http://tinyurl.com/yfh6g49 by Michael Street on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Since Hideo Nomo’s arrival from NPB in 1995, the list of Asian players in the MLB World Series has slowly grown, reaching a torrent in the past decade. Since 2000, the first year an Asian player appeared in the Series, we’ve seen an Asian player in every World Series game. And for the past three seasons, both teams in the World Series have had an Asian player on their rosters. Hideki Irabu was the first Asian player to win in a World Series ring with the 1998 Yankees, though he didn’t appear in any Series games; he’d also win a second ring with them in 1999, despite failing to appear in the postseason at all. Depending on your definition of “Asian,” you could call Filipino-Samoan Benny Agbayani the first Asian player to appear in a World Series game, with the 2000 Mets. Byung-Hyun Kim was the first Asian pitcher to appear in the Series, and the second to earn a ring. He won his with the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, despite blowing both save opportunities. Outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo appeared in the 2002 series with the Giants, going 1-6 as a DH, pinch hitter and RF/CF in a losing effort to the Angels. Hideki Matsui was on the losing side of the 2003 Yankees-Marlins series, becoming the first NPB import to play in every World Series game for his team. So Taguchi’s appearance with the 2004 Cardinals made it three years in a row for position players to appear on the losing team in the Series, though he only made it into two games, starting Game 1 and appearing as a pinch-hitter in Game 2. Taguchi would later become the first Asian player with two rings, with the 2006 Cards and the 2008 Phillies (they gave him a ring even though he didn’t appear in the Series). Tad Iguchi won the first ring as a position player in 2005, with the Chicago White Sox. He, too, later played with the 2008 Phillies, but wasn’t given a ring after not making the postseason or World Series rosters. 2007 would see the first Series with Asian players on both teams, and the only one to have starters on both sides. The Rockies had Kaz Matsui at 2B, while Boston had SP Dice-K and RP Hideki Okajima. When Boston won, they became the first Series winners to have two Asian players. In 2008, the Phillies-Rays continued the all-Asian trend, though only Tampa’ s 2B Akinori Iwamura was a starter, unless you count Filipino-Portuguese Hawaiian native Shane Victorino. Even if you want to be stingy, Philadelphia also had Taguchi, though he wouldn’t appear. 2009 continues the trend, as the Yankees have DH Hideki Matsui and the Phillies have RHP Chan Ho Park. Park becomes the first Korean-born player to make it to the Series, while Matsui is the first two-time starter. Park’s had a good year, since he was moved from the rotation to the bullpen. He got off to a rough start until Manuel swapped him and rookie J.A. Happ, a great move for both of them. Happ had been strong in the ‘pen, with a 2.49 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP, but he was equally solid every fifth day, notching a 10-4 record in 23 starts, with a 2.99 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. His peripherals dipped, but that’s to be expected from a guy who’s out on the hill for longer, leading to fatigue and allowing opposing hitters to see him more than once or twice per game. Park went from a 1-1 starter with a 7.29 ERA and 1.74 WHIP to a reliever with a 2.52 ERA and 1.18 WHIP (that starting record just shows you how arbitrary wins can be, particularly on a team with a great offense like Philly’s). He picked up 13 holds, becoming a reliable part of Manuel’s shaky bullpen. Hideki Matsui also had a very good year in a new role. After coming off knee surgery, he wasn’t be ready to assume his usual left-field spot; Yankee manager Joe Girardi said it would at least midseason before Matsui would play anything but DH. Matsui never saw the field at all, playing 142 games at DH and posting his best power numbers since 2004 and his best overall stats since 2005. He finished with a .274/.367/.509 line, cranking 28 HRs, 21 2B and 90 RBI. Even on a team with power sources like A-Rod, Mark Teixiera, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano, Matsui hit in the 4th or 5th spot in 85 of his 142 games. He was third on the team in RBI, fifth in slugging, and fourth in OPS. Both Matsui and Park are free agents after this season, and they’ve had good years sure to boost their values. If they can excel in the Series, they should raise those values even more. Regardless of their performance, Park and Matsui continue a proud tradition of Asian World Series players and Asian firsts. --

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