Hanwha Eagles hold youth clinic at KES

 Five members of the Hanwha Eagles Professional Baseball Club visited Koblerville Elementary School yesterday morning and put  on a youth baseball clinic to a group of about 40 fifth and sixth graders on the campus’ baseball field.

The clinic started with the students learning proper stretching techniques and then the Eagles offered some tips on how to throw the ball.

Then the kids got to test their skills with some simple pitch and catch drills before taking some swings with the bats.

After some “soft toss” batting practice the kids executed some cool down running exercises to end the clinic.

The activity was well received as it served as a nice break away from exams that are currently taking place in class.

“We wanted to give something back to the school as a gesture of appreciation for letting us use their field for our spring training program. We really appreciate the hospitality and hope that the kids had a lot of fun,” said Eagles manager Cho Dae Hyun.

Hyun and Eagles players Jang Sun Ho, Park Noh Min, Ko Dong Jin, and Kin Su arrived on island last Jan. 5 and have been using the KES field for their spring rehabilitation-training program.

Dong Jin and Kin Su are returning to Korea later this week, but the rest of the group will remain on island until Feb. 28.

The players are all recovering from various injuries sustained last season and according to Hyun, Saipan is a great place for them to recuperate.

Some of them also recently underwent surgeries and are not fit to practice fully with the rest of the team.

In addition to holding the clinic, the Eagles expressed their gratitude further by donating some baseball equipment to KES.

The Eagles are based in Daejeon, South Korea and is a member of the Korean Baseball Organization, which competes in the Korean Professional Baseball League.

The team was founded in 1985 as the Binggrae Eagles, Hanwha’s former corporate name. It changed to the Hanwha Eagles in 1993 after Binggrae broke apart from the conglomerate. They were the seventh installment of the eight-team field.

The Eagles have one Korean Series title from 1999 and have made 11 postseason appearances with a handful of runner-up showings.

Its heyday was back in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the team has since declined overall in recent years.

Last season they finished at the bottom of the field and fell short of the playoffs.

Notably, former Major League Baseball pitcher Chan Ho Park is a member of the bullpen.

Park was the first-ever South Korean-born player in MLB history.

The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him out of college as an amateur free agent during his sophomore season in 1994.

His term with the Dodgers lasted five and a half years and he later had stints with the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Pittsburg Pirates before his major league career came to an end in 2010.

Park signed with the Orix Buffaloes for the 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan.

The journeyman is known as a power pitcher that touches in the mid-90s (MPH) on the speed gun.

The 2012 KPBL season starts on April, 7.