Posted May. 14, 2004 22:36,
Even with Lee Seung-yeop of the Chiba Lotte Marines and Kim Byung-hyun of the Boston Red Sox, the most reliable slugger and pitcher playing abroad respectively, both demoted to the minor leagues, there is still hope for Korean baseball players in the international leagues.
Seo Jae-weong, the New York Mets pitcher also known as Mr. Nice Guy and who was the first among Korean players to be relegated to the minor leagues this year, followed the lead taken by Park Chan-ho of the Texas Rangers who posted his second win a day earlier.
In a road game at Bank One Ballpark against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seo helped the Mets come from behind and led them to a 7-4 victory while allowing five hits, two walks, and three runs during five innings pitched.
His win was the result of his masterful control. While he threw at around 140 kilometers per hour, his fastballs and sliders combined to perform excellent work around the plate corner and silenced the Diamondbacks hitters.
Seo got off to a shaky start in the bottom of the first inning when, with one out and a runner at third, he allowed the Diamondbacks to score on Shea Hillenbrands sacrifice fly. However, he gave up just three hits to Arizona after the fourth inning. Vance Wilsons three-run homer changed the score 4-1 at the top of the fourth inning. A blot on his masterful pitching in this game was a two-run homer that he gave up to Danny Bautista with an erroneous fastball after getting two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
However, Seo finished the fifth inning scoreless, solidifying his victory. He left the mound courtesy of Mets manager, Art Howe, who worried about the recurrence of a blister on Seos finger. The final score: 7-4.
Kim Sun-woo of the Montreal Expos, who has enjoyed what appeared to be his best season so far, allowed nine hits and seven earned runs in the first five innings he threw in a road game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In terms of hitting, Kim made a pleasant start as he hit a two-run double which brought in two runners at first and third base in the second inning in which Montreal led Milwaukee 1-0. It was his first run batted in of the season as a hitter.
However in the third inning with Montreal leading Milwaukee 3-0, Kim allowed Milwaukee to score on Craig Counsells sacrifice fly, and gave up a game-tying two-run homer to Bill Hall.
Entering the fifth inning, the Expos trailed Brewers 3-4. Kim allowed a run on Lyle Overbays ground hit, and Wes Helms and Moeller drove in a run each. Kim now has a loss after two consecutive wins. His ERA climbed from 1.24 to 2.94, weakening his position in the competition for the teams ace status against John Patterson.
Choi Hee-seop, the right-handed Florida Marlins first baseman who did not start the game because the Houston Astross pitcher was right-handed, came in as a pinch-hitter, picking up a walk in his lone at-bat. Although he was soon replaced, the Florida Marlins beat the Astros 3-2 after coming from behind with a triple by Juan Pierre and a ground hit by Miguel Cabrera.