Foreign Athletes who made it big.
Season 3 intro: Annyeong Haseyo everyone! This is your host Mr. S and this is Hwa-ting sports, the one and only English sports podcast out there! Yes technically there are others but they are defunct or focus on only one sport (comedic angry voice) but that’s not the point! (Regular) We focus on dives into the myriad sports of Korea as well as special episodes covering the big leagues as the need arises, sprinkled with comedic irreverent takes throughout. And with that, say it with me, hana-deul-set HWAI-TING!
Today on the show we are talking about foreign athletes who came to Korea, played reasonably well here, then became big overseas. We are specifically covering athletes not from Korea, to avoid confusion with the Son Heung Min’s of the world. If you ARE interested in hearing how returning Korean athletes do, leave a comment in the box and we will dedicate a future episode to them. Although if you live in Korea, you probably know all of them because they’re constantly on your TV or news feed. Like the mosquitos buzzing around you when you’re walking up the river. *joke sting*. After consulting a few experts in the field like Dreads, I gathered a few names and we’ll cover them by sport. First up is baseball.
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We’re going to start with baseball because of how easy it is to see improvement in former players. Namely, did the player go to or return to Major League Baseball. First up is Eric Thames. He played for the Blue Jays and Mariners before going to Venezuela and then getting drafted by the NC Dinos in 2014. He became a sensation here, hitting for the cycle twice in one season. He was so beloved that Changwon city gave him honorary citizenship. He played there for 2 seasons then joined the Milwaukee Brewers where he shined and helped get the team to the playoffs! After he left the Brewers his career went down and he retired in 2023. Fundamentally speaking, that’s a pretty big jump from the KBO.
Next up is Mike Tauchman. He was a fairly good player in the MLB but his career nosedived when he joined the San Francisco Giants in 2021. So he found his way to the Hanwha Eagles in 2022. While there he became an All-star outfielder but the rest of the team stank. After the season, he went home, then to the minors and he currently plays for the Chicago White Sox. Can he be the piece that brings the White Sox out of the basement? Oh hell no, they trash too *joke sting*.
Next up is pitcher Josh Lindblom. He’s not the greatest example of post KBO success on my list but he did return to the majors. He was a bit of a journeyman before joining the Lotte Giants in 2015 and pitched there for 2 seasons before going back to the majors, but didn’t stick there. He went to the Doosan Bears in 2018 and won the 2019 MVP and the Korean series. But before COVID, he joined the Brewers and couldn’t bring his KBO magic there, his career ending in the minors in 2022.
Have you hear of Erick Fedde? If you’re a KBO fan you have. He played for a few seasons with the Nationals before coming to Korea and playing for the Dinos in 2023. That season he dominated, winning 6 season awards like the Golden Glove and most ERA leader. After that season, he got picked up by the White Sox, and then stank and got traded to the Cardinals. Wonder if he wishes he stayed with NC?
And finally we have Merrill Kelly, our best example of success. He pitched in the Korea series and the World Series. He started with the Rays but never made it to the majors. He joined the Wyverns in 2015 and let them to the Korean series in 2018. After that he joined the Diamondbacks but struggled and Coach Lovullo called him quote “statistically the worst pitcher in the National League” unquote. After that he improved the rest of the year, but struggled in 2021. In 2023 the Diamondbacks made it to the World Series and won a game there, becoming the first pitcher with wins in both league championships. Now there’s a shining example for other players to follow! I’d like to thank DreadsROKTV for these suggestions. Next up is football.
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The K-League is one of the better leagues in East Asia so measuring success is a bit harder but easier than baseball. Is the K-League better than the North Macedonia league? Hmm, hard to say. Also when conducting research I noticed they were listing the number of games played and goals scored on Wikipedia. I’m not a footie expert but I get the sense they are deliberately down voting defensive backs. I’m hoping my list isn’t too skewed but it might be higher on forwards than yours might be. Anyway we start with Anderson Lopes of Brazil. He played one season with FC Seoul as a loan, then went to China and Japan where he now plays for the Marinos. His goal production went up a lot when he left the K-League, making him a success in my book.
Next up is Victor Simões also of Brazil. I actually saw him play for Jeonnam in my first year. He was alright here, a good aggressive striker but not a big scorer. Eventually he made his way to Water and played very well there, scoring 51 goals in 4 seasons. Good to see a fan fave like him have a good career.
Next up is Niall McGinn of Ireland. I’m only mentioning him because he played for Gwangju in 2017 as a winger. His time there was difficult and he only played 7 games for them. He rejoined Aberdeen and played another 5 seasons there. During that time he also played for the Northern Ireland team. Perhaps if he had adjusted to life in Korea better, he could have stayed just as long here.
