Doosan: the Florida Marlins of Korean Baseball

“Florida Marlins of the Korean Baseball League”

This is the ideal to which Doosan strives.

The Marlins exemplify the low cost and high efficiency of a typical Major League baseball team. The total annual salary of the Marlins is 52.50 million dollars, placing them at twentieth among 30 teams. Nonetheless, they beat the three-time-winning New York Yankees (156.90 million dollars) in the World Series’ championship.

On-scene press likened the competition to “David and Goliath,” but the Marlins prospered, ultimately victorious.

Capturing the championship after gathering super stars since 1997, the Marlins changed their direction and built the current championship team strategically maturing promising young players. As of April 29, the Marlins currently lead the National League with 14 wins and 7 losses this season.

The Doosan Bears were once called the “Dream Team” because of their powerful batters. But all of the Dream Team’s star-players, including Woods, Shim Jeong-soo and Jeong Soo-keun, have left the Bears. Actually Doosan sent them off; the team couldn’t afford the players’ rocketing prices.

Instead, Doosan is relying upon the “low cost, high efficiency” tactic. Management Director of Doosan, Kim Seung-young, stated, “We intend to grow young and promising players rather than bringing well-known expensive star players in.”

Kim added, “We will build an exclusive-use training camp and lodging around Icheon, Kyoungki Province to promote young players. The construction will start next month and it is scheduled to be completed by next year.”

Among the core players that have left over the past couple of years, Doosan sent Jeong Soo-keun and Shim Jae-hak to other teams. Doosan currently has 11 wins, 1 draw and 10 losses, placing third. Every one expected to see the team at the bottom, but pitcher Lee Jae-young, in-fielder Son Shi-heon, Jeong Won-seok, and out-fielder Kang Bong-kyu have performed spectacularly.

New manager, Kim Kyoung-moon said, “I saw the possibility when I watched my players play their best since September of last year in training. Everyone evaluates us as weak, but I believe that we can make final four.”

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com