KBO League

Right.

They were creative two years ago and went and got Kyle Hart out of the KBO, and that didn't work.

And then this year, he's been actually, he was actually pretty solid, okay-ish in relief.

Did he pitch in the playoffs?

"I, I need s- six outs so we can go eight, nine, and then close the thing out." That's fascinating to think about That you would rather give the ball to your seventh starter than give the ball to, like, your third or fourth reliever.

Because I, I think that's very much a conversation in leagues like KBO and NPB, where I do think the bullpens get a little thin when you get to a certain point in, in, in the league.

Yeah.

And so you pick the Lions to win this series, right?

Yeah.

So Hank, you, uh, coached in the KBO, Korean Baseball Organization, with the Lotte Giants before he came back to the States.

How is the game taught over there versus how is it taught here? Are there any big stylistic differences? And what does a player...

What does player development actually look like over, uh, in that league?

I think most of the teams there, they only got one minor league system, quote, unquote, uh, the deve- developmental league.

So developing a lot of these younger players alongside with the big league team on a daily basis was probably the biggest challenge, but it was probably the most exciting thing showing up every single day to the ballpark, is getting to like have these guys constantly learn.

And just having the patience of just understanding that they have to learn at the KBO big league level, and just continue to kind of progress, develop, and, you know, shape, shape these baseball players.

Um, I wanna piggyback off that.

What is it, Dan?

In Korea's Pro Baseball League, or the KBO, the LG Twins had a big win in one of the final games of the season.

It's their final home game that helped the team secure a comfortable position for the postseason.

My Twins has had a tough second half of the season, so every win counts for My Twins.

... it's, it's really crazy how similar these two are.

Um, but, uh, Choi Ji-Man, uh, was drafted by the KT Wiz in the second round of the KBO draft.

[laughs]

That's 15th overall.

...

he had to be drafted

... yeah, you might be asking yourself, how is a, I believe, 35 year old, um, getting drafted, uh [laughs] in the KBO draft? Uh, it is because he is technically considered a rookie by KBO standards because he's never played in the KBO, even though he did play in, um, Major League Baseball.

Um, he left MLB in 2025 after he had a stint in the Mets' Triple-A system.

... kicks in.

Like, you'll see guys, like the first inning of work that they have in the postseason, especially a guy like that who's just been this journeyman, like, played in the KBO, and now he's back, like, he has all this adrenaline, and you just pump like three miles per hour more than you usually do.

His velocity's been pretty impressive and pretty unexpected, hasn't it, like, when you've seen him in the postseason?

Yeah, maybe 'cause, yeah, like Tyler was saying, he knew he had two innings in his last outing, and that was it.

Uh, that's my only play so far.

I'm going more in on the KBO, uh, tomorrow, or tonight.

Um, I'm putting those plays up.

But yeah, I do have one play that I like in this one.