Next up is left winger Mislav Oršić of Croatia. He played 2 seasons with the Jeonnam Dragons then 2 seasons with Ulsan from 17 to 18. He was pretty good with both teams, I’d have to say. After the K-League, he moved to Dianmo Zagreb and played great for them, but hasn’t had much success since then. Wikipedia says he’s still on the Croatia national team, but we’ll see how long that lasts.
And now we’re going to talk about a player from Albania, winger Jasir Asani, who’s still playing in the K-League as of this episode. Since he started in 2022 with Gwangju, Gwangju has had some success which led to him getting the nod for Albania thanks to Coach Sylvinho. He helped them qualify for the UEFA Euros last year. Playing in the K-League is far from a dead end it seems.
Next up is an interesting case for success. I’m talking about An Yong-hak, a North Korean from Japan. He joined the K-League in 2005, playing for Busan then moved to Suwon and helped them win a championship. After the K-League he didn’t have as much success but he got to play some more in the J-League and he continued to play for the North Koreans. I bet there were interesting conversations he had with his South Korean teammates who also played for the South Korea team. Hmm, maybe a 30-for-30 should be made about his career.
Next up is the quintessential journeyman Derek Asamoah from Ghana. He bounced around England then France then Bulgaria before winding up with the Pohang Steelers in 2010 and quickly became one of their best players. After two seasons there, he moved to Daegu FC and then back to England. I brought him up because in 2020 he joined Chestnut and got to play with his son. That makes him the Lebron James of soccer, right? *Joke sting*
A better success case is striker from Cameroon Bertin Tomou. He played two seasons at home before getting picked up by Pohang in 1997. He didn’t play there long but that made him thirsty for success elsewhere, including stints across China and later in Belgium. After retiring he became a manager for RFC Huy. I guess this makes him the rare example of a player who starts his career here in the K-League and does well elsewhere.
After asking around, I learned about striker Rade Bogdanovic from Serbia who joined POSCO Atoms in 1992 which was around the time of the breakup of Yugoslavia. How he wound up there is an amusing side bar that you can read on Wikipedia but it involves an amateur boxer and 200 marks. Anyway, he played well at Pohang then moved to Japan and later to Atletico Madrid and Bremen. He really liked his time in Korea and built an arena named after POSCO in Belgrade. Nowadays he’s a football pundit who makes racist comments on TV. So… not my fave out of all the players I listed but this is soccer not sainthood *joke sting*.
Finally in football we have to talk about striker Grafite from Brazil. He’s a classic case of a player that didn’t play well in Korea but performed great afterwards, which kinda puts a finger on the way coaches handle teams here. He only played a few games for Anyang LG Cheetahs which later became FC Seoul. Outside of Korea, he won Bundesliga player of the year in 2008 and footballer of the year in 2009. Oh FC Seoul, what you missed out on.
Before I forget, we should talk about successful women’s K-League players. Namu Wiki didn’t have listings before 2022 so I had to make a guess and you know, actually do research instead of picking random names out of a hat like I usually do. *Joke sting* So I found Paige Nielsen from Nebraska USA. She started in the NWSL then wound up overseas and joined Suwon WDC in 2017. She played 42 games with the team and scored 13 goals. She went back to Australia then got picked up by Washington, then Angel City and now she plays for Houston. While on Angel City she was on 2 documentaries about the team so you might have seen her on one of those shows. In some ways, the WK league is a stepping stone up to better leagues.
Next up is basketball.
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From the rough streets of Chicago, we get guard Kiefer Sykes! He was the focus of the documentary Chi-Town, which ironically was shown at the Busan International Film Festival. I actually left work early to go see that film on a Friday night. Then the next morning a typhoon hit Busan and I got drenched *joke sting*. Sykes played for the Austin Spurs then the Anyang KGC in the 2016 season. After that he played in Italy and Turkey, then made it to the NBA in 2022, playing for the Pacers. I actually saw him on TV when they played the Warriors. Hoop dreams never die, y’all.
Next up is Allen Durham aka the Hulk. He bounced around the world, then joined the SonicBoom in 2020. But that didn’t last long because he went home when the country shut down in February. These days he plays in Japan and runs a basketball team in Grand Rapids. SonicBoom could use a Hulk right now *joke sting*.
Next is forward Wendell McKines AKA Mr. Wensday from Oaktown! Gotta love these nicknames *joke sting* He played for 3 different teams in the KBL like Wonju and Busan then went on to to play in Greece and Israel.
While I was doing research I stumbled upon Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who played with RaGunAh at KCC. He didn’t play long with them but he parlayed it into more international play and eventually naturalized with Jordan. He talked fondly with Yonhap News about his time in Korea and playing with Heo Ung. Even if the players aren’t fond of the play style here in Korea, they tend to like their teammates.
