Chan Ho Park, first Korean player in MLB, will throw the first pitch in the Seoul Series
Seoul Series brings Korean baseball legend Chan Ho Park back to the mound for the first game of the Major League Baseball regular season — and the first ever held in South Korea.
A retired Korean baseball legend is returning to the mound for the first game of the Major League Baseball regular season — and the first ever held in South Korea.
Former pitcher Chan Ho Park, the first Korean-born athlete to play in MLB, is scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the season opener in Seoul on Wednesday between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. Park made his debut with the Dodgers in 1994 and played with the Padres from 2005 to 2006.
“I think that it’s sort of a culmination for him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a former teammate of Park’s, told The Athletic about Park’s first pitch. “He was a pioneer as a Korean-born player to come to the States and to be a star player.”
Park will kick off a two-game “Seoul Series” between the teams at the Gocheok SkyDome, marking not only the first games of the regular season but also the first regular season games ever played in Korea.
Chan Ho Park waves to the crowd at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 2021.Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images filePark’s debut as a reliever against the Atlanta Braves forged a new path for other Korean baseball stars, including former MLB players Byung-Hyun Kim and Hyun Jin Ryu and current Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. During his 17 years in the league, Park, known as “The Korean Express,” also spent time with the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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