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Notable former MLB players still playing in the KBO League

By Eric Treuden

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - NOVEMBER 18: KT Wiz players celebrate after winning the Korean Series Game 4 between Doosan Bears and KT Wiz at Gocheok Skydome on November 18, 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - NOVEMBER 18: KT Wiz players celebrate after winning the Korean Series Game 4 between Doosan Bears and KT Wiz at Gocheok Skydome on November 18, 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images) /
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – NOVEMBER 24: NC Dinos players pose for media after winning the Korean Series Game Six between Doosan Bears and NC Dinos at the Gocheok Skydome on November 24, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – NOVEMBER 24: NC Dinos players pose for media after winning the Korean Series Game Six between Doosan Bears and NC Dinos at the Gocheok Skydome on November 24, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images) /

The Korean Baseball Organization, or KBO, was founded back in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The KBO level of play is often compared to somewhere between America’s Double-A and Triple-A minor-league affiliates, though it is said that the typical players in the KBO are more likely to be of major league quality than America’s Double-A level.

The KBO currently consists of 10 teams that play a total of 144 games, facing each of the other nine teams 16 times apiece. Unlike Major League Baseball, tie games are called after 12 innings in the regular season and 15 innings in the postseason. The games do not count against the team’s winning percentage. Also, the designated hitter is universal in the KBO, a rule only just recently adopted by MLB.

Just like the Indy Leagues and Mexican League, the KBO features quite a few former MLB players aiming to continue their professional careers overseas. Some players sign in Korea because of the guaranteed playing time. Some sign in Korea to get reps in hopes of returning Stateside one day.

Let’s take a look at some of the former MLB players that spent last season in the KBO.

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