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| Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, right, poses with former Samsung Lions pitcher Kim Si-jin during the Lions' training camp in the U.S. in 1985. / Courtesy of the Los Angeles Dodgers |
By Patrick Bourgo
With players like Ryu Hyun-jin and Kang Jung-ho jumping from the KBO to MLB, exchanges between the two leagues has become commonplace. Additionally, in recent years many Korean teams have been holding their spring training at MLB team facilities in Arizona and Florida.
The KBO and MLB have a long history together, longer than many might think. It was in 1998 that the first foreigners came to play in Korea, some of them with MLB experience, including Scott Coolbaugh, Shawn Hare and Junior Felix. However, the connection between the two leagues goes back even further.
After the conclusion of the KBO's inaugural season in 1982 officials from both leagues began discussing the possibility of a KBO team visiting the United States. While the initial talks were optimistic, it was not until the spring of 1985 that anything came to fruition.
By invitation of Peter O'Mally, the Samsung Lions of Daegu were invited to train for two weeks with the Los Angeles Dodgers at their spring training facility in Vero Beach (now Historic Dodgertown). While training with the Dodgers, Samsung would play the first ever exhibition game against an MLB team in the United States. There is still a plaque at Holman Stadium commemorating the event.
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| A plaque in the Holman Stadium in Florida is seen in this photo. It was made to commemorate the first-ever professional baseball game between the Samsung Lions and the Los Angeles Dodgers held at the Holman Stadium on March 9, 1985. / Courtesy of Historic Dodgertown |
On February 28, 1985 the Lions, including then-manager Kim Young-duk, coaches, players and some front office personnel arrived in Vero Beach. Samsung's manager Kim, was a pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the top league in Japan, and the corporate league in Korea.
Among the players who made the trip were Kim Si-jin, who after his playing career ended, would go on to manage in the KBO. Lee Man-soo, who recorded the first ever hit and homerun in KBO history, was also with the team. He had just had a monster year in Korea in 1984, winning the Triple Crown. Lee also went on to a managing career in the KBO after his playing days were over, with a coaching stint in the U.S. on the Chicago White Sox. Outfielder Jang Hyo-jo was another notable name that went to Vero Beach.
During their two weeks of training, the Lions worked with Red Adams and two other Dodger instructors, Leo Posada and Chico Fernandez. In comparing Samsung to their American counterparts, the Dodgers' instructors placed their level of play to that of a Double-A team. After taking the field against the Dodgers in the exhibition game, this proved to be a pretty fair assessment.
The game between the Lions and Dodgers took place at the aforementioned Holman Stadium on March 9. The KBO commissioner Suh Jyong-chul, MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth and former MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn were all in attendance for the historic exhibition game.
Despite the game being a spring training warm-up, the Dodgers, managed by Tommy Lasorda, fielded a team of regulars, including Pedro Guerrero, Greg Brock, and current Los Angeles Angels skipper Mike Scioscia. The starting pitchers for the contest were MLB veteran Jerry Reuss for the Boys in Blue and Kim Si-jin for the Lions. Reuss pitched three innings of no-run ball, but the afternoon did not go as smoothly for his Korean counterpart.
Kim's pitching was erratic, and the friendly spring game almost turned into an international nightmare, when in the second inning, the Lions pitcher beaned Pedro Guerrero in the head. Luckily Guerrero and the rest of the Dodgers chalked the errant pitch up to nerves.
Kim continued to have control problems and almost hit the next batter, Mike Scioscia and then did hit the following batter, Greg Brock. Later that inning, Reuss launched a 3 balls and 1 strike offering 400 plus feet over the fence in left-center. The Dodgers went on to win the game 7-0, and with that, the first ever game between a KBO team and an MLB team was in the books.
The Lions left Vero Beach on March 14 to return to Korea to get ready for the start of the KBO season. The time in Florida must have paid off, as Samsung went on to win their first championship in the 1985 season. The Lions returned to train at Dodgertown in 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1997.
So while many Koreans associate the Dodgers with Park Chan-ho, the connection with Korea goes back much further. Hopefully in the near future we will be able to see an exhibition series between KBO teams and their MLB counterparts here in Korea.
A special thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Historic Dodgertown for providing the photos for this article.
Patrick Bourgo is a Seoul-based baseball researcher and writer. He can be reached at pbourgo@gmail.com.
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