Koo Dae-seong May Be Affected By Merger

Japanese Pro Baseball is undergoing a big change after reports swirling around the Pacific League about the positions of Koo Dae-seong (35 years old, Orix Bluewave) and Lee Seung-yeop. (28 years old, Lotte Marines)

Yamaguchi Masanori, the president of Japan Railroad, the mother company of the Kintetsu Buffalos announced: “We made a general conclusion to merge Orix on June 13.” Kintetsu is the oldest historical team in Pacific League. But it has had trouble dealing with bad management, with debts reaching four billion yen per year (approximately 42 billion won), which were the main factor in the merger decision.

Kintetsu will be absorbed into Orix in the merge. The time will be concluded in the next general meeting of owners, scheduled for July 7, but a new team may be born next season at the earliest. Over the 70-year history of Japanese Pro Baseball, this is the first merger in 47 years since the merge between Daiei and Mainichi in 1957.

The problem is that the management figures of Orix are also bad. Therefore, if the two teams are united, a lot of players will have to leave their team either of their own will or the owners’. It is highly probable that Koo Dae-seong, who has recently been the subject of trade talks, will feel the full impact of the merger.

In addition, other mergers are expected to follow this merge. If there exist five teams in the Pacific League as an odd number and the league is operated in the same way, one team has to go. This will be a big minus to bringing spectators into stadiums. Accordingly, the expression: “The Crisis of Pro baseball, the most popular sport in Japan,” has emerged.

On this, a high official of the Pacific League said, “This merge looks to rearrange the two leagues,” adding, “We can have a Japan Series with each leader from the five eastern teams and the five western teams after reducing a team more and adopting a single league,” to hint at the direction of the league. The Pacific League has suggested having matches with the Central League like inter-league play in Major League Baseball, but that suggestion has been ignored by its opponents in the Central League.

If a team has to disappear, Daiei and Lotte are mentioned as a strong candidate for it. Having a trouble of severe batting slump, Lee has another thing that he has to put his nerves on.

Hwan Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com