"I'm not going to come to Korea..." Doosan's all-time foreign coach, Lee Seung-yeop, is cautious. Why?
"I'm not going to come to Korea..." Doosan's all-time foreign coach, Lee Seung-yeop, is cautious. Why?
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The Doosan Bears has already been considered the best team to recruit foreign players this year. How other teams have chosen players like this? Pitcher Cole Irvin (31) and outfielder Jake Cave (33), who played the entire season as an active major leaguer until last year, are among the best players who can come to Korea now in terms of career and age.안전놀이터
Irvin, a left-hander who made his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019, went through the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins and recorded a total of 134 games (93 starts, 593 innings) with 28 wins, 40 losses, 2 saves and 2 holds with an ERA of 4.54 strikeouts. He pitched ace-class pitches with 10 wins and an ERA (3.98), respectively, in the 2021-2022 full-time starting rotation during his time in Oakland.
Last year, he played in 29 games (16 starts, 111 innings) with six wins, six losses, one save, one hold, and 78 strikeouts with an earned run average of 5.11 strikeouts in 29 games (16 starts, 11 innings) for Baltimore and Minnesota. His four-seam fastball with an average speed of 91.9 miles (147.9 kilometers) per hour as a left-hander is normal in the Major League, but he ranks among the best in the KBO league and has good control of the ball. He also throws curves, cutters, and change-ups evenly, and has pitches that enable him to compete against left and right hitters. No one knew that such a player would be directly transferred to Korea, which has a cap of 1 million U.S. dollars for new foreign players. Officials and leaders of other teams are also surprised and envious, saying, "I don't know how Doosan brought such a player so fast," and "I'm not a player who would come to Korea."
"I'm grateful that I got the opportunity to play baseball every year and try to get better," said Irvin, who faced reporters at the Blacktown Baseball Stadium in Sydney, Australia, where Doosan Spring Camp was set up on the 4th (Korea Standard Time), adding, "The accommodation is located in downtown Seoul and close to the ballpark. I also considered that the surrounding facilities are English living areas. I talked about it with foreign players from other teams, and it was a considerable bonus," he said, adding that the video of Doosan's team, which appealed to this point during the negotiations, was helpful.
Left-handed outfielder Cave has also played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies since his debut with Minnesota in 2018, posting a batting average of 236 (337 hits in 1,429 at-bats) with 45 homers, 176 RBIs and an OPS of .692 in a total of 523 games during the seven seasons until last year. He is a mid- to long-distance hitter who can cover all three outfield positions, and made his presence known by hitting 13 homers in his first year in 2018. Last year, he played in 123 games, the most by an individual player, posting a batting average of 251 (81 hits in 323 at-bats) with seven homers and 37 RBIs with an OPS of .686.
It is surprising that he came to Korea the year after he played full time as a key outfielder in the Major League. "I was contacted by Korean and Japanese teams over the past few years, but I didn't think it was the right time because I had the opportunity to play in the U.S.," Cave said. "I had a good season with the Colorado Rockies last year, but for some reason, I couldn't renew my contract. I found a team that I could play every day, and it didn't matter where I came to Doosan."
His career is lower than that of Irvin and Cave, but another left-hander Jack Rogue (29) is also notable. Since his debut in 2022, he has played 19 games (10 starts, 70 innings) in the three seasons of the Major League, and recorded 3 wins, 8 losses and a 7.20 strikeout with 56 ERA until last year, but he has displayed stability in 23 games (12 starts, 90 ⅔ innings) in Triple-A last year with five wins, six losses and one save with 86 strikeouts. He is a rare left-hander with good deception, which makes it difficult for batters to adjust their timing. Throwing a sweeper on stable ball control will likely pose a fear to left-handed hitters.
Expectations are also high for Doosan in the new season, as it has strengthened three foreign players. Doosan is transforming itself into a young team with third baseman Huh Kyung-min moving to KT as an FA, shortstop Kim Jae-ho retired, and bullpen pitcher Jung Cheol-won trading to Lotte. However, if they play at once due to the large portion of foreign players in the KBO League, there is a high possibility that their performance will improve.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop, however, is cautious. He has been cautious as he suffered from repeated injuries and sluggish performances by foreign players over the past two years since taking the helm. "I hope foreign players don't exaggerate (foreign players)," Lee said with a smile, adding, "Foreign players hardly had success for the past two years except for Gerard Young last year. I am taking them carefully and cautiously because I had various issues including injury."
As he has yet to open the lid, he cautioned against overly high expectations. He does not want to burden the players even before the game begins, but he cannot completely hide his expectations. "We have prepared well. All three of them are from the Major League, and as they are highly anticipated, we need to help them adapt well," Lee said. "They have been adapting well so far. I had conversations with foreign players while having meals at the camp, but personality wise, I don't think they have to worry."