Nats slugger Eric Thames reveals three players not to miss in the Korean baseball league
Washington Nationals slugger and 2015 MVP of the Korean Baseball Organization Eric Thames joins Yahoo Sports' Mike Oz to discuss what viewers can expect to see during American broadcasts of the KBO's 2020 season.
Video Transcript
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MIKE OZ: It's Mike Oz from Yahoo Sports. Today we have Washington Nationals slugger Eric Thames joining us to talk about the KBO coming to America. Eric, before you returned to MLB in 2017, you spent three seasons out in Korea. You were the MVP out there. What do you think is the number one thing that American fans need to know when they turn into a KBO game for the first time?
ERIC THAMES: It's a different style of play. Lot of off-speed, lot of bunts, steals, plays, so it's a lot more exciting. But it depends on the team too. Some teams have, like, some-- some prolific sluggers, so--
It's kind of-- it's kind of sad, actually. The best part about it was the fans, the cheers, the chants, the music playing throughout the game. And at least in their pre-season games, it was just silence. You know, you hear like the team cheering each other on, but there's no fans. You know, that's one thing that stinks about this whole thing, is that the fans make the game, like, fun. The energy-- Either way, it's gonna be baseball. It's all that matters.
MIKE OZ: I know that there are a lot of bat flips, a lot more flair. Like, you talked--
ERIC THAMES: Mhm.
MIKE OZ: --about the fans and the cheers and stuff. Do you think American audiences will respond to that? I know MLB, you know, sort of a little bit-- a little bit iffy on-- on too much flair. Do you think Americans will be into what they see from KBO?
ERIC THAMES: Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean, like, you go on MLB. They'll always show like a-- a bat flip from Korea, Japan, Taiwan. And yeah, it's just like a part of their culture, that there is no offense to it. It's just like a lot of their swings, when they finish in that [INAUDIBLE], they just kind of like throw the bat right here, so it's not like the bat's going in the dugout or in the stands. But it's like little flip.
And yeah. Here, it's just no. You do that-- if you do that, you might get a ball in the ribs the next AB, so--
MIKE OZ: I know it's been a few years since you've been there, but what players do you think American fans should watch for when they're watching the games? Who should they be looking for? What teams? What players?
ERIC THAMES: Park Min-Woo. He's a second baseman. He hits like .340 every year. Great contact hitter. He-- he rakes. He's really good.
I would say Park Byung-Ho. He was-- he was with the Twins. He came out here for a few years. So he's back there, still hitting home runs and clobbering the ball.
Romak, Jamie Romak. He hits like 40, 50 home runs every year. He's got light tower power. [INAUDIBLE] there's a lot of guys that you watch. You're like, oh man, like, this guy would be really good in the big leagues. This guy'd be good in the big leagues. This guy, this guy. It's pretty cool.
MIKE OZ: Well, I think whether you're Eric Thames at home watching or just a general baseball fan, we're all gonna have some fun watching KBO. Eric, thanks for spending some time with us today. And keep it here on Yahoo Sports for all the latest baseball news.
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