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12/20/2002 Archived Entry: "BLUE'S NEWS"
Blue's News - Friday, December 20, 2002
BLUE’S NEWS
Friday, December 20, 2002
The top three stories out of the MLB website on this rainy day in South Jersey.
1. Lim Chang-yong
If somebody had told me 50 years ago when I was in Korea that in 2002 a 26-year –old side arming pitcher from the Samsung Lions would turn up his nose at a $650,000 offer to play ball in the U.S., calling the offer a give-away, I would have called them insane. Welcome to the 21st century.
2. Godzilla
Hideko Matsui is 28-years-old, they call him Godzilla because in the past 8 years he has slugged 332 Costa Rican-made baseballs out of Japanese ballparks (if those balls weren’t made in CR somebody should investigate). The Godzilla of U.S. baseball over the past century wants Matsui to try his luck at the short right field porch in Yankee stadium. They will give him $21 million over 3 years to do it. We should be so lucky.
3. Pudge
Ivan Rodriguez is 31-years-old, in Texas they call him I-Rod and Pudge. He may be the best defensive catcher the game has ever seen (10 gold gloves). He can also hit – power and average. But Texas doesn’t want him anymore and oddly nobody else does either – a $10 million a year bargain. Pudge is looking to Japan. It seems fair – Godzilla for Pudge.
