Foreign Baseball Players Struggling

It is another shock.

“Korea’s hitter,” Lee Seung-yeop (Chiba Lotte Marines) was sent to a farm team, and “Submarine” Kim Byoung-hyun (Boston Red Sox) has also been sent to the minor leagues.

The Boston Red Sox announced that they would ship Kim to Triple-A Pawtucket; Kim allowed 5 hits and 6 runs over 3 and 1/3 innings in his last appearance for the Sox on May 11.

General Manager of Sox, Theo Epstein, who has supported Kim, admitted, “It’s my fault to give him a starting position.” This is worse news. It means that the only submariner in the major leagues, Kim, may not pitch as a starter from now on.

Epstein said, “The finger should be pointed at me. The blame should be really directed at me. We had him penciled him in as a fifth starter, but it didn’t work for last three starts.”

Epstein showed confidence in Kim, however, saying, “When he gets back his previous pitches, he can dominate in the big leagues.” But he was unsure as well, saying, “We’ll see,” in regards to whether Kim could come back to be a starter this year. Kim has one win, one loss and a 6.17 ERA in three starts this season.

Korean players in foreign leagues as well as Kim are also under fire.

“Eldest,” Park Chan-ho (Texas Rangers) is pitching uncomfortably with a record of 1 win and 3 losses. The Rangers themselves are doing well, placing 2nd in the Western Division of the American League with 20 wins and 12 losses, (winning percentage: 0.625), but they are concerned about the staggering Park. The media in Texas is pushing the team to send him bullpen, so he may be removed from starting rotation unless Park has a good outing against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on May 13.

Seo Jae-eung (New York Mets) was a full-time starting pitcher last year; however, he is displaying uneasy pitches this season with 1 win and 3 losses. His frequent nail injuries are also a worrying factor.

Choi Hee-seop (Florida Marlins) is now fulfilling his potential with 9 homers and 20 RBIs, but he has found it difficult to maintain his condition because of Jack Mckeon’s strict rule of not starting Choi against left-handed pitchers.

More sighs await in Japanese baseball. Lee Seung-yeop and Koo Dae-seong (Orix Bluewave) are now training on farm teams for dull batting and 4 losses, respectively.

However, Kim Seon-woo is doing outstanding among Korean players. Catching a chance to start due to the injury of his team’s fifth starter, Kim has boosted his value with 2 straight wins in 2 games. He moved to America in 1998 and struggled in the minors for a long time, but he is doing his best not to miss a golden opportunity.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com