Having Found Home in Seoul, Canadian Teammates Looking to Win Big Games in KBO

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — When Canadian outfielder Jared Young signed with the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on July 23, he became part of a small piece of history in the top South Korean league.

With his US$300,000 contract, Young joined fellow Canadian Jordan Balazovic, a right-handed pitcher who had signed for $250,000 on July 4. They became the first pair of Canadians to play on the same KBO team.

Since the KBO first opened the doors to foreign players in 1998, more than 500 players have brought their talents from around the world. Those from the United States, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, Mexico and Japan, among other countries, have plied their trade here.

Before Balazovic and Young, four Canadians had played in the KBO. Former SSG Landers slugger Jamie Romak, who played from 2017 to 2021, has been the best player from the Great White North. He helped the SK Wyverns, the previous incarnation of the Landers, to the Korean Series title in 2018, and smacked 155 home runs during his five-year career, the fourth most among foreign players in KBO history.

Balazovic and Young, two former big leaguers, are trying to carve their own legacy in the KBO as midseason arrivals for a team trying to make the postseason.

For Balazovic, who comes from Mississauga, Ontario, having a countryman by his side has made the journey more enjoyable.

“There are only so many of us even in the States. Playing with another Canadian … what are the odds of that really happening, especially overseas?” Balazovic told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday before the Bears hosted the Kia Tigers at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. “I played against Jared for many years in the States but never even spoke a word to him. So it’s pretty cool to finally be able to experience having a fellow Canadian on the team.”

Young, a native of Prince George, British Columbia, said his and Balazovic’s lockers are right beside each other in the clubhouse.

“It’s fun to finally play with him,” Young said. “I’d like to think we’re good players, and hopefully, we can stay here for a long time.”

Both players have had ups and downs, something they are trying to address with the postseason just around the corner.

Balazovic, who replaced injured Raul Alcantara in the rotation, struck out 17 batters in his first 10 2/3 innings across two starts in July. He then pitched to a 2.63 ERA in five starts in August, giving up only eight earned runs in 27 1/3 innings while adding 27 Ks.

He has struggled so far in September, allowing 14 runs in 18 innings covering four starts. The former Minnesota Twins prospect has gone beyond five innings just once this month.

For the season, he has a 2-6 record with a 4.34 ERA. His fielding independent pitching (FIP), an ERA-like metric that measures a pitcher’s performance on elements he can control, such as strikeouts, walks and home runs, is 3.36. It suggests Balazovic has been unlucky to have allowed as many runs as he has.

“I’ve had a couple of good ones and then I’ve had a few not-so-good ones. The not-so-good ones could have been a little bit better by just making a couple more adjustments in the game and a few more things going my way,” Balazovic said. “Now, I’ve just got to focus on attacking the strike zone. I just need to get it from the first pitch and have it locked in, so there is no more up and down.”

Efficiency has been an issue for Balazovic. He needed 100 pitches to get 14 outs last Monday, and 93 pitches to get through 4 1/3 innings on Sept. 1.

Balazovic said opposing hitters have made his life difficult by fouling off pitches and getting deep into counts. Be it the automated ball-strike system newly installed in the KBO this year, the smaller KBO ball and the height of the mounds at different stadiums, Balazovic is still trying to figure out the league on the fly.

“It’s just narrowing everything down, especially when I am up in the count, and stop wasting pitches and go after them,” he said. “It’s adjusting and just reading the swings a little bit better on my part.”

Young, who came in for Henry Ramos, got into the KBO record books in just his second KBO game. On July 31, the Bears hammered the Tigers 30-6, setting the mark for the most runs in a game. Young launched his first two home runs in South Korea that evening and also had eight RBIs, a single-game record by a foreign player.

He built on that momentum to put together a productive August, in which he batted .307/.404/.648 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs in 23 games.

Young had a slow start to September, batting only .200 with just one extra-base hit in the first six games. Battling a cold with a high fever earlier in the month played a role.

In three games over the weekend, Young went 7-for-12 with four doubles, four RBIs and two steals. He sports a robust .341/.438/.690 line with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 34 games. Since making his KBO debut on July 30, Young leads the Bears in RBIs.

“I had a little bit of a setback with my health,” the former Chicago Cub said. “But that’s going to happen throughout the year. There are things that just aren’t going to go your way, whether it’s physically or on the field.”

Young said he had “always wanted to play in Asia” before the end of his career and heard great things about the KBO from two close friends who had played here before: former Hanwha Eagles outfielder Mike Tauchman and ex-Lotte Giants shortstop Dixon Machado. Young and Machado played together on the Iowa Cubs in 2022, the year after Machado’s final KBO season, and Tauchman joined Young there in 2023 after playing the previous year in South Korea.

“You really don’t know how many opportunities you’re going to get to do stuff like this. Sometimes, change is good,” Young said. “Sometimes, scary and out-of-the-ordinary things lead to great things, and that’s kind of what I’m hoping here. It was a big life decision, and I’ve loved it the whole time.”

Young said he is particularly enjoying the cat-and-mouse game with pitchers.

“Everything in baseball is just about adjustments. If you have success, the pitcher’s going to make adjustments, and they’re going to try something else. And if you don’t have success, you have to make the adjustment,” he said. “It’s fun. It’s not easy, but that’s what we do.”

Unlike Young, Balazovic knew little about the KBO beforehand. He came over for a fresh start and an opportunity to be a full-time starter for the first time since 2022. Between Triple-A and the majors in 2023 and the early part of 2024, Balazovic appeared in 64 games, only four of them in starts.

“I wasn’t healthy the last year that I did start, so everything was kind of all over the place … not being healthy, just changing pitch grips and all that,” he said. “I was a free agent after the end of this year anyways, so it kind of worked out perfect. I just wanted to start fresh.”

Young and Balazovic are playing meaningful baseball in September and are hoping to do more of the same in October, when the postseason begins.

Before Monday’s game, the Bears were in fourth place at 70-68-2 (wins-losses-ties), one game ahead of the SSG Landers, who are holding down the fifth and final postseason spot.

“It’s really exciting to play in big games. When it’s coming down the stretch, playing in big games is what you want,” Young said. “The crowd is loud and exciting, and it all just makes for good games.”

Balazovic said being part of a winning team was a major reason that he made the leap to the KBO.

“It’s going out and winning. Nothing else really matters,” he said. “It’s doing what you can to get the win. Nothing else really matters other than you go out, compete and try to win every day.”

(Yonhap)