The experience the Red Sox front office had with Daisuke Matsuzaka is a testament to the idea that one player, like the Dodgers' Hyun-Jin Ryu, usually can't reel in a market.
NEW YORK — The Dodgers broadcasted a 3-0 loss to the Giants on Tuesday in Korean, the first of 60 games the Dodgers plan to broadcast on a Los Angeles-area Korean station this season.
Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu made his major-league debut in the game, going 6 1/3 innings and letting up one earned run. The Dodgers have broadcasted in Korean before, but one of their hopes for Ryu — along with good performance — seems to be invigoration for a particular fanbase.
"We are excited that Ryu’s first start will be accessible to the Korean-speaking community tonight,” said Dodgers chief marketing officer Lon Rosen said in a press release Tuesday. “We look forward to continuing the Dodgers’ longstanding relationship with Radio Korea and working toward strengthening our connection with the Korean community in Southern California and back in Ryu’s native country.”
Ryu, 26, cost $36 million on a six-year deal and a $25.7 million posting fee. The Dodgers may well benefit from the deal with increased fan interest from the city's large Korean population, but it also might not have much effect.
The experience the Red Sox front office had with Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka is a testament to the idea that one player usually can't reel in a market.
"We've had a lot of experience in that area," Red Sox chief operating officer Sam Kennedy said. "When we acquired Dice-K, I made three trips personally to Japan as part of the sort of, pursuit of Dice-K, as part of the pursuit of finding corporate sponsors and as a part of organizing a game in Tokyo in April of 2008.
"I think there's a myth out there that certain agents may have you believe that there is a huge revenue in a local market, LA, Boston, San Diego, New York, by signing one or two players. Those deals need to be done for baseball reasons. We signed Daisuke Matsuzaka because we thought he was going to help us win, and he did — without him we wouldn't have won the 2007 World Series. So you need to make those deals for baseball reasons, and if it creates fan interest in other markets or in your market, that's an added benefit. But baseball also has to drive your decisions."
From a baseball standpoint, the Dodgers have reason to be encouraged: Ryu let up 10 hits but also struck out five and walked none.
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