-
2008 Far East Heroes


2008 Far East Heroes
Masanori Murakami became the first Asian player to appear in the MLB back in 1964 with the San Francisco Giants, three decades later, Hideo Nomo made a big impact with the Los Angeles Dodgers to start the trends of Asian players playing in the MLB. Ichiro of the Seattle Mariners collected 262 hits in 2004 to set the Major League record for hits in a season, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old mark of 257 hits. 54 players from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan has appeared in the MLB as of today. There are also many more Far East talents in the minor league getting ready to taste their first cup of coffee.

South Korean
Major Leaguers

Cha Seung Baek
#53 San Diego Padres, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-4, Wt: 225

Shin-Soo Choo
#17 Cleveland Indians, LF
B-T: L-L, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 200

Chan Ho Park
#61 Los Angeles Dodgers, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 210
Official Site

Jae Kuk Ryu
#11 Tampa Bay Rays, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-3, Wt: 225

Minor Leaguers

Hyeong-Rok Choi
Minnesota Twins, 2B
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 189

Hyun-Wook Choi
Minnesota Twins, LF
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 187

Jae-Hyung Jang
Minnesota Twins, C
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 191

Sung Ki Jung
Atlanta Braves, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 161

Keyong Kang
Tampa Bay Rays, LF
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 200

Yoon Hee Nam
Texas Rangers, LHP
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 165

Dae-Eun Rhee
Chicago Cubs, RHP
B-T: L-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 190

Japanese
Major Leaguers

Kosuke Fukudome
#1 Chicago Cubs, RF
B-T: L-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 185
Official Site

Kazuo Fukumori
#14 Texas Rangers, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 175
Official Site

Ichiro
#51 Seattle Mariners, CF
B-T: L-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 172
Official Site

Kei Igawa
#29 New York Yankees, LHP
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 210
Official Site

Tadahito Iguchi
#9 Philadelphia Phillies, 2B
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 185
Official Site

Akinori Iwamura
#1 Tampa Bay Rays, 2B
B-T: L-R, Ht: 5-9, Wt: 175
Official Site

Kenji Johjima
#2 Seattle Mariners, C
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 205
Official Site

Masahide Kobayashi
#30 Cleveland Indians, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 195

Hiroki Kuroda
#18 Los Angeles Dodgers, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 210
Official Site

Hideki Matsui
#55 New York Yankees, DH
B-T: L-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 210
Official Site

Kaz Matsui
#3 Houston Astros, 2B
B-T: S-R, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 185
Official Site

Daisuke Matsuzaka
#18 Boston Red Sox, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 185

Hideo Nomo
#91 Kansas City Royals, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 220
Official Site

Tomo Ohka
#54 Chicago White Sox, RHP
B-T: S-R, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 200

Hideki Okajima
#37 Boston Red Sox, LHP
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 195
Official Site

Takashi Saito
#44 Los Angeles Dodgers, RHP
B-T: L-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 215
Official Site

So Taguchi
#99 Philadelphia Phillies, LF
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 170
Official Site

Keiichi Yabu
#22 San Francisco Giants, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 230

Yasuhiko Yabuta
#27 Kansas City Royals, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 185
Official Site

Minor Leaguers

Fumimasa Ishibashi
Los Angeles Dodgers, C
B-T: S-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 190

Yukinaga Maeda
Texas Rangers, LHP
B-T: L-L, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 155

Terumasa Matsuo
Boston Red Sox, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 176

Ryohei Shimabukuro
Atlanta Braves, 1B
B-T: L-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 205

Kenta Suda
Seattle Mariners, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 172

Keisuke Ueno
Texas Rangers, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-3, Wt: 210

Taiwanese
Major Leaguers

Chin-Lung Hu
#60 Los Angeles Dodgers, SS
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 190
Official Site

Hong-Chih Kuo
#56 Los Angeles Dodgers, LHP
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 235

Chin-Hui Tsao
#66 Kansas City Royals, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 210

Chien-Ming Wang
#40 New York Yankees, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-3, Wt: 225
Official Site

Minor Leaguers

Yao-Wen Chang
Seattle Mariners, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 202

Chia-Chu Chen
Boston Red Sox, C
B-T: L-R, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 175

Chun-Hsiu Chen
Cleveland Indians, C
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 200

Hung-Wen Chen
Chicago Cubs, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 195

Yung-Chi Chen
Seattle Mariners, 2B
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 170

Chi-Hung Cheng
Toronto Blue Jays, LHP
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 210

Chih-Hsien Chiang
Boston Red Sox, 2B
B-T: L-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 170

Tzu-Kai Chiu
Cincinnati Reds, LHP
B-T: L-L, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 220

Chih-Hsiang Huang
Boston Red Sox, 1B
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 180

Chen-En Hung
Atlanta Braves, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 188

Po-Hsuan Keng
Toronto Blue Jays, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 235

Sheng-An Kuo
Colorado Rockies, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 190

Yen-Wen Kuo
Cincinnati Reds, 2B
B-T: L-R, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 165

Che-Hsuan Lin
Boston Red Sox, CF
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 180

Po-Yu Lin
Chicago White Sox, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 221

Wang-Wei Lin
Minnesota Twins, RF
B-T: L-R, Ht: 6-0, Wt: 185

Wang-Yi Lin
Boston Red Sox, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-3, Wt: 210

Yen-Feng Lin
Philadelphia Phillies, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-1, Wt: 205

Ching-Lung Lo
Colorado Rockies, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-6, Wt: 190

Kuo-Hui Lo
Seattle Mariners, CF
B-T: R-R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 188

Chao-Ting Tang
Detroit Tigers, LF
B-T: L-R, Ht: 5-11, Wt: 176

Sung-Wei Tseng
Cleveland Indians, RHP
B-T: R-R, Ht: 5-10, Wt: 195



Copyright 2008 Frank's Field of Dreams. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution for commercial
purposes of any materials or design elements of the website is strictly prohibited without the prior
written consent of the webmaster.  All rights reserved. This website is an unofficial and independent
source of baseball news and information, and is not affiliated with any player, team, or league.