Seo Returns to Korean Baseball League

Seo Jae-eung (30) arrived at Incheon International Airport on a cheery note on December 11. He said “I will pour all my heart and soul into KBO now that I have given up vying for a place in the Major Leagues.”

He added that he will try his best to lead his home team, Kia, (Formerly known as Haitai) to a championship.

Seo explained that it feels bittersweet to leave his 10-year struggle in Major League Baseball behind him.

He left for the U.S. in 1998, and recorded 28 wins and 40 losses since then. His stats recently slipped to 3 wins and 4 losses with an ERA of 8.13 last year. He was demoted to playing for the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the end of the season.

Seo made his decision to return to Korea soon afterward.

“The chances of me playing in the Major Leagues seemed miniscule. I was offered a place with Lotte, but I felt living in Japan would prove to be difficult for my family. So I decided to come back home when I could still play.”

He also said that he was extremely happy to be back home.

“Kia may have had the worst record in the league last year, but that happens. If the coaching staff and the players work hard together, we should be able to do better next season. I will do my best to help Kia with a championship,” he said.

In response to skeptics who say that Seo is past his prime, he replied, “I’ll let my pitching do the talking.” Even while playing in the Major Leagues, Seo has a reputation for accuracy rather than velocity. He will ensure that the local crowd gets a taste of his pinpoint accurate pitching.

Seo signed with Kia for $800,000, consisting of a $500,000 salary and a $200,000 option, totaling $1.5 million. That is $50,000 shy of his teammate Choi Hee-seop’s salary deal.

“This is the 3rd contract that exceeds $1million in my career, including my contracts with Tampa Bay and the Mets. I am grateful for Kia’s display of appreciation.”

Seo claims that his number 1 priority is getting adjusted to KBO baseball. He is willing to make necessary changes to adjust his game to suit the needs of his team.

When asked whether he would participate in the 2nd qualifying round for the Beijing Olympics held in Taiwan in March next year, he said, “First and foremost I need to adjust to my team.”

Because Seo has not pitched since September, he plans to participate in team practices and then decide whether to join the national team.

A ceremony will be held at the Kia staff office on the 17th to welcome Seo, and he will join his teammates in Guam early next year for training.

beetlez@donga.com