Minnesota Twins 1B/DH Byung-ho Park may be struggling, but he has unlocked a whole new fanbase for the small-market club in his native Korea.
Baseball is an increasingly global game, and Major League Baseball is always looking to expand its reach to other regions and territories. When star players from other countries come to the United States to make their marks, fans from back home continue following their exploits, driving new interest in MLB and its clubs.
The Minnesota Twins have experienced this after signing South Korean slugger Byung-ho Park during the offseason. The 29-year-old Park played nine seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) with the LG Twins and Nexen Heroes, becoming one of the league’s most prominent faces. In 2015, he enjoyed his most impressive year yet, slashing .343/.436/.714 with 53 home runs and 146 RBI. It seemed like as good a time as any to move on to a bigger stage.
The Twins tend to be overlooked domestically, but Park’s arrival certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed in his native land. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger recently paid a visit to Seoul and discovered an abundance of Twins merchandise in honor of Park’s current home:
Checked out an MLB store in Seoul and there was a ton of Twins gear because of Byung Ho Park pic.twitter.com/o9r0PyisSV
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 27, 2016
He also reported many sightings of fans wearing Park jerseys and Twins gear at Gocheok Sky Dome, the venue where the Nexen Heroes play. Additionally, the Twins have laid the groundwork for new marketing partnerships with major Korean companies like LG and Samsung.
Major League Baseball has seen international stars create massive business opportunities before. Ichiro Suzuki joining the Seattle Mariners in 2001 was an unprecedented boon for the MLB brand in Japan, paving the way for others such as Hideki Matsui with the New York Yankees.
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Korea has become the latest hotspot for talent making the jump to American baseball. A handful of Korean players have already enjoyed notable careers in MLB, names like Chan Ho Park, Byung-Hyun Kim and Shin-Soo Choo. However, the surprising success of Jung Ho Kang last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates caused a bit of a run on Korean talent over the winter.
Five Korean players have already debuted in the major leagues in 2016. Several have made significant impacts, such as Mariners first baseman Dae-ho Lee, Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim and Cardinals reliever Seung-hwan Oh. MLB teams will surely continue looking closely at the KBO for years to come.
Of course, Park has been considerably less successful through his first three months in Minnesota. Though he leads American League rookies with 12 home runs, he hasn’t brought much else to the table so far. His struggles in June have dragged his batting average below the Mendoza line, and his slash sits at a meager .191/.275/.409 after 62 games.
Park’s rocky start seems to have done little to dampen Korean fans’ excitement and enthusiasm, however. Aside from the influx of Twins hats and jerseys, Minnesota games are often featured on Korean television to allow fans to keep an eye on their hero – while also increasing the rest of the club’s international exposure.
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Regardless of performance, there is always a special pride in watching a native son play at the game’s highest level, strengthening the bond between Major League Baseball and international markets. It should be intriguing to watch how the league’s popularity continues to grow in South Korea and elsewhere.