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Two pitchers were inducted on their first ballot in 1986 to the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame. They took different paths to get there with starter Jae-Min Lee a slam dunk at 97.4% and closer Geun-U Phan barely making it at 67.5%. Another closer, Kyeong Pyo, had a good debut showing but missed the cut at 58.5%. Also above 50% were 2B Su-Yeon Park at 57.0% on his tenth ballot and 3B Hiromichi Ono at 56.6% on his third try.

For Park, he was the starting second baseman of the Pyongyang dynasty, peaking at 64.0% on his ninth ballot with a low of 49.8%. He had a 17-year career with 2746 hits, 1308 runs, 335 doubles, 290 triples, 60 home runs, a .311/.343/.435 slash, 116 wRC+, 1201 stolen bases, and 62.7 WAR. Park was the all-time steals leader at retirement, but he lacked any power numbers, won Silver Slugger only once, and only had average defensive skills. Thus, he ended up on the outside despite a fine career.

Also dropped after ten ballots was 1B Bon-Sang Choi, although he peaked at 32.1% on his debut before ending at 11.3%. He posted 2454 hits, 1344 runs, 340 doubles, 592 home runs, 1519 RBI, a .274/.339/.517 slash, and 68.5 WAR. Solid power numbers, but he was mostly forgotten on bad Daejeon teams and didn’t have any awards compared to other sluggers at first. Closer Chang-Hee Lee was also dropped after ten tries, peaking at 43.2% on his debut but ending at 7.2%. He won four straight Reliever of the Year awards from 1957-60 with Changwon, but was largely a non-factor after that, bouncing between eight teams in EAB, CABA, and MLB. For his entire pro career, Lee had 255 saves, 2.33 ERA, and 29.5 WAR. Had he stayed in EAB and had maybe two or three more great seasons, he might have gotten the nod.



Jae-Min Lee – Starting Pitcher – Hamhung Heats – 97.4% First Ballot

Jae-Min Lee was a 6’0’’, 180 pound right-handed pitcher from the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang. He had an incredible 99-101 mph fastball and overpowered hitters with his stuff, despite having only slightly above average movement and control. Lee’s stuff was stellar though as he expertly mixed the fastball with a slider and changeup. He was also considered a great defender, winning six straight Gold Gloves from 1971-76. Lee’s stamina was excellent in the front half of his career, leading thrice in complete games. His tireless work ethic also made Lee an endearing player to the public and teammates.

Although Lee grew up in North Korea, he left for Japan as a teenager and played high school baseball at Choshi Shogyo High School in Choshi. He garnered enough attention to be drafted out of high school 19^th overall by Hamhung in the 1968 EAB Draft. He returned home to North Korea and spent 1969 in development, then made eight relief appearances in 1970. Lee became a full-time member of the rotation in 1971 and pitched 220+ innings each year for the next decade with the Heat.

By his second full season, he led the Korea League in strikeouts and wins, winning Pitcher of the Year at age 22. He won it again in 1976 and 1977 and took second place in EAB thrice (1975, 1978, 1979). Lee led in strikeouts six times and led in WAR, WHIP and ERA three straight seasons from 1975-77. 1977 was a Triple Crown season with a 23-5 record, 2.01 ERA, and 374 strikeouts. Lee had a career best 397 Ks in 1976, setting a single-season EAB record that wasn’t topped until 2015. In 1977, he had a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and one walk against Gwangju.

Hamhung had good teams in the 1970s, but often ended up in second place. They only made the playoffs thrice in his tenure and couldn’t claim the league title. Lee also pitched for North Korea in the World Baseball Championship from 1971-84, although he didn’t match his EAB production with a 4.66 ERA over 164 innings with a 13-10 record, 230 strikeouts, and 2.5 WAR. He did notably have 17 scoreless innings with 29 strikeouts in his two 1976 starts. His playoff starts with the Heat were great with a 1.37 ERA over 19.2 innings. He’d miss the 1976 postseason though to injury.

Lee had a big decision to make after the 1980 season, now 31 years old and a free agent. Big MLB money had an interest and it was too hard to turn down, although he’d remain popular with Hamhung fans and later see his #2 uniform retired. Lee signed a six-year, $5,790,000 deal with Hartford and had an excellent debut season with the Huskies, taking second in National Association Pitcher of the Year voting. Lee got rocked in his one postseason start with Hartford, who was ousted in the second round.

1982 marked the expansion of Major League Baseball and many were stunned when Lee wasn’t on Hartford’s protected list. He ended up the sixth overall pick in the expansion draft by Winnipeg. The Huskies were proven right in the end, as Lee never came close to his previous production the rest of his career. He struggled in 21 starts with the newly minted Wolves franchise, who opted to trade him in the summer to Toronto.

