New Additions to the Blog

In an attempt to expand the blog a bit and showcase some of the inserts from my collection, I have added a few more pages over the last few days. I added pages for autos, jersey cards, #'d super star cards.

You can check them out in the sidebar on the right or click the links below.

Autos: http://kbocollection.blogspot.kr/p/blog-page_9.html
Jerseys Cards: http://kbocollection.blogspot.kr/p/jerseys.html
Super Stars: http://kbocollection.blogspot.kr/p/super-star.html

2017 WBC - My Time at the Gocheok Sky Dome

There were big expectations for Team Korea entering into the 2017 WBC even though they possibly had the weakest line-up that they have ever taken to the WBC. Key MLB and KBO talent was absent from Team Korea after injuries, surgeries, MLB spring training commitments, and off field incidents. After strong finishes in 2006, 2009, and a first round exit in 2013, this was supposed to be the year that they redeemed themselves but that wasn't quite the case. The 2017 WBC saw Team Korea exit in the first round once again.

In the opening game for Team Korea, a 2-1 loss, bats pretty much didn't exist as they only posted 7 hits with 6 of them coming from 3 players. Min Byung-hun, Son Ah-seop, and Seo Geon-chang seemed to be the only players that were swinging with any confidence that day. The pitching wasn't much better with Jang Won-jun walking in the first of the 2 runs scored by Israel. The final and game winning run was given up by Lim Chang-yong. The only bright spot on the mound that night was Oh Seung-hwan, the lone MLB pitcher, as he threw 20 pitches over 1.1 innings and struck out 3 of the 5 batters he faced.

The second game against the Netherlands, a 5-0 loss, was a total disaster with the bats cold again and the pitchers giving up the long ball. In game 2 Korea only managed 6 hits with Min Byung-hun and Son Ah-seop both going 1-3. If you are wondering why I keep mentioning those two, it's because they were the only 2 that batted with any consistency. Now on to the horrible pitching. The started Woo Kyu-min wasted no time giving up a huge 2 run shot to Jurickson Profar in the bottom of the 1st. He gave up another run in the 2nd inning and Won Jong-hyun pretty much extinguished any hope that Korea may have had after giving up a 2 run shot to Rudolf Oduber in the 6th.

The third game finally brought a win and a look at what Korea could have done in the first 2 games if their bats had warmed up. In that game Korea managed to put bats on the ball (18 hits) and runs on the board in an 11-8 victory over Chinese Taipei. In that game 5 players had multiple hits with Kim Jae-ho leading the way by going 3-4. The pitching was rocky once again with the exception of Oh Seung-hwan who threw 23 pitches over 2 innings and getting the win for Korea.

While it wasn't a great series for Korea, I did enjoy getting to go to the stadium to see Team Korea play a couple of games. The only bright side, other than my green wig, of this WBC was Korea getting 1 win in the first round Korea managing to get another shot at the next WBC title without having to go through qualifiers.

The Jokbal Edition: Oh Jae-il

Oh Jae-il (2016-17 Super Star Baseball Card Black Edition)

Being a hefty guy, I love a nice plate of jokbal (pigs' feet) and a glass of soju. With that being said, during a drunken stupor at a Doosan game last season me and a group of friends began to comment how it looked like there were some players that could take down a platter of jokbal after a game. It all started with Oh Jae-il.

During the player songs, we enjoy having a laugh and changing the words to the songs as a sort of parody. Oh Jae-il's entry song is 봄바람 (Spring Breeze) by 이문세 (Lee Mun-sae). The song starts off saying "Like the spring breeze" (봄바람 처럼) in Korean and we decided to sing "I love that jokbal" one night. From that day forward we loved the idea of imagining groups of KBO players sitting around a big table of jokbal and soju after the games.

Oh Jae-il's Entry Song

Now, for a little bit about Oh Jae-il. Oh, born October 29, 1986, is a big guy at 187cm tall and 95kg. In the field he primarily starts at 1st base, but he does switch out between 1st and DH from time to time with Nick Evans who spent time in the MiLB, MLB, and NPB. Oh was drafted by the Hyundai Unicorns in the 2nd 2005 draft in the 3rd round and was the 24th player selected.

In his early years he spent most of his time bouncing between the KBO and the Futures League (KBO minors) and he had no appearances in the KBO between 2006 and 2009. It wasn't until 2012, when he signed with the Doosan Bears, that he settled into a slightly more stable roll in the KBO. He has still spent time bouncing between the Futures League and KBO with the Bears, but he did start to get a lot more playing time in the KBO after joining the Bears

Last season, 2016, was his standout season in the KBO as he went on to break 0.300 for the first time in his KBO career and set career highs in pretty much category. In 2016, Oh managed a 0.316 AVG, 105 games, 27 HR, 92 RBI, 64 BB, and a 0.411 OBP. To me, one of the most impressive things from last season was his ability to work the counts and draw walks. In any given game, he could easily tack on 15 pitches to the starters pitch count.

