Seo`s American Dream Comes True

In the six years since his advance into the major leagues, Jae Seo of the New York Mets made his dream come true: he will pitch as a starter against the Expos.

New York Mets Manager Art Howe announced yesterday that he would put Seo in regular rotation and have him take the mound against the Montreal Expos, in a home game on April 7th KST. For the Expos, Lian Hernandez will pitch. He has maintained two-digit wins for three consecutive years with a season record of 69 wins.

Seo`s team rival Mike Basik got demoted to the minor leagues due to terrible pitching against the Chicago Cubs, allowing 9 runs in just two innings in the season opener on April 1, putting, in the process, Seo in the rotation.

Three South Korean major leaguers are now starting pitchers, including Chan Ho Park (Texas Rangers) and Byung Hyun Kim (Arizona Diamondbacks). In addition, Chan Ho`s true test falls on April 7 against the Seattle Mariners, when he will be placed for the first time against another Korean pitcher in the major leagues.

Seo dropped out of Inha University to join the Mets in 1997. At first, he heralded a bright future for himself with his fast ball hovering around 150km/h and powerful curve balls like sliders. His elbow injury though in 1999 pulled him off the mound for some time. His only major league record was made against the Cincinnati Reds last July, defending one inning without giving up any runs.

This spring, Seo pitched 5 games and recorded a 3.60 ERA with one winner and one saver. This is when the Mets began to believe in him.

Chan Ho could restore his reputation on next Monday, which got ruined against the Anaheim Angels last Wednesday. It is also interesting to see what will become of the confrontation between Park and Ichiro.

Hwan-Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com