Lee had a solid second half with the Timberwolves, but was terrible in 1983 with a 5.26 ERA and -1.4 WAR. Toronto was stuck with the albatross contract he had signed with Hartford and he was reduced to mop up work in 1984. After spring training 1985, Toronto finally cut Lee. Another new franchise Quebec City gave him a chance, but he was no better there. The Nordiques traded him to Tampa, where he finished the season and retired at age 35. For his MLB career, he had a 3.87 ERA, 38-48 record, 584 strikeouts in 786.1 innings, and 6.5 WAR (although 6.3 of that WAR was from his first Hartford season).

Although it ended poorly for Lee, his EAB Hall of Fame candidacy was based on his Hamhung tenure. With the Heat, he had a 189-89 record, 2.80 ERA, 2588.1 innings, 3273 strikeouts, 222/316 quality starts, and 71.0 WAR. You would be hard pressed to do much better over one decade of work. Some wonder where he could’ve ended up on the leaderboards had he stayed in EAB or if he would have fallen off similarly. But Lee’s Hamhung dominance was more than plenty for EAB’s Hall of Fame voters, giving him the first ballot nod at an impressive 97.4%.



Geun-U Phan – Closer – Pyongyang Phythons – 67.5% First Ballot

Geun-U Phan was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed relief pitcher from the South Korean capital Seoul. Phan was a hard thrower with 98-100 mph peak velocity along with solid control and decent movement. His fastball and splitter were his main two pitches, although he did rarely sneak a changeup in as well. He was considered to have good stamina and durability for a career relief pitcher. Although from the South Korean capital, he’d be best known for playing in the North’s capital, as he was signed as a teenage amateur by Pyongyang.

Phan’s debut came in 1964 at age 22 and he took over the closer role in the next season. He took third in Reliever of the Year voting in 1965, then made history by winning the award five consecutive seasons from 1966-70. Phan was only the second to win the award five times period, joining Hall of Famer Oki Tanaka. He was the leader in appearances five times and saves thrice and had only EAB’s ninth 50+ save season in 1967. Phan also pitched for South Korea’s national team in the World Baseball Championship in eight tournaments from 1969-78. He made five starts with 22 relief appearances, posting a 3.93 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 75.2 innings.

Phan’s biggest success though was in the postseason for Pyongyang’s dynasty. He was there for five straight Korea League titles from 1965-69 with EAB Championships in all of those years sans 1969. In the playoffs, Phan had a 1.45 ERA over 68.1 innings with 17 saves, 91 strikeouts, and 3.1 WAR. In total in only seven seasons with the Pythons, Phan had a 1.61 ERA, 262 saves, 566.1 innings, 800 strikeouts, and 22.9 WAR.

At age 29, Phan became a free agent and word of his dominance reached across the Pacific. Oklahoma City signed him to a three-year, $834,000 deal to come to MLB. He’d be a mid-level reliever in his first year who struggled in limited use, although he became the closer in 1972 and looked respectable. The Outlaws decided to trade him to Cincinnati for the 1973 season, where he struggled in the closer role with a 4.76 ERA. Phan re-signed with OKC in 1974, then spent 1975 barely used by Seattle. Calgary gave him innings in 1976, but this effectively ended his MLB tenure which saw a 3.46 ERA, 75 saves, 341 innings, 288 strikeouts, and 4.2 WAR.

At age 35, Phan returned to EAB and signed with Goyang in 1977. After a decent return season, he went to Daegu and regained a closer role in 1978. Phan was back to lesser use after that in 1979, then wrapped his EAB career with Daejeon in 1980. MLB’s Washington signed him in 1981 but never used him, releasing him after a month. Louisville picked him up for 13 innings with retirement after the season at age 39.

For his entire pro career, Phan had 382 saves, 2.26 ERA, 1109 innings, 1325 strikeouts, and 33.6 WAR. For just EAB, he had 307 saves and 345 shutdowns, a 1.73 ERA, 1037 strikeouts over 768 innings, and 29.4 WAR. His seven years with Pyongyang were elite, but the rest of his career was very unremarkable. When looking at the other Hall of Famers in EAB, none had fewer innings pitched than Phan, although his ERA was the best of any relievers in the HOF. Many thought his tenure wasn’t long enough to be deserving, but others felt his playoff dominance and five Reliever of the Year awards were more than worthy. Phan ended up winning enough voters over to get a first ballot selection, albeit barely across the 66% mark at 67.5%.