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| Doug Mathis of Samsung Lions pitches against the Nexen Heroes in a Korean Baseball Organization League match at a Daegu baseball stadium, in this August 2011 photo. Korea Times file |
Doug Mathis may have left South Korea, but South Korea hasn't left him.
Mathis, a pitching coach with the Texas Rangers, spent part of the 2011 season with the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). It was a brief stop in a journeyman career that began in the Minor League in Spokane, Washington, saw him pitch in the big leagues for the Rangers from 2008 to 2010, and later took him to Japan, Venezuela and Taiwan
In a recent phone interview with Yonhap News Agency to discuss the Rangers' new South Korean player, left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong, Mathis took a moment to reminisce about his time in the KBO.
"I miss it a lot. While I was still playing, I always tried to go back. I just never had the opportunity," Mathis said. "I still follow the league. I miss the country in general. Korea is a great country."
Mathis said he enjoyed his time in Korea so much that he can see himself coaching in the KBO in the future.
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| Doug Mathis playing for the Texas Rangers / Courtesy of Wikipedia |
"Whatever happens in my career, I would definitely look into coaching there one day," he said. "I still have a lot of KBO inside me because my experience was such a good one."
That experience includes going 5-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 10 starts after joining the Lions as a midseason acquisition in July. Mathis also started Game 1 of the Korean Series that year. The Lions went on to beat the SK Wyverns in five games for the first of their four straight championships.
The Lions decided to go in a different direction the following season and didn't bring Mathis back, though Mathis himself said he had no hard feelings toward the Lions or the KBO.
Because Mathis has kept close tabs on the KBO ― he said he enjoyed watching KBO games on ESPN last year ― he was aware of the league's progress over the past 10 years, including brand new stadiums and the addition of two clubs.
"It's really cool to see the way that the league has grown," he said. "Even (among) the players that don't end up coming over to the States, there are still a lot of really good players. It's a really strong league." (Yonhap)
