the ML as an invincible team this season. The Seattle marked the eye-opening record of 116 wins and 46 losses with 0.716 winning percentage to tie the single season win record set by the Chicago Cups in 1906. There was a Japanese lead-off hitter Suzuki Ichiro in the pivot of the great record building. A seven-consecutive-year hit title holder in Japan, `Hitting Machine`, Ichiro rewrote the ML rookie history with the ML all-time rookie best hit record (242 hits) and the AL rookie best BA record (0.350). As he earned the triple crowns of a batting average, hits, and steals (56), Ichiro got a nickname `Magician` from his colleagues, equipping the fast foot and the perfect batting.

▼ Old Soldiers Never Die

`Rocket Man` Roger Clemens of the New York Yankees left the mind-boggling record of 20 wins and 3 losses at 39 years old. Arizona 38-year-old Randy Johnson grabbed the first place in the National League ERA (2.49) and Strikeout (372) rankings. And his teammates Curt Schilling (35) captured the wins title with 22 wins and 6 losses. A home run record holder Barry Bonds is also a 37-year-old veteran.

Kim Sang-Soo ssoo@donga.com