Chronicling Byungho Park's Struggles

[Doomtints]

Park started out much better than I expected from him as I was skeptical that he would ever hit well in the MLB. Then the bottom fell out. I'm still not certain what happened. I can buy it that his injury messed up his timing, but we won't know until he gets out there again.

[prouster]

On a side note, it seems like there is a unique concern about KBO players adjusting to MLB velocity. Obviously it's a change and surely not everyone can make that change, but we never talk about college or HS draft picks or even AAA hitters in terms of struggling to adapt to MLB velocity. With American kids it's always about if they can adjust to hit breaking and off speed stuff.

 

After all isn't the age old (though exaggerated) conversation something along the lines of 'Anyone can hit a 100 mph fastball, it's the breaking stuff that is going to prevent that kid from hitting in the big leagues.'?

Well, no high school or college player is drafted as a 28 year old who is expected to crack the opening day lineup.

[Parker Hageman]

my question is just a generality since this velocity stuff was what we heard about when Park was signed and before that with Kang. I don't question why people would worry about it.

 

 

Actually, Park's struggles are much different than that of Kang and other KBO converts. 

 

Kang, Kim and Lee all had batting averages over .300 against velocity over 93 MPH. Two years ago, Kang had one of the highest averages against high velocity fastballs (link) 

 

Was it truly the competition and the velocity in the major leagues that bested Park? On one hand, prior to his signing, scouts did express concern over his ability to catch up to inside fastballs. On the other, hitters who graduated from the Korean league have done quite well against these exact same type of fastballs. Pittsburgh’s Jung Ho Kang, Baltimore’s Hyun Soo Kim and Seattle Dae Ho Lee all had averages over .300 on fastballs over 93 MPH this year. Not being able to face elite velocity while developing in Korea certainly did not hinder their careers.

 

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Again, I'm not disagreeing, the ability or inability to catch up to a fastball should be a concern. I'll try to be more clear.

 

Why is this concern always talked about with Korean players, but rarely if ever talked about with everyone else?

Because high school kids will have 5 or 6 years in the minors to learn how to catch up to a fastball.

Guys coming over from Korea in their prime have to be able to adjust on the fly right away.

[Platoon]

A lot has to do with the type of swing, and if it's long, it's never going to catch up with a good FB. And if it would be easy to adjust a long swing, there would be a lot more great MLB hitters than there are currently playing. I noticed several things last year, before and after he arrived. His video from KBL showed a guy hitting some very big lollipops a very long way, kind of like a slow pitch player. And when he played here, he struggled with the FB, and hit some mistakes a long way. But then his swings and misses at breaking stuff got kind of crazy, and seemed to include a lot of half swings. It seemed he was jumping the FB, and when someone threw a off speed pitch in a FB count, he was completely fooled. As for players who came from here as high school or college kids, if you haven't shown an ability to hit a good FB at the school level, you likely won't even get drafted. It might be the number one prerequisite to get a MiLB contract as a hitter. Did I think he had enough opportunity to adjust? Not really. That would have required a trip back after a successful AAA stint. Do I think he will eventually succeed? Not really. That said, I hope he does, by all accounts he's a good guy. And one likes to see those kind of players make it.

[HitInAPinch]

 

velocity was a question coming into last year, and it certainly doesn't surprise me that he struggled there. The question as I see it is this:

 

Is it a timing thing or a bat speed thing?

 

One is fixable via repetition. The other is why most of us aren't MLB hitters.

 

I would have expected some of that this season to be honest. I'd also be curious what he got to see for speed in AAA, not just MLB.  Do we see improvements there or is it more of the same.

I guess I'd add the question: At the time of Park's dramatic dive, was his wrist already hurt?  Yes, it's very true that there would be a large difference between MLB and KBO pitchers.  I'm just curious if there was something else in play. He’s been outrighted to Rochester and will compete in Major League camp.  So we'll get another look.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I guess I'd add the question: At the time of Park's dramatic dive, was his wrist already hurt?  Yes, it's very true that there would be a large difference between MLB and KBO pitchers.  I'm just curious if there was something else in play. He’s been outrighted to Rochester and will compete in Major League camp.  So we'll get another look.

 

Whole heartedly agree on that. It's a valid point as well. I'd note that other people have come over from the KBO and succeeded, so I don't think it's as simple as velocity. If guys like Kang could do it, there's no reason to think Park cannot. Now, I get that he's a different hitter, and perhaps that will be part of it, but when he was hot, I do remember a lot of people being very impressed with the way he approached each PA. Yeah, he still struck out a lot, but not due to flailing at pitches out of the zone. Pitchers will have to throw him strikes, and he can punish a mistake.

 

I personally think they gave up on him a bit too quick. Now I suppose he could end up back on the 40 man in quite easily, especially when guys like DSan and Boshers still have a spot, but I do hope he gets another chance if he's healthy and hitting.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Because high school kids will have 5 or 6 years in the minors to learn how to catch up to a fastball.

Guys coming over from Korea in their prime have to be able to adjust on the fly right away.

to go with this, in the minors almost everyone throws hard, but only the elite command of breaking and offspeed continue to advance through the minors so high schoolers going through the minors don't see the best of the ancillary pitches until AA. KBO players I assume had the same experience with breaking balls but already went through the process of learning how to read them when they get to MLB.