The international pastime

Sporting News, The, May 6, 1996 by Steve Marantz

I was prepared to dislike the Dodgers this year. They made arrogant-sounding comments in spring about winning their division. My feeling was voiced in the sarcastic reaction of Giants manager Dusty Baker: "I guess the rest of us must be playing for second place then, huh?"

That's the way it has been for years. The Dodgers always are too rich and successful. O'Malley ownership is too stable and smart. Tommy Lasorda is too Hollywood. Chavez Ravine is too beautiful. Three million fans show up through sun and smog, thick and thin. It's enough to stir envy in anybody who didn't grow up surfing Malibu Beach and listening to Vin Scully. Even when the Dodgers don't win everything they make the rest of us feel like we re in second place.

But in preparing to dislike the Dodgers I had not counted on a phenomenon--Chan Ho Park. A 22-year-old Korean righthander, Park is one of the fascinating stories of the young season. On the field, Park may tilt the balance of power in the N.L. West. Off the field, he is a symbol of ethnic pride and assimilation. Leave it to the Dodgers to make socio-sports history--again--50 years after Jackie Robinson broke in with their Class AAA Montreal club.

Sure, it's a bit early to draw conclusions about Park. He throws hard (95 mph) and changes speeds, while his control and command are marginal. Nonetheless, Park dominated enough in his first start this season, one-hitting the Marlins for five innings, that it's not hard to envision him as the next, well, Hideo Nomo.

You remember Nomo--the socio-sport phenomenon of 1995. Nomo is still phenomenating--three-hitting the Braves, and striking out 17 Marlins. NomoMania is alive and well--109 Japanese media credentials were issued for Nomo's first start at Dodger Stadium. Japanese businessmen still fly in from Tokyo to see Nomo pitch, and Japanese Americans still turn out in large numbers at his games. But the buzz around Nomo is old.

Park is new--yet another talent and marketing coup for the Dodgers. He is the first Korean to make the majors, and, as such, is a source of pride to millions of Koreans and Korean Americans. More than 100,000 are estimated to live in southern California, more than enough to make Dodger Stadium resound--as it did April 11 for his first start of `96--with shouts of "Park Chan Ho!", the native configuration of his name.

Korean media were issued 60 credentials for his first start. Munhwa Broadcasting, televising his first start to Korea, reported 5.3 million viewers. Korean-language radio KBLA is going to broadcast his starts at home and on the road.

Park's emergence resonates on several levels:

* Talent. American executives hope more Korean youngsters will aspire to the major leagues. There are an estimated five players in Korea's professional league believed to be of major league caliber. "Think of the interest generated in baseball in Korea and Japan by Park and Nomo," says Fred Claire, Dodgers executive vice president. "Imagine the inspiration Chan Ho and Hideo have given those two countries." Limitations on player movement between the Pacific Rim and the United States can be eliminated or circumvented once U.S. owners and players put their minds to it.

* Marketing. The Dodgers, to their ever-loving credit, are tapping another ethnic fan base, helping not only themselves, but all of baseball, as well. They insist that marketing is a secondary consideration to talent but do not deny that when talent is equal, marketing may tip the scale. It cannot be coincidental that the only two Asian Americans in the majors play for the Dodgers, who reach out to more than 1 million Asians and Pacific Islanders (1990 census) in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area. The Marlins spent big money to sign Cuban pitcher Livan Hernandez; other clubs in cosmopolitan cities are sure to become more responsive to their ethnic populations.

* Human relations. "On-field" corks will find this brain-fatiguing, but it may be the most important piece.

Park's high profile, as well as Nomo's, helps soften a stereotype victimizing Asian Americans. The "model citizen" stereotype depicts them as uniformly smart, motivated, industrious and law-abiding. Athleticism is not part of it.

"The great enthusiasm for (Park and Nomo) indicates a great hunger in Asian communities for heroes and role models in all forms," says Michael Woo, a Chinese American who lost a bid for mayor of Los Angeles in 1993, drawing 46 percent of the vote. "It says something about Asian Americans looking for achievement in areas not considered typical of Asian Americans."

Park's role as cultural ambassador goes further. Centuries of hate and mistrust characterize Japanese and Korean relations. Japan occupied Korea as recently as World War II. Koreans say Japanese do not accept them as social or business equals.

When Park toiled in the minors in 1994 and `95, during Nomo's emergence, he shared the frustration of Korean fans. This spring, Park described the pressure he felt to make the club: "It's very difficult The Korean people have big hopes for me. They look at Nomo and say, ,Look how good he is doing., Everything is Japan, Japan, Japan. Look, Nomo is Japanese, right? I'm Korean. I've got to be like Nomo--or do even more than Nomo. I just have to."