Next up is Samaki Walker. He was drafted in 97 ahead of Kobe and even won a championship with him and Shaq! He was also the guy who’s controversial halfcourt shot at the end of the quarter versus the Kings led the league to institute instant replay reviews. After leaving the NBA he bounced around and played for SK Knights in 2009 but didn’t last long with them. After that he played in Aleppo, Syria and escaped as the war got dangerous. His brother even got kidnapped by Al-nusra! I bet his brother told him Why couldn’t you stay in South Korea?! They don’t have kidnappings there! *Joke sting* Well, 3 years later there was the thing with the baseball players so knowing his luck *joke sting*
Another big success we can talk about is Awvee Storey from Chicago, who is also Chloe Bennet’s foster brother apparently according to Namu Wiki. Abi didn’t get drafted and wound up playing for the Samsung Thunder, then SK, and he helped Wonju win their first championship. He made the jump to the NBA in 2005 and played for 3 teams in the big league. Nowadays he coaches the WNBA team Connecticut Sun! That’s quite the jump and a bit of a hoop dream in and of itself!
Next up is volleyball
Men’s Volleyball
We’ll start with a few male volleyball players. I don’t know a lot about how volleyball leagues internationally match up with each other, so I don’t know whether the KOVO is a premier league compared to other countries. Google AI and Reddit say KOVO isn't a top tier league in the slightest so pretty much anyone who plays here then moves on to a top league is a success story. I wrote down a few names that I think are worth talking about.
First up is Gavin Schmitt. He bounced around the volleyball scene until he joined the Bluefangs in 2009. While there, they won 4 championships. He moved to Turkey in 2013 then Greece and ended his career in Korea for Vixstorm. He played for the Canadian national team and won silver at the 2013 NORCECA championships. I’d say that’s the definition of a great career.
Next up is an interesting case in Bayarsaihan Batsu, who is from Mongolia but went to high school in Suncheon and then played for the Skywalkers. He also played in Mongolia for a season, and for Ansan a few years ago. I think he’ll play for the Mongolian volleyball team if they decide to be competitive again. If not, he has no trouble bouncing between two countries.
Our last male player to talk about is György Grozer AKA Ice Man from Hungary, that’s Hungary not hungry like my brother always says *joke sting*. Grozer played for Hungarian teams and in Qatar before joining the Bluefangs for a season in 2015. After that he went back to bouncing around the world but that didn’t stop him from playing for the German national team. He won titles with a lot of teams so I’m surprised the Bluefangs didn’t try to keep him. Oh well, you never know what you have until it’s gone.
In Women’s Volleyball we’ve got some more famous players. Again, it’s hard to think of KOVO as a premier league so I think any player who moves on from here to a premier league is an improved player. Also the USA just started up a large pro women’s league this year, though I haven’t seen much of it yet. First up is opposite Elizabeth McMahon from the USA. She was a great player for Purdue, then played in Puerto Rico before joining the Altos in the 2016 season. Then she moved on to Germany and finished her career in Italy. While playing for the Altos she was #3 in the league in scoring and won the Best Striker award among others. Coming to Korea proves quite a boost for women’s volleyball players because it shows the better leagues how good a player you can be.
Next up is opposite Madelaynne Montaño from Columbia, and started her career in Argentina then went to Miami-Dade college in the US. She joined KT&G Daejeon in 2009 and won the MVP there. While playing in Korea she joined the Colombian national team. Usually it’s the other way around, a player is already a member before playing in Korea.
And finally we have opposite Nicole Fawcett from San Antonio USA, and played college ball for Penn State. After college she played in Puerto Rico then found her way to the V-League in 2012 and played for Hi-Pass. There she won MVP and scoring champion. After leaving the V-League she went on to China, Italy and Brazil. Last year she was an assistant coach for Ohio State University before stepping away from the sport. Next up is Ice hockey.
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Pretty much any hockey player that played in the Asian League Ice Hockey that went on to play elsewhere is a measurable success mainly because the league is so small now it can barely be called one. So I’m going to mention a couple of players I watched here before.
First up is hard-hitting defensemen Ric Jackman from Toronto. He bounced around the NHL and later Europe before winding up with a 3 year deal with Anyang Halla in 2011. I saw him play a few times in Anyang and even Jeonju. I remember him well because he would really whack the puck when shooting. He left at the end of the second year and later signed with a team in Japan. In his time in hockey, he won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim and the Spengler Cup with Canada.
Next up is Bryan Young from Ennismore Ontario and with him more is more *joke sting*. He really only played in the minors after being drafted by Edmonton in 2004 then made his way to High1 in Gangwon in 2010. He played a decade in the ALIH with High1 and the Killer Whales. Along the way he became a Korea citizen and played for the national team for several years including the Olympics.
