This Feb. 28, 2024, file photo provided by the KT Wiz shows the Wiz outfielder Mel Rojas Jr. in action during a scrimmage in Kin, Japan. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
INCHEON, Mar. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — After spending the past four seasons playing in Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, outfielder Mel Rojas Jr. is back in a place he feels at home: with the KT Wiz in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
Now 33, Rojas believes he isn’t just older but also wiser and better as an athlete now, after experiencing some trying moments in the years after his first stint with the Wiz.
From 2017 to 2020, Rojas was among the most feared sluggers in the KBO. During that four-year span, Rojas ranked third with 132 home runs, fifth with 409 RBIs and third with a .981 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). And he only played 83 games in 2017 after arriving as a midseason replacement for Johnny Monell.
Rojas capped his four-year run by winning the regular season MVP award in 2020, when he led the KBO with 47 home runs, 135 RBIs, 116 runs scored and a 1.097 OPS.
Rojas then signed with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, but in his two seasons there, he didn’t come close to matching his gaudy KBO stats. Rojas also played some winter ball in the Dominican Republic and unaffiliated ball in Mexico, putting up better numbers than he had in Japan.
But when the Wiz came calling this past offseason, it was a deal Rojas couldn’t refuse.
“I was having a very good year in the Dominican Republic, but I chose Korea because I feel like this is where I feel at home,” Rojas told Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, following his return from spring training in Japan. He signed a one-year, US$900,000 contract in December.
Rojas, who has never played in Major League Baseball, said he had also received “a few offers” from big league clubs, but they weren’t guaranteed deals and they only included an invitation to spring training.
“Although I wanted to go back to Japan and improve myself because I feel like I didn’t get the chance due to whatever reason, I feel like this is home,” Rojas said.
Rojas missed his first spring training with the Tigers because of travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the delayed start to his preparation affected him the rest of the season. He only played in 60 games in 2021 and 89 more the following year, while combining for only 17 homers and 48 RBIs over those two seasons.
Reflecting on those years, Rojas said he is better for the experience.
“I learned a lot about staying positive through the hard times. I feel like I’m a better player now,” he said. “I had the talent and the skills, and I already knew everything back then in the (Korean) league. But due to the experience I went through in Japan and then playing in the Dominican Republic, I feel like I’m much better.”
And that’s not a very comforting thought for opposing pitchers.
“I’ve just got to stay healthy, and I feel like I can put up maybe the same numbers or even better,” Rojas added, in reference to his 2020 MVP season.
The Wiz joined the KBO as an expansion team in 2015. They finished last in Rojas’ first season in 2017 but made their first postseason appearance in his fourth season in 2020.
Then the year after Rojas left, the Wiz soared to their first Korean Series title.
“They won right after I left, so I’ve got to win with the team,” Rojas said with a smile. “That’s the main goal. I feel like we have a much better team than we did in 2020. I can’t compare it to 2021 because I wasn’t here, but I’m sure it was a good team because they won. But I definitely think we have a better team than 2020.”
Rojas said he missed the camaraderie with his Wiz teammates the most. He added he enjoyed good relationships with opposing players, based on mutual respect.
One opponent Rojas will newly acquaint himself with this year will be Ryu Hyun-jin, the National League starter for the 2019 All-Star Game who rejoined the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO last month.
Before Ryu, who first pitched for the Eagles from 2006 to 2012, made a splash with his reunion, Rojas had been the biggest name to return to the KBO in the offseason. Now the two former MVPs — Ryu earned his big prize as a rookie 18 years ago — will be dueling for the first time.
“He’s a superstar in the big leagues, and he was a superstar here before he even went to the big leagues,” Rojas said of the left-hander. “I know he knows how to pitch, but I’m just going to go out there and take care of business, and whatever mistake he makes, just take advantage of it because I’m sure he’s not going to be leaving a lot of mistakes.
“But I really like that. I like the competition,” Rojas continued. “I feel like it’s going to take the KBO to another level, having guys like Ryu that have played in the big leagues. That’s what we want.”
(Yonhap)
