Links to some articles about Korean baseball

For those of you new to Korean baseball and the KBO, or those of you who have been following it, but are interested in some historical information about it, below is a list of links to articles that I wrote a few years back, between 2014-2016. I just thought I'd collect all the links here in one place. I hope you find the articles interesting and entertaining.

Historical Articles:

Baseball in Korea goes back further than you might think
This article looks at the earliest references to baseball being played in Korea.

Why Koreans call baseball 'yagu'
This article looks at some of the early Korean words for 'baseball' and offers a possible explanation of why baseball is called 'yagu' in Korean.

St. Louis Cardinals played in Korea in 1958
An article about when the St. Loius Cardinals played a baseball game in Korea in 1958.

When Hank Aaron came to Korea
An article about the two trips Hank Aaron made to Korea in 1982, including the Atlanta Braves minor league goodwill tour with Ernie Banks and Billy Williams.

When 'mercenaries' first invaded the KBO
An article about the first group of foreigner players in the KBO in 1998.

Lee Seung-yuop all-time best hitter
This article is a recap of the 2015 Spring Conference for the Society of Korean Baseball Studies (SKB). The article focuses on a panel discussion with former KBO greats on the topic of the all-time best hitter in KBO history.

Interviews:

Eric Thames of NC Dinos, a hit on and off field
A feature piece on MLB player and past KBO star of the NC Dinos and his life in Korea.

Oh Seung-hwan, 'Final Boss,' seeks new opponents in MLB
An interview with Korean pitcher Oh Seung-hwan of the Samsung Lions about his career and pitching in Japan.

Lee Dae-ho has right attitude for MLB success
Interview with Lee Dae-ho of the Lotte Giants about his experiences playing baseball in Japan.

Bridging the Gap
An interview with Ryan Sadowski, ex-MLB and KBO pitcher and current international scout for the Kia Tigers. The interview is related to cultural adjustments players need to make when playing in a foreign baseball league.

Baseball fans help grieving American
A couple of Korean baseball fans and a KBO player reach out to an American in Arizona to help him deal with the loss of his brother.

Profitable 2nd league team? Goyang Dinos think it's possible
A look at some of the business ideas of a minor league (Futures League) team, Goyang Dinos, in Korea.

As always, if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to ask on twitter or in the comments section.

KBO Players From Around the World

Teams in the KBO are allowed to have three non-Korean players (aka foreign players) on their roster. This number has been different in the past, but currently it is three per team. Teams have to have a mix of position players and pitchers, for example two pitchers and one hitter or two hitters and one pitcher. Foreign players have been playing in the KBO since 1998. I wrote an article about the first year of foreign players titled When 'mercenaries' first invaded the KBO.

I have left off players from the United States, as that is where most of the players in 1998 came from. If you are interested in seeing the rest of the players from 1998, you can check out the link to the above mentioned article or look at this old post.

Below is a list of players who were the first from their country to play in the KBO:

1998 – Eddie Cacerres (에드가 캐세레스) / IF (내야수) / Venezuela (베네수엘라) / OB Bears

1998 – Joel Chimelis (조엘 치멜리스) / IF (내야수) / Venezuela (베네수엘라) / Hanwha Eagles

1998 – Jose Parra (호세 파라) / Pitcher (투수) / Dominican Republic (도미니카 공화국) / Samsung Lions

1998 – Junior Felix (쥬니어 펠릭스 / 후니오르 펠릭스)  / OF (외야수) / Dominican Republic (도미니카 공화국) / LG Twins

2000 – Hensley Meulens (헨슬리 뮬렌 ) / OF (외야수) / Curaçao (퀴라소) / SK Wyverns

2001 – Shayne Bennett (셰인 베넷)  / Pitcher (투수) / Australia (오스트레일리아) / Doosan Bears

2001 – Carlos Baerga (카를로스 비에르가) / (2B) IF (내야수) / Puerto Rico (푸에르토리코) / Samsung Lions

