[FuzzyRussianHat]

East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame welcomed one new member from the 1966 ballot as SP Min-Chin Park got a solid boost in his fourth attempt up to 81.2%. Five others were above the 50% mark with no one else above 60%.



One of those five was SP Young-Gil Chyu, dropped after ten failed attempts on the ballot. In 14 seasons between Suwon and Goyang, Chyu had a 182-124 record, 3.05 ERA, 3179 strikeouts in 2634 innings, and 67.4 WAR. With no major awards and no playoff appearances, he was relegated to the Hall of Very Good pile, although he did get as high as 60.9% on his fifth attempt. He dropped as low as 35.0% on his ninth ballot before finishing at 50.5%.



Min-Chin “Bubba” Park – Starting Pitcher – Gwangju Grays – 81.2% Fourth Ballot

Min-Chin Park was a 5’7’’, 170 pound right-handed pitcher from Uijeongbu, a South Korean city of around 400,000 located a bit north of Seoul. Despite his smaller frame, Park still hit 95-97 mph velocity consistently and was known for solid control with both above average to good stuff and movement. He had five pitches with none outstanding, but all respectable; a fastball, slider, curveball, forkball, and changeup. Park was viewed as incredibly durable and reliable over his career and was a team captain throughout his pro career with Gwangju.

Nicknamed “Bubba,” he ultimately spent his entire pro career with the Grays. He left Korea for Japan to attend Kyoei University in Kasukabe. His college exploits allowed him to be picked fourth overall in the 1943 EAB Draft by Gwangju. Park was a part-time starter as a rookie and full-time after that, although his first three years saw middling-at-best production. His fourth year saw noticeable improvement and after that, he was the ace for a then-struggling franchise.

From 1949-51, he was the Korea League leader in ERA and WHIP, while twice leading in quality starts and earning WARlord honors with 9.4 in 1951. In 1949, he was the Pitcher of the Year with a 23-9 record, career-best 2.07 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 12.4 K/BB and 8.7 WAR. He wouldn’t be a finalist for the award in any other seasons surprisingly, although he had a streak of nine seasons with 5+ WAR.

Park was also a regular for the South Korean team in the World Baseball Championship from 1948-56, posting a 2.36 ERA over 72.1 innings with 95 strikeouts. Park’s only EAB playoff appearance came in 1955 with the 33-year old allowing five runs (three earned) in 12.2 innings. His production dropped in 1956 at age 34 and fell more sharply in 1957 with a career-worst 3.50 ERA. Realizing his days were numbered, Park retired at age 36.

Park’s final stats: 187-140, 2.82 ERA, 3222 innings, 3045 strikeouts to 483 walks, 1.01 WHIP, 317/445 quality starts, 83 FIP-, and 70.5 WAR. He’s toward the lower-end of the starting pitchers that would get into the EAB Hall of Fame, but a respectable effort with a few notable seasons. He hovered between 55-65% on his first three times on the ballot, but with a weaker group on offer in 1966, Park’s resume got the boost to 81.2% to earn induction.