[FuzzyRussianHat]

Only one player made it into East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame with the 1968 ballot. Centerfielder Ha-Min Park had come very close eight other times, but just short. With a weak group in 1968, Park finally just crossed the 66% mark with 68.2% on his ninth attempt. Three other returners were above 60% but below the required mark with LF Dong-Hee Cho (61.7%, 6^th ballot), CL Hyeon-Jae Seo (61.4%, 4^th Ballot) and LF Chong-Chun Pak (60.8%, 4^th ballot). 1B Jae-Ha Cho on his ninth try was the only other player above 50% at 53.4%.



Dropped after ten attempts was 1B Sung-Heun Park, a six-time Silver Slugger winner and 1938 Korea League MVP. Primarily with Changwon, he had 2403 hits, 1247 runs, 368 doubles, 494 home runs, 1375 RBI, a .295 average, and 73.9 WAR. Those types of numbers had put others in and Park had a big role in Changwon winning the 1945 EAB title, but he peaked at 52.9% on his third ballot and ended at 40.1%. You could argue that his numbers were more impressive than his former teammate Ha-Min Park, but more is expected as a slugger at first base than a center fielder. Also dropped was pitcher Yeo Kim, another who was almost exclusively with Changwon. He had a 183-105 record, 2.94 ERA, 2776 strikeouts in 2872.2 innings, and 59.3 WAR. With no major awards, he was more firmly a Hall of Very Good type, peaking at 29.8% and ending at 8.3%.



Ha-Min “Ferret” Park – Center Fielder - Changwon Crabs – 68.2% Ninth Ballot

Ha-Min Park was a 6’0’’, 185 pound right-handed center fielder from Kijang, a South Korean county of around 150,000 within greater Busan. Park was a very good power hitter that reliably gave you 30-40 home runs and around 40 doubles/triples per season when healthy. He was an above average contact hitter, but did strike out a lot and rarely drew walks especially relative to his power. Park had solid speed and spent the majority of his career in center field with around 1/5 of his starts in right. He was viewed as a slightly below average, but not terrible defender.

Park moved to Seoul for college and played at Chung-Ang University, putting up 38 home runs and 10.1 WAR in 116 games with the Dragons. This got the attention of Changwon, who drafted Park second overall in the 1939 East Asia Baseball Draft. He was immediately a starter and an impactful one with a 6.9 WAR rookie season, earning 1940 Rookie of the Year and his first Silver Slugger. He won additional Sluggers in 1941, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, and 51, All but the final one were in centerfield (the last one was DH) and his eight remains a Korea League record for the position. Park earned MVP consideration in three seasons, taking third in 1944, second in 1945, and second in 1947. He led the league in home runs in 1942 (49) and 1947 (48), and led with 131 RBI in 1951.

Changwon made the playoffs twice in Park’s tenure; 1945, 1948, and 1949. In 1945, the Crabs won their second-ever Korea League title and earned the franchise’s first EAB Championship. Park was very impactful in the 1945 run with 17 hits, 14 runs, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI in 13 starts. He struggled in 1948 and missed the 1949 run to injury.

Park had been durable in his first nine seasons with Changwon apart from a sprained ankle in 1946. 1949 saw a devastating broken kneecap with another sprained ankle in 1950 causing Park to miss significant time and see a production drop. The Crabs opted to let him go after the 1950 season, but the team would go onto honor him by retiring his #27 uniform. In total with Changwon, Park had 1592 hits, 897 runs, 231 doubles, 175 triples, 379 home runs, 973 RBI, and 61.8 WAR.

Now 33 years old, Park signed for the 1951 season to a five-year, $165,000 deal with Daegu. His Diamondbacks debut was excellent with his final Silver Slugger, 48 home runs, and 131 RBI from the DH spot. Injuries and a noticeable drop in production plagued him the rest of the run, fully relegated to the bench by his fourth year in 1954. Park got to participate in four postseasons with Daegu, although his playoff numbers were subpar. The Diamondbacks won the 1952 and 1953 Korea League titles and gave Park his second EAB Championship ring in 1953. Park opted to retire after the 1954 season at age36. With Daegu, he had 390 hits, 230 runs, 89 home runs, and 7.4 WAR.

Park’s overall numbers: 1982 hits, 1127 runs, 290 doubles, 220 triples, 468 home runs, 1230 RBI, 463 stolen bases, a .272/.310/.566 slash, and 69.2 WAR. Park had some excellent seasons when healthy, but his final accumulations were a bit low compared to other Hall of Famers due to a relatively short career. The few guys in the Hall without at least 2000 hits typically had much more dominant peaks and/or were guys who started their careers late when EAB was formed. For eight ballots, Park was never below 50%, but never above 60%, seemingly destined for Hall of Very Good status. But with a weak group in 1968 for his ninth attempt, Park finally got the bump just past the 66% mark, earning his spot at 68.2%. He was the first EAB Hall of Famer to be inducted as a ninth ballot and as of 2037, one of two.