2002 – Lenin Picota (레닌 피코타) / RHP (투수) / Panama (파나마 공화국) / Hanwha Eagles

2002 – Narciso Elvira (나르시소 엘비라) / Pitcher (투수) / Mexico (멕시코) / Samsung Lions

2003 – Satoshi Iriki (이리키 사토시) / Pitcher (투수) / Japan (일본) / Doosan Bears

2003 – Mike Johnson (마이크 존슨) / RHP (투수) / Canada (캐나다) / Kia Tigers

2010 – Francisley Bueno (프랜시슬리 부에노) / LHP (투수) / Cuba / (쿠바) / Hanwha Eagles

2013 – Rick VandenHurk (릭 반덴허크) / Pitcher (투수) / the Netherlands (네덜란드) / Samsung Lions

2016 – Sugar Ray Marimon (슈가 레이 마리몽) / RHP (투수) / Columbia (콜롬비아) / KT Wiz

2016 – Alex Maestri (알렉스 마에스트리) / RHP (투수) / Italy (이탈리아) / Hanwha Eagles

2018 – Wei Chung Wang (왕웨이중) / LHP (투수) / Taiwan (대만) / NC Dinos

Korean Baseball Resources Revisited

Years ago I published a post on resources for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in English. Since then, much of the information has changed, so I'm posting this as an updated version. This page is meant to be a resource for people who are looking for Korean baseball information in English. Most of the links in this post are related to the KBO and contemporary baseball in Korea.  I will regularly update this post when I find new information and will try to make sure all the links are current.

English website for KBO Teams
In the past, some teams had websites in English, but after checking all the teams' sites, I don't believe any teams have them anymore.

Sites
Official KBO English Site
KBO's official English website

MyKBO
The most extensive and up-to-date site for information and news about Korean baseball.

Japanese Baseball
Despite it being a Japanese baseball site, the link above will take you to the KBO News Forum on the site. It's a great site with many very knowledgeable participants about baseball in general and especially baseball in Asia.

True Stories of Korean Baseball - Last updated 2014
A blog with game highlights, information and news about the KBO that started in 2009. I have been told that there will be no new posts, however, there is still a great amount of information on it to be discovered.

Bang the Jang-gu Slowly - Last updated in 2013
A personal blog by baseball fan 'Angry' Steve about the Lotte Giants and Korean baseball.

The Baseball Journeyman - KBO section last updated April 2012
Information about baseball in South Korea, especially good posts on the various stadiums and interviews with people about Korean baseball.

The Baseball Guru
This has some basic information about Korean baseball, but has not been updated in some time though.

Korean Baseball Blog - Has not been updated recently.
Only a total of 17 posts

Baseball Reference
Baseball Reference's page about the KBO.

You can find articles written about the current season in the sports section of the two largest Korean English newspapers and some other Korean news outlets:
The Korea Times
Korea Herald
Yonhap News

On Twitter
Mainly KBO
@kballhistory
@MyKBO
@BaseballinKorea
@Jeeho_1
@KoreaSABR


On Wikipedia
Current KBO Team Rosters - Current team rosters of KBO teams
Baseball Stadiums - A list of the baseball stadiums in South Korea
Korea Baseball Organization - Governing body for pro baseball leagues in Korea
Korea Baseball Championship - Also know as 프로야구, the highest level pro baseball league in Korea
Korea Baseball Futures League - Korean minor league
Korea Baseball Association - Governing body for amateur baseball in Korea

On Facebook
KBO in English
SABR Korea Chapter
MyKBO


Books
Taking in a Game: The History of Baseball in Asia by Joseph A. Reaves
Baseball without Borders: The International Pastime

Once again, if you know of any information that is missing, please leave a comment or feel free to contact me and I will work on getting it up. I been away from posting about Korean baseball for about five years, so sorry if I've missed some things.