Go ahead, take a walk through Central Oahu Regional Park in Waipio. You can pass the time away or watch our national pastime. Hanwha in Hawaii
By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comBaseball, it's as Korean as apple ...
Korean?
Yes, the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean League are at the park for spring training workouts until March 6.
The Korean League is the Asian nation's eight-team major league, where the big stars make more than $300,000.
But the Eagles, from Daejeon City, aren't the only Korean team training on Oahu. The Doosan Bears from Seoul are practicing at Keehi Lagoon and the Kia Tigers from Kwang Ju City are working out at Ala Wai Field.
Jae Keun Ju, a senior manager with the Eagles, said team president Lee Nam Heun wanted to try Hawaii as a spring training site instead of their usual Peoria, Ariz., destination.
"If we get a championship this year, maybe we'll try again and come back to Hawaii for spring training next year," Ju said, jokingly. "If not, then we'll go back to Arizona."
The team has been pleased with the facilities, which were made available by City Hall officials in December, according to Ju. He said Eagles general manager Kyung Yeon Hwang met with Mayor Jeremy Harris to discuss the details.
"It's very cold and snowing and icy (in Korea) and we need the warm weather," Ju said. "It's good for the players' knees and shoulders."
The one drawback so far for the Eagles playing here is the occasional rainy and windy weather not found in Arizona. But, Ju said, "Hawaii is a lot warmer than Arizona."
Hanwha, a corporation involved in chemicals, banking, insurance and fireworks, owns the Eagles, who wear white uniforms with red trim.
They won the Korean Series championship in 1999 and finished fourth last year, when the Bears rose to the title. In 2000, the Hyundai Unicorns of Suwon won it all.
Major League Baseball has a big influence on baseball in Korea, and one of the country's biggest heroes is pitcher Chan Ho Park, formerly of the Los Angeles Dodgers and now with the Texas Rangers.
"That's why we have English nicknames (printed on the front of the jerseys)," said Ju, referring to the MLB's pull on the nation's baseball consciousness.
The Eagles became a reality in 1985, the year before the Korean League began.
"We did a survey, and all the fans liked the name Eagles," Ju said.
They have a Web site -- hanwhaeagles.co.kr -- which plays the team's fight song when you surf in.
Jong Hoon Jang is the Eagles' biggest star. The slugger is the league's career leader in home runs with 320. He won the home run title three times and is a two-time MVP.
Two longtime veterans lead the pitching staff -- 29-year-old righty Mincheol Jeong and 36-year-old lefty Jin Woo Song.
They also have power-hitting catcher Do Hyung Lee, who helped the Bears to the title last year before being traded to the Eagles.
A rivalry has developed between the two teams. In the playoff opener last year, the Eagles had a 4-1 lead until the Bears hit a three-run homer in the seventh and eventually won it. Hanwha never recovered in the three-game series, and Doosan -- which is affiliated with Budweiser -- won two more series to claim the championship.
One Eagles player, center fielder Jay Davis, is from Chicago and also plays in the minor leagues in the United States.
The Eagles do a three days on, one day off regimen at the Waipio park. They work out from about 9:20 a.m. to noon before breaking for lunch and returning to the field for an intrasquad game at 1 p.m.
The Eagles visit the Tigers for exhibition games at Ala Wai today and next Sunday at 6 p.m. and March 4 at 1 p.m.
Last week, they hosted the Bears for three exhibition games, and they play the Bears again Saturday in Waipio at 1 p.m.
The publicity for the Korean teams on Oahu has been close to nil, so they're not expecting crowds to gather for any of their games, although some Hawaii youth baseball players were there to check out parts of last week's games.
The Eagles, who have been here since Jan. 20, start their exhibition season in Korea on March 14 and the regular season on April 5.
They'll be drawing about 3,000 for what Ju termed "unimportant games" and about 10,000 for "important games" at their stadium, which holds about 13,000.
According to Ju, the trip to Hawaii has been enjoyable for most of the players.
But there has been at least one disappointment.
"We heard that at the famous Waikiki Beach there are many, many beauties," Ju said. "But when we first saw Waikiki on our bus, one player said, 'there's no beauties, only grandma.'
"So many funny stories," he added.