So in honor of Oh Jae-il (the original jokbal), my friends, and that night, I have decided to start a series of KBO jokbal baseball card posts.

2014-15 Super Star Baseball Blue Edition Box Break (슈퍼스타 베이스볼카드 블루에디션)

Card of the Week: Min Byung-hun (Week 12)

Min Byung-hun (민병헌) is an outfielder for the back to back champion Doosan Bears. He typically plays right field, but he also spends some time in center during the season. Min was drafted by Doosan in 2006 in the second round and has spent his entire KBO career with Doosan. He also spent 2 seasons playing with the National Police Team in the Futures League from 2011 until 2013.

After returning from the Futures league in 2013, Min had his first KBO season with an average above 0.300. That season he batted 0.319 with 9 HR, 65 RBIs, and an OBP of 0.387. He has continued his over 0.300 average in every season since then with his career high coming in 2014 at 0.345.

In this past season he finished with an average of 0.325 and career highs in HR (16), RBI (87), and OBP (0.396). He was also named the MVP during the 2016 KBO All-star Game. During that game he went 3 for 3 with one walk and 2 HR. He is best known for his near flawless play in the outfield, having only committed 7 errors in 10 KBO seasons, and his arm strength. He is also known as a player that can hit anywhere in the top half of the order. Right now he is playing with Team Korea in the WBC, which will start on March 6, 2017 at the Gocheok Dome in Seoul.

However, his 2018 season with Doosan will be in question since he has already announced he will enter into free agency.

I hope Doosan comes up with the money to keep him since I am a Doosan fan and he is also my favorite KBO player, but if they don't keep him I will still be a Min Byung-hun fan and a Doosan fan.

2014-15 Super Star Baseball Blue Edition - Super Auto (#'d 05/10)

Min Byung-hun Cheer Song (ABBA - Honey Honey)

Card of the Week: Park Yong-taik (Week 11)

Park Yong-taik (박용택) was drafted out of Korea University back in 1998 in the second round by the LG Twins. He has been a life-long LG Twin to this point and I expect he will retire as an LG Twin. He made his KBO debut in 2002 and ended up playing in 112 games and batting 0.288 which was the highest of any rookie that year. Park has been playing in the KBO for 15 seasons and has a career batting average of 0.306 with 181 HRs and an OBP of 0.369.

In 2009, Park finished with his first and only batting title with an average of 0.372, but he has also finished in the top 10 for average in 8 of his 15 seasons. He has also claimed 3 gold gloves in his career and played in international tournaments in 1996, 1999, 2001. He was also a member of the 2006 WBC team for Korea.

Last season Park finished 5th in average at 0.346. He also had 11 HRs, 90 RBIs, and an OBP of 0.412. He was also outstanding during the 2016 KBO Wild Card series going 3-7 against the KIA Tigers and the 2016 KBO First Round Playoffs going 6-15 against the Nexen Heroes. However, he didn't fair as well against the 2nd place NC Dinos in the second round of the playoffs. He only went 1-14 against the Dinos in 4 games.

At the end of the day, Park is always a threat to get on base and even steal a base. I think his player cheer song, which says "Invincible LG Park Yong-taik," does him justice.

2016-17 Super Star Baseball Card Black Edition Jersey Card (#'d 22/40)

Park Yong-taik Cheer

Card of the Week: Yoo Hee-kwan (Week 10)

Over the last few weeks there has been plenty of talk about Yoo Hee-kwan in Korean sports news. There have been a few articles about him and his possible inclusion (which didn't happen) in the WBC. If you take a look at his 2016 season numbers you may say that he looks pretty good and should have gotten a shot.

2016 Stats (KBO w/Doosan)

ERA	W-L	SV	HLD	SO	BB	IP
4.41	15-6	0	0	102	58	185 2/3

For those that don't follow the KBO or don't really know about Yoo, his numbers look fine and he has done really well over the past years posting a record of 55-27 since 2013. So what is the issue with a guy that is putting up good numbers? The issue is his underwhelming power as a pitcher. Yoo's average fastball comes in at just under 80 mph and his other pitches are usually down in the low 70's and upper 60's.

While his ball speeds may be something to scoff at, he makes the best of what he does by being accurate and using ball placement. That combined with the typically hot bats of Doosan make a perfect combination to put wins under his belt. He is also pretty good for a laugh with his on field and off field joking ways. That's why I think it would have been interesting to see him on the squad for Team Korea. Anyway, there is always another shot for him in the future.

Yoo Hee-Kwan 2015 Super Star Baseball Series 2 Super Piece (#'d 09/40)

Yoo as Eric Thames in charity game

Yoo with Band Aid Nipples after 2015 Korean Series Win

Yoo as Iron Man after 2016 Korean Series Win