Korean Heir

By BOB NIGHTENGALE

Feb. 20, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

VERO BEACH, Fla. —

This game would be simple if Chan Ho Park had to worry only about baseball.

He wouldn’t mind being on the mound with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of the final game of the season, if all it meant were a World Series championship.

He wouldn’t care if the Dodgers were counting on him to win 15 games in his first full year in the starting rotation, if the only thing at stake were a playoff berth.

He wouldn’t argue if the Dodgers bounced him between the rotation and the bullpen all season, if the difference were only a couple of million dollars in an arbitration hearing.

You want pressure?

Pressure is having a poor performance and having your entire country in mourning until the next time you pitch.

Pressure is having all of South Korea pulling for you to outperform Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo, believing it will help ease ethnic tensions between the countries.

Pressure is knowing that if you fail, you might be the last player to make the jump from South Korea to the major leagues.

And, oh, yes, pressure is knowing that if you don’t become a star within three years, you might find yourself serving a 30-month stint in the South Korean army.

“People don’t realize the tremendous stress that he’s under,” said Steve Kim, Park’s uncle and agent. “The pressure is enormous. We have 40 million back home watching Chan Ho. We have a million people here. He represents all Korean players and their chances of coming here one day.

“It’s to a point that if Chan Ho walks somebody in a game, I’ll get 10 calls asking, ‘How can he walk that guy?’

“And, then, there’s that army thing.”

Park, a South Korean citizen, by law must serve 30 months in the military by age 27. He is in the United States now on a student visa.

It’s possible, although there is no guarantee, that the Korean government could provide an exemption if Park becomes a major league star. In that case, he is worth more to a country promoting goodwill throughout the United States than he is marching over mountainous terrain.

“It all depends on how Chan Ho does,” Kim said. “It’s as simple as that.

“That is pressure.

“Then again, being here every day is pressure.”

Park, who will turn 24 in June, may walk the streets in Los Angeles without being recognized, but back home he is a national treasure.

Park’s hometown of Kong Ju City declared a day in his honor this winter, including a parade, with 20,000 screaming and cheering as Park rode around the city.

His book, “Hey, Dude!,” is on the best-seller list in South Korea.

Twenty companies pursued him to endorse their product, but he decided to limit it to Nike and Gatorade.

“It was so nice what they did for me,” Park said, “but it was crazy. I couldn’t go out with my friends because everybody recognized me. I had to watch where I went. It wasn’t like it used to be.

“I kind of miss that.”

With a whole country watching, Park hasn’t had the privacy to find a girlfriend, let alone date.

“I told my mom I want to marry soon,” Park said. “My mom said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I’ll come over and take care of you. I’ll cook for you. You don’t have to worry.’ ”

So guess who’s coming to Los Angeles in April and moving in with Park?

Dong Sun Jung, his mother, and Hun Yong, Park’s brother, will be arriving when Park returns from spring training.

Little wonder why Park spent the last few weeks looking to buy his first home, in the Glendale area.

“It’ll be nice to have them here,” Park said. “They worry about me. Everybody does.”

Park, as his mother and brother soon will discover, has adapted nicely to this country. It has been only three years since he set foot in the United States, but often even his teammates forget he’s a foreigner.

Park no longer needs an interpreter and speaks English well, despite occasional pronunciation problems. He bought his first car without the help of anyone. He eats hamburgers and pizza, watches MTV and listens to the latest music whenever possible. He’s even learning about America’s cabdrivers.

He made the mistake last year of jumping into a cab outside the team hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He told the driver to take him to the nearest Korean restaurant. The next thing he knew, Park was at a dive in a desolate neighborhood in Miami. The fare was $100.

Barring a collapse in spring training, Park is scheduled to be the Dodgers’ fifth starter this season. He wants to be one of the guys. He wants to prove he belongs in the rotation.

And he wants everyone to forgive and forget his reaction to a clubhouse prank that went awry in Chicago last June 19.

The Dodgers had defeated the Chicago Cubs, 4-3, in 13 innings at Wrigley Field, and a crowd of reporters surrounded Park. He had won the game by pitching three hitless innings. He looked inside his locker and gasped.

Park’s suit, the first he had bought in the United States, with help from his mother, was ruined. A few teammates, in a clubhouse practical joke, had cut off the arms and legs of the suit. In its place was a ‘70s disco outfit.

Park screamed, threw his plate of food into the air and cursed. Teammates and coaches tried to tell him it was the common kind of thing reserved for rookies. Park didn’t care. He refused to put on the disco outfit and boarded the team charter wearing his uniform. The sunglasses hid the tears.

Many Dodger players were furious that Park didn’t go along with the gag. Some were upset after realizing the sentimental value of the suit. A couple of teammates apologized. Veteran pitcher Tom Candiotti even asked him to help buy women’s clothing to set up trainer Stan Johnston for their next clubhouse prank. Yet, there were others who held a grudge the rest of the season.

“Chan Ho would have been sad anyway because they cut something up of value,” Kim said. “But he would have played along. But this was the very first suit his mom picked here. It was the very first clothes he bought in the U.S. He just wishes someone would have hid the suit instead of ruining it.

“It’s like when Kevin Gross hit him in the face with a pie in ’94. He laughed along with everyone else. But in this case, he just thought some individual who didn’t like him did it.”

Said Park: “If I knew the whole team was behind it, it would have been different. I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. But I hope they understand.

“I hope the incident is past and gone. It’s time to build new relationships with the players, hopefully, good ones.”

Said Candiotti: “Believe me, it’s forgotten. I think he’s learned there is nothing sacred in the clubhouse. Besides, I think a lot of guys are impressed with Chan Ho for the way he’s tried to acclimate himself into our culture. It hasn’t been easy. There was some animosity when he first got here because of the way he was treated and the big signing bonus [$1.2 million] he got.

“But he’s handled it with a lot of class. I think he’s gained a lot of respect.”

Certainly, Park realizes the best way to ingratiate himself to his teammates is by winning. He is expected to take Candiotti’s spot in the rotation, and undoubtedly has the talent to one day be a star.

Park has one of the best fastballs in the National League, throwing 95 to 97 mph. He is unafraid to throw a curve or changeup in any situation. He needs only to trust his ability and those around him. He gave up too many walks last season--71 in 108 2/3 innings--enabling him to last more than five innings in only three of his 11 starts.

“I think that stems a little from the Asian pitcher mentality,” Kim said. “He’s afraid of making a mistake. Usually, a pitcher in Asia is also the best athlete, so you get that mentality where you would rather give up a walk than a hit.”

The Dodgers, however, believe Park will overcome that flaw. They sent him to the Dominican Republic for a month, where he had a 1.35 earned-run average with 32 strikeouts and 10 walks in 40 innings.

“He’s proven to us that he’s ready to start,” Manager Bill Russell said. “You see that maturity and confidence that wasn’t there before. If he gets that consistency, watch out.

“I really believe he’s going to be something special.”

Said Park: “A lot of Koreans give me power mentally. I do this for them. I do this for the Dodgers.

“Hey, dude, I’m ready.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Park’s Place

YEAR-BY-YEAR STATISTICS

*--*

Year IP H ER BB SO W-L ERA 1994 4 5 5 5 6 0-0 11.25 1995 4 2 2 2 7 0-0 4.50 1996 108 2/3 82 44 71 119 5-5 3.64 Totals 116 2/3 89 51 78 132 5-5 3.93

*--*

AS A STARTER:

*--*

G IP H ER HR BB SO W-L ERA 11 52 2/3 36 19 2 35 54 3-3 3.25