Jung-Ho Kang, our pick as the 2015 most valuable Pirates player, brought to Pittsburgh an abundance of new fans, new culture and most importantly, new financial opportunity.
The Nexen Heroes, Kang’s former team, listed Byung-Ho Park on their posting system on November 2. Not too long after, rumors began to swirl on whether or not Park could adjust to MLB pitching, and what teams were involved in buying the rights negotiate with him.
The 29-year-old of Buan County, South Korea is a two-time Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) MVP, a KBO first base Gold Glove award winner and has a career stat line of .281/.387/.564, 773 hits, 210 home runs, 604 RBI and an OPS of .951.
Early reports on Monday suggested Pittsburgh won the rights to talk to Park; however, these rumors were completely dispelled as the Minnesota Twins surprisingly emerged as the victor with a $12.85 million bid.
Before the announcement, fans were split on the idea of having Park on the team.
On one hand, the Bucs showcase a young prospect in Josh Bell, who is poised to make his MLB debut within the next year or two. Why spend $12.85 million just to own negotiation rights to a player who has never taken a big league swing before? Not to mention this doesn’t even include the multi-year contract Park will want to negotiate.
On the other hand, what if Park were to sign and call Pittsburgh his new home? The Pirates may have then had numerous options sitting on its lap.
First, Park is an instant upgrade at first base. Even if the two-time KBO MVP struggled offensively, Park has precise and natural instincts at first, proving he is a multi-dimensional player.
Secondly, the Pirates would be able to shop Bell in return for a solid arm in the rotation. While it is difficult to see a prospect believed to have as high of a ceiling as Bell, Pittsburgh would be killing two birds with one stone.
Lastly, although not ideal, Clint Hurdle may have even platooned first base if one of the two struggle. Considering Bell was an outfield at one time, he could also share right field alongside of Gregory Polanco.
However, this is just one perspective, what about the financial gain this small market team may have witnessed? You don’t need to look far to see the impact of Kang’s signing.
Not too long after reluctantly signing Jung-Ho to a four-year, fifth year team option, $11 million contract, the Pirates received offers from Korean companies regarding TV visible signage at PNC Park. The front office of the Pirates began exploring options in partnering with Korean-based companies, opening up a market never tapped into before.
How many shots on Root Sports showed Asian fans decked out in Pirates gear? Or the early season road trip in San Diego where games were broadcast in South Korea? Would any of this be possible without Kang? Of course not.
In 2013, a year before the Texas Rangers signed Shin-Soo Choo, MBC, a Korean broadcasting company, aired only seven or eight Rangers game that season. After the signing, MBC carried 140 Ranger games. That is the type of expansion needed if the Pittsburgh Pirates ever want to escape the small market paradigm.
However, fans in South Korea tend to only support players in the MLB and not teams as a whole, this is why the Pirates missed a spectacular opportunity in not risking enough money on Byung-Ho Park. Not only is it rare to find players like Park and Kang who’s potential is so great, it’s even more rare to find two former KBO teammates playing together again in the the majors.
Squandering a rare opportunity, Pittsburgh must now continue to look elsewhere for a solution at first base. But, what a sight it would have been to see two former and popular KBO teammates playing again in the MLB.
