The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    INTERVIEWAhn Hyo-seop wanted to share dedicated love with 'A Time Called You'

  • 3

    SHINee launches first Japan tour in 5 years

  • 5

    Korea makes last-ditch bid to host World Expo 2030 in Busan

  • 7

    Heavy traffic jams mostly eased on 5th day of holiday

  • 9

    Public transit fares to increase in Seoul and Busan this week

  • 11

    Samsung chief visits Middle East to explore new businesses

  • 13

    Korea picks up 2 medals in table tennis as gold drought continues

  • 15

    Ruling party vows to investigate China's alleged influence operations

  • 17

    Shin-Hanul No. 2 nuclear reactor begins testing for full operation next year

  • 19

    4 injured in rockfall at tourist attraction on eastern island of Ulleung

  • 2

    Korea's Coast Guard apprehends 22 Chinese after illegal entry attempt

  • 4

    Distraught roller skater apologizes for costly premature celebration

  • 6

    S. Korea wins 1st table tennis gold in 21 yrs

  • 8

    Consumers to face higher prices for daily necessities after Chuseok

  • 10

    LA-based photographer captures Koreatown unfazed by pandemic

  • 12

    No regrets for roller skaters after taking silver in relay

  • 14

    National Assembly speeds up efforts to outlaw dog meat consumption in Korea

  • 16

    'Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman' tops Chuseok holiday box office

  • 18

    Internet-only banks outperform legacy lenders in labor productivity

  • 20

    Genesis GV80 Coupe looks to compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
Wed, October 4, 2023 | 19:06
Baseball fans help grieving American
Posted : 2015-08-02 16:18
Updated : 2015-08-03 11:21
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Paul Vogel poses with a KT Wiz jersey signed by players. / Courtesy of Paul Vogel
Paul Vogel poses with a KT Wiz jersey signed by players.
/ Courtesy of Paul Vogel

By Patrick Bourgo


Paul Vogel, despite never having been to Korea, is a huge Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) fan and supporter of the KT Wiz, the league's newest team. Living in Arizona, he stays up late many nights to watch his team in action.

One morning in early June, he heard a knock on his door and it was UPS delivering a package from Korea. "It felt kind of like Christmas to be honest," Vogel said. "I got a fairly large box from somewhere on the other side of the planet, it was pretty cool."

In April of this year, Paul's older brother Jeremy passed away. And while Paul is no stranger to adversity -- at only 28 years old he is already a cancer survivor -- the loss of his brother was a devastating blow. A baseball fan in his youth, he decided to return to the sport to help him get through his grief, though it was not Major League Baseball (MLB) that he turned to, it was Korean baseball.

In the package he received was some gear from his favorite team, the KT Wiz, sent to him by a couple KBO fans in Korea.

While he was happy to receive the KT merchandise, the sentiment behind it meant much more to him.

"It was nice to know that people, even though you've never met in person and you may not even know someone that well, it's nice to know that some people are actually nice, especially on the Internet. So it was a pretty cool experience to see that so many people took part and contributed."

Vogel recognizes that his interest in the KBO might sound a little strange, but, "what makes it so enjoyable to me, is that every game, both teams seem like they have a pretty good chance of winning. I don't know. I just love it."

Looking for an outlet after his brother's passing, Vogel recalls, "like a week and a half, two weeks after the funeral I had remembered seeing a (Korean baseball) video on YouTube a year or two ago."

From there he began to search for more videos and information on the league, and ultimately found MyKBO.net, an English-language fan site devoted to the KBO.

After spending some time on the site, he joined the Facebook group and started posting, mostly questions at first trying to learn more about the league. "Well, everybody in the group was really nice to me when I joined and that helped," said Vogel.

It was on this message board that Paul got to know Andre Linde and Matthew Care, two rabid KBO fans living in Korea, and the ones who had sent him the KT merchandise.

Linde grew up in Oregon and came to Korea in 2010. He is a fan of the Incheon-based SK Wyverns and has followed baseball since his youth.

Care also came to Korea in 2010, but being a native of England, he is a more recent baseball convert. "I properly got into baseball around the middle of 2010 when I started going to Lotte Giants games down in Busan." These two became friends in Korea and frequently attend games together.

After hearing about Paul's situation, Linde immediately wanted to do something for him. "In 2011 my dad passed away in November and I had to wake up to that news and that was pretty crappy news to wake up to, and so that was honestly one of the reasons I wanted to do this for him, because I know what it's like to lose a member of your direct family."

