I have no official confirmation of this, but what happened today has got to be a Major League Baseball first. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent three pitchers to the mound today in a 6-3 victory over the Angels of Anaheim. All three were Asian-born.
The game, played in 98 degree heat, began with my favorite player Chan Ho Park starting his first game after several outstanding appearances out of the bull pen. Park pitched three scoreless innings while the Dodgers built a 4-0 lead. But two errant throws in the fourth inning forced him to pitch with runners on base for nearly a half an hour. He escaped the inning with only two runs scored, but was removed prior to the 5th inning because he’d reached his pitch limit (imposed by the coaching staff to ensure he isn’t injured pitching longer than his body is accustomed to of late).
Park, who was born in Korea, was replaced by Taiwanese born southpaw Hong-Chih Quo. Quo earned the victory with four shut-out innings, and he earned it too, turning back the Angels just when it seemed they’d grabbed the momentum.
The final inning was pitched by Japanese-born closer Takashi Saito. Saito did not earn a save because he came in with a lead of greater than four runs, but he has established himself as one of the premiere closers in baseball over the past two-plus seasons.
I listened to the game on the web (paid 18 dollars for it, too!) and I did not hear the announcers say this was some kind of Major League record, but it has got to be. I can’t think of any teams that have had three Asian-born pitchers on their roster at one time, let alone pitched all three in one game.
