Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 13, 1994 TAG: 9403130161
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With a bow to the umpire, a 94-mph hesitation pitch and a "sheer determination" to go straight to the major leagues, 20-year-old Chan Ho Park is the rookie sensation of the Los Angeles Dodgers' training camp and an increasingly likely member of their regular-season roster.
"I can't tell you right now, it's too early," manager Tom Lasorda said when asked if Park would be with the Dodgers when they open the National League season. "I can tell you this: I'm very, very impressed with a lot of different things about him."
Signed for $1.2 million out of South Korea's Han Yang University, Park is eager to become the fifth player of Asian descent to reach the majors. With the Dodgers, he would be a tailor-made hero - about 500,000 Koreans live in the Los Angeles area.
It all harkens back to 1981, when another 20-year-old pitcher tapped an ethnic pool for the Dodgers and became an instant folk hero. Fernandomania enveloped Dodger Stadium every time Fernando Valenzuela pitched, and the left-hander from Mexico thrilled an ever-growing following by winning his first eight big-league starts.
How about Chan Ho mania?
"Obviously, if something like that happens, I would have achieved something," Park said. "That would make me very happy."
Lasorda was the Dodgers' manager during the Fernando era and wouldn't mind seeing a repeat with Park.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with that," Lasorda said. "Besides the physical part, he's got a tremendous attitude, poise, confidence and charisma."
Park will make his second appearance of the exhibition season today when he starts against the Montreal Expos at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps not, that Park was selected to pitch in a game being televised back to Los Angeles.
It will be the third time Park has pitched for the Dodgers - the first was in an intra-squad game, the second a three-inning shutout stint against the New York Mets in an exhibition game Monday.
Apparently, the first two outings were enough to convince a lot of people in the Dodgers organization that the 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander had the ability and other ingredients to pitch in the majors without a stint in the minors.
"That's why we're in spring training," said Fred Claire, LA's general manager. "He had fun out there [pitching against the Mets], and I had fun watching him."
The Dodgers signed Park to a minor-league contract in January. Park had pitched two years in college and been selected to the Korean national team before the Dodgers signed him.
If he makes the majors, he would join Masanori Murakami, Atlee Hammaker, Mike Lum and Lenn Sakata as big league players with Asian roots.
by CNB