Park Chan-ho Signs Contract with Mets

Korean Major Leaguer Park Chan-ho (34, picture) will play in New York, the largest city in the U.S.

On February 9, Park’s Korean management company, Team 61, announced that Park signed a contract with the New York Mets. The deal is valued at $3 million (2.8 billion won) with a 2009 option. The contract will be finalized after Park passes a physical test.

Park made his Major League debut as an L.A. Dodgers pitcher in 1994 and moved to the Texas Rangers in 2002 and to the San Diego Padres in 2005.

Park has wanted to play in the West Division of the National League, but the possibility of a deal was lost as the San Francisco Giants signed Barry Zito, and the Arizona Diamondbacks chose Randy Johnson. Park rejected the Padres’ proposal to become a sixth starter and instead chose the Mets. Park explained, “The decisive factor was that the number of Korean immigrants in New York is second to that in Los Angeles.”

Park’s contract is not worth as much as before. As a free agent, Park made a five-year contract with the Rangers in 2002 at $65 million (about 60 billion won), and his contract last year was worth $15.5 million (about 14.4 billion won).

The Mets was founded in 1962 and won the World Series twice in 1969 and 1986. Seo Jae-eung (30, Tampa Bay) was signed by the Mets in 1997 and played eight seasons. Koo Dae-sung (37, Hanhwa) was a pitcher with the Mets for the 2005 season. Since winning the World Series in 1986, the Mets had been in a slump until they advanced to the World Series as a wild card in 2000 to play the New York Yankees in the “subway series.” Last year, they made it to the National League Championship Series.

The line-up of the Mets this year is one of the best. Park will be the third starting pitcher following Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez. Pedro Martinez will not play in the first half of the season due to injuries. Hitters include Carlos Beltran, who led the Mets to win the 2006 National League Division Series, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Paul Lo Duca, and Shawn Green.

Park got out of his five-year slump with his winning record (12-8) in the 2005 season. Last year, he went 7-7, to have an overall record of 113-87 and a 4.37 ERA.

Park is currently training on his own at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and plans to join the Mets spring training camp in Port St. Lucie on February 16.

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