Finally we have Brock Radunske from little Kitchener in Ontario, hope I said that right. He played in the minor leagues until 2009 when he became the first North American player in the league. His arrival caused a stir in Anyang and on Wikipedia his nickname was Canadian Big Beauty" (빙판의 꽃미남). Just the kinda name you want for yourself in a hard hitting tough guy sport *joke sting*. Anyway, he won many awards his first season and signed a 3 year deal with the team, eventually leading them to their first championship. Like Young, he also became a citizen and played for the national team. I’d say that was a pretty good measure of success.
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I suppose there are some names you know of that I should have included. Perhaps you felt I should have covered Korean players too. I will say that I covered the best examples of players who moved to Korea, played well, then made the leap to better things. As far as Korean players go, well dear listeners, you’ll just have to wait until a future episode.
Game of the Week.
Alright, here we go! We’ve been talking about players the whole time, we forgot about the matches they play in! First up this weekend is some K3 action with top teams Yeoju vs Daejeon Korail and Siheung vs Pocheon. Yeoju’s game is tonight at 5pm and Siheung’s is Saturday at 2pm. This is a good point in the season for figuring out who the top team will be. On Sunday at 2pm is game 4 of the KBL playoffs in Changwon. Will the Sakers go for the sweep? If they win on Friday, this could be curtains for SK, so I think it’s a good time to go. In the big K-League, the best games this weekend are playoff previews with Gwangju FC hosting Jeonbuk and Gangwon hosting Gimcheon. Though for whatever reason K League United wrote it as Sangju but they haven’t played there in years. Anyway both games are at 7pm on Sunday, so unless you live close by, you’re probably better off watching on TV. And finally there are some tennis tournaments going on this weekend that Naver Sports brought up. In Goyang the International Women's Tennis Tournament starts at 11am on Saturday and there’s an amateur tennis tournament in Haman starting at 3pm. Oddly enough I didn’t see any motor sports on the list, and I believe the races should be starting soon.
Worst persons in Sports World
There’s that music again, the worst persons in the Korean sports world! You’d think the recent holidays would mean there wouldn’t be trouble, what with so many more eyes watching. But noooooo! Some people just want the smoke but can’t stand the fire!
The Nap award goes to… Cheonan City FC for winding up on the player signing ban lists. It didn’t say why but 충청투데이 online heard rumors that their Vietnamese players weren’t paid for training with the team or something like that. The penalty isn’t an automatic thing. It comes up when a team doesn’t respond to requests from FIFA. Problem is, the trade market opens up in June so if they don’t get it soon, they can’t make any. And at the time of this writing, the staff were on Children’s Day vacation. Maybe that’s why you should always check your work emails when you’re on vacation. *boo sound* And now my co-workers are booing me. *boo sound* That’s enough from the peanut gallery!
The Radon award goes to… Gwangju Manager Lee for running on the field and yelling at and pushing FC player Oh Hu Seong at the start of halftime. The lads in the booth had a chuckle, but this was during Children’s Day, so probably not a good role model for the kiddies. The league is reportedly weighing punishment for his antics according to reports in the Joongang Daily. You’re supposed to shove your players around in the locker room at halftime *joke sting*.
The Plutonium award goes to… NC Dinos and Koreabaseball dot com. On May 4th, my father and I went to Masan stadium to watch the Future’s league game since it was the closest and there aren’t tickets for Future’s league games. But when we arrived, the teams were playing and the stadium was locked. We walked around and eventually found some fans looking through the fence to see the game. This was a long journey to get here and my dad wants to speak to the Korean Baseball manager. Thanks guys! You ruined my father’s field of dreams and turned him into a Karen *joke sting*! But seriously, if stadiums are closed, this info SHOULD BE LISTED on the Korean baseball website! While it didn’t ruin the day, it made me disappointed in the Dinos and the KBO yet again! It’s very hard to promote Korean sports when the leagues make it hard for fans to attend games! I’m just saying! NC Dinos and KBO, the worst persons in Korea sports!
Ending
Thank you for tuning in today. We hope you learned something about Korean sports, like I certainly did. Pass this pod on to anyone interested in Korean sports and especially rookies because our show has hints and tips to make their lives easier. Those hapless souls…(2 second pause). If you wish to read along or contact the show, visit our website at hwatingsportspodcast dot com and everything you need is right there. Give our podcast 5 stars if you have time. Music notes like the opening song thanks to DumiAFava. Cover art thanks to James! A shoutout to our listeners in Skopje North Macedonia, home of the Alexander the Great statue. Yes listeners, my podcast is so awesome, European countries are building statues in my honor! *laughing* Next episode will be in 2 weeks and we will either cover Hanwha’s new stadium or a different topic, depending on whether or not I can get tickets because woo boy they’re selling like hottok on a rainy spring day! Until next time, Korean sports fans!
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