On May 17, 2008, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels played the middle game of their annual Freeway Series, and it saw Chan Ho Park, Hong-Chih Kuo and Takashi Saito combine to make MLB history in a 6-3 win.
Park started the game for the Dodgers and pitched four innings. He was followed by Kuo, who also completed four innings, and Saito then entered in the ninth.
With that, they became the first trio of pitchers from three different Asian countries to cover all nine innings of a Major League game. Park, who made his MLB debut in 1994, signed with the Dodgers out of South Korea. Kuo is a native of Taiwan and Saito hails from Japan.
Park held the Angels to two runs (one earned), Kuo turned in a scoreless relief appearance and Saito allowed one run before finishing out the Dodgers’ win at Angel Stadium. It was their lone victory in the three-game series, as the Angels had 4-2 and 10-2 wins.
The 2008 season marked Park’s last with the Dodgers as he was near the end of his career. Meanwhile, it was Kuo’s fourth of seven years with the club, and Saito was in his third and final season with L.A.
Dodgers history
Chan Ho Park
Park became the first Korean to play in MLB when he made his debut on April 8, 1994.
Park went on to have a 17-year Major League career before playing in Japan for two more seasons and then retiring from baseball in 2012. He played nine seasons across two stints with the Dodgers, with his best MLB season coming in 2001.
In 36 games (35 starts) for L.A. that year, he went 15-11 with a 3.50 ERA, 3.89 FIP and 1.17 WHIP with 218 strikeouts and 91 walks in 234 innings.
In 476 career MLB games (287 starts), Park had 124 wins and a respectable 4.36 ERA with 84 of those wins and an even better 3.77 ERA coming in a Dodger uniform.
Hong-Chih Kuo
Kuo received a $1.25 million bonus when he signed with the Dodgers on June 19, 1999. His career included elbow trouble that ultimately led to separate Tommy John surgeries in 2000 and 2003. Kuo didn’t make his MLB debut until Sept. 2, 2005, against the Colorado Rockies.
He nevertheless managed to have a productive career despite the injuries. Over parts of seven seasons with L.A., Kuo finished 13-17 with 13 saves, a 3.73 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 218 games (14 starts).
Takashi Saito
Saito originally joined the Dodgers organization on a Minor League contract signed prior to the 2006 season. That came after 14 years in the Japanese Central League with the Yokohama Bay Stars.
Saito’s best season with the Dodgers was 2007, when he went 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA, 2.57 FIP, 0.72 WHIP, 10.9 strikeouts per nine and 39 saves en route to All-Star honors.
Saito spent three seasons with the Dodgers before going on to play for the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