Understanding the sensitivity of the situation, but also knowing that Vogel had expressed an interest in wanting to buy some KBO merchandise, Linde decided to first approach him with the idea of collecting some money and buying something for him.

After receiving Vogel's consent, Linde put up a post in the group seeing if anyone would like to pitch in some money to buy a jersey, and immediately a number of members in the group contributed, including Care.

After purchasing the jersey, Care decided to try to reach out to one of KT's players. He sent a message to Chris Oxspring, an Australian and a five year veteran of the KBO, currently a pitcher for the KT Wiz, Vogel's favorite team. "I was honestly just expecting no reply, but then Chris sent an email back within like 20 minutes."

Care brought the jersey to the stadium and met Oxspring before the game. Instead of just signing the jersey though, he got all of his teammates to sign it for Vogel, and added a few baseballs signed by KT players as well.

When asked about his motivation to contribute, Oxspring replied, "Personal reasons. When I heard why, you know, like he had a brother that passed away and stuff like that, you know that kind of touched a nerve with me, so I was willing to help out."

The KT pitcher continued, "Sometimes just the smallest gesture can mean so much to some people. You know he was looking for a new avenue to gain some enjoyment in life and to take his mind off the problems that were going on around home, so for me it was not a difficult thing to do."

While Vogel knew that Care and Linde were sending a jersey, the autographs and baseballs were totally unexpected. "Yeah, absolutely I was surprised and excited. It's cool to think that people that you like watching play a game every day, so many of them take a second to sign something for you ... it was pretty cool," said Vogel.

In addition, when packing up the gear, instead of using bubble wrap Care and Linde decided to pack it with some popular Korean snacks figuring, "let's also give him a taste of Korea."

This personal touch was not lost on Vogel. "Instead of using packing material and stuff, they used like bags of candy and stuff and different snacks, which were all delicious and helped."

He continued, "Everyone involved really went above and beyond, and they really deserve some recognition." But for Care and Linde, they are just "happy that something we did is helping him get through a tough time."

Linde, Care and Oxspring have stayed in touch with Vogel and all of them have expressed a desire in seeing him make it out to Korea, and especially get to a KT Wiz game. Unfortunately, due to the realities of life, visiting Korea anytime soon is a long shot for Vogel. "Hopefully someday I will (visit Korea), but it's more of a life goal, than one that's achievable right now."

While Vogel is still dealing with his loss, he says "This whole experience has really only made me want to go to Korea that much more." Adding, "I even started learning a little Korean."

Patrick Bourgo is a Seoul-based baseball researcher and writer. Follow him on Twitter: @kballhistory.

Emailpbourgo@gmail.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
wooribank
LG
Top 10 Stories
1Public transit fares to increase in Seoul and Busan this week Public transit fares to increase in Seoul and Busan this week
2Ruling party vows to investigate China's alleged influence operations Ruling party vows to investigate China's alleged influence operations
3Genesis GV80 Coupe looks to compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW Genesis GV80 Coupe looks to compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW
4Korean steelmakers on alert over initiation of EU carbon border tariff Korean steelmakers on alert over initiation of EU carbon border tariff
5Korean shipbuilders seek lead over Chinese rivals in selling LNG carriers to Qatar Korean shipbuilders seek lead over Chinese rivals in selling LNG carriers to Qatar
630 out of 74 major financial companies lack female board member 30 out of 74 major financial companies lack female board member
7Hyundai, Kia to extend earnings rally on strengthening dollar, solid sales Hyundai, Kia to extend earnings rally on strengthening dollar, solid sales
8Lawmakers want chairmen of financial firms held accountable over misconduct Lawmakers want chairmen of financial firms held accountable over misconduct
9Dong-A Socio Group’s honorary chairman passes away at 96Dong-A Socio Group’s honorary chairman passes away at 96
10Returning home from Chuseok holiday Returning home from Chuseok holiday
Top 5 Entertainment News
1TREASURE takes flak for excluding Dokdo from its Japan tour map TREASURE takes flak for excluding Dokdo from its Japan tour map
2Two artists' windows to light and serenity Two artists' windows to light and serenity
3Crime thriller, romance series set to roll out in October Crime thriller, romance series set to roll out in October
4Korean literature featured as animation works at Incheon Airport Korean literature featured as animation works at Incheon Airport
5[INTERVIEW] Ahn Hyo-seop wanted to share dedicated love with 'A Time Called You' INTERVIEWAhn Hyo-seop wanted to share dedicated love with 'A Time Called You'
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group