Power Sluggers Welcome `New Ranger` Chan-Ho

Park Chan-Ho (28) came to stand on a brand new stage.

Park became a member of the Texas Rangers through the official joining ceremony yesterday. What are good news and bad news for a new American Leaguer.

▼ Good News = First of all, Park is relieved from the burden as a hitter. Unlike the Dodgers, the Rangers sluggers who combined 246 home runs to rank the first place among the entire major league teams could be reliable supporters for him. The Rangers have the best line-up comprised of Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez and newly-acquired Carl Everett. Moreover, Park Chan-Ho came to constitute a battery with ML best catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who is a 10th consecutive gold glove winner.

Hopefully, the Rangers is becoming a stronger team, concentrating on scouting best players during this winter. The Rangers, which ranked in the bottom of AL West standings because of the worst team ERA 5.71 this year, have been very active in order to strengthen the pitching staffs during the stove league. Besides Park, the club signed starter Dave Burba and traded closer John Rocker from the Cleveland Indians. Moreover, the team is pursuing to acquire free agent Aaron Sele of the Seattle Mariners so that it is expected to constitute the completely different pitching mound.

▼ Bad News = Since the Texas belongs to the most competitive AL West, it is not easy to take a division title. The Seattle Mariners tied the single season win record (116 wins) this year. The Oakland Athletics advanced to the playoffs for two straight years with `three young guns` of Mark Mulder (21 wins and 8 losses), Time Hudson (18 wins and 9 losses), and Barry Zito (17 wins and 8 losses). And the Anaheim Angels is also an unyielding team.

Because a designated hitter hits instead of a pitcher in the American League, the AL hitters traditionally have been superior to the NL hitters. All hitters from the lead-off hitter to No. 9 hitter will not be easily manageable for Park Chan-Ho. Actually, there are many powerful hitters in the American League. Park should face the stronger hitters of each team such as Japanese-born hitter Suzuki Ichiro and Bret Boone (Seattle Mariners), `scoring machine` Juan Gonzales (Cleveland Indians), and Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox).

Moreover, the Ranger`s home Arlington Park is a ballpark unfavorable for pitchers, which has been called as `grave of pitchers`, since air resistance is lesser than other stadiums due to the dry weather and the summer temperature usually rises up to 40 degree centigrade. Park has once taken the mound in this ballpark, allowing one run for 7 innings. But he is expected to allow more runs, compared to the Dodger Stadium.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com