With Trevor Rosenthal struggling and Kevin Siegrist on the disabled list, the St. Louis Cardinals turned to Seung Hwan Oh as their closer. It wasn’t an unfamiliar role. Oh was one of the top closers in both the Korean Baseball Organization, where he spent seven years, and the Japan Central League, where he spent two. He combined for 357 saves in those two Asian leagues.

With the occasion of Ichiro Suzuki going for his 3,000th hit (note -- he reached 3,000 on Sunday) in the major leagues, we decided to catch up with Oh to discuss the differences in the three best professional baseball leagues in the world. We discussed a variety of topics through his interpreter, Eugene Koo:

Q. Ichiro Suzuki already has surpassed Pete Rose's all-time hits record of 4,256 if you count the nearly 1,300 hits he came up with in Japan. Rose has made his opinion clear that the competition isn't as stiff in Japan and those hits shouldn't count in evaluating the greatness of the two players. Where do you stand on how difficult it is to get hits in Japan vs. in the major leagues?

A. It's difficult to say, especially from my perspective. I don't think I have enough expertise. I want to be careful about it, because my personal opinion is just that. It's a major accomplishment what Ichiro has done and I have a lot of respect for it.

Q. What are the challenges of facing hitters in the United States like compared with facing hitters in the Japanese leagues?

A. None of them are easy to face. They're all difficult in different ways. There are different kinds of players. The obvious difference is you see more power hitters here.

Q. I've heard scouts say there is more power in Korea than Japan. Would you agree?

A. Yes.

Q. Off the field, which has been a bigger adjustment culturally, Japan or the United States?

A. When I was going over to Japan, the cultural part was more similar than here. It was a little bit easier making the adjustment in Japan, but I think that experience of playing abroad where you're not familiar with anything around you has helped me adjust to playing in the United States.

Q. I imagine you find more fellow Koreans living in Japan than you do in St. Louis?

A. Yes, pretty good chance. It's closer.

Q. Matt Carpenter purchased you a Buddha statue when the team was in Cincinnati. Your nicknames from abroad were "Stone Buddha" and "Final Boss." Will you be sticking with those or have you been given a new one here?

A. I don't mind a new nickname. I've been looking for one for a while. These are all nicknames given by the fans and I appreciate them. Getting a new one means people are showing interest in me. I'm pretty open.

Q. What do the other Cardinal players call you?

A. Stone Buddha and Final Boss.

Q. Are you Buddhist?

A. No, I'm non-religious.

Q. Is pitching the ninth inning different than pitching the seventh or eighth?

A. My mentality is the same whether it's the seventh, eighth or ninth, but the hitters I'm facing are very much focused when it comes to the ninth inning. From a pitcher's perspective, the inning doesn't matter. We go out with the same mentality.

Q. The hitters are more desperate because it's their last chance?

A. Yes, definitely.

Q. Would you like to continue to pitch here in the major leagues as long as you can?

A. That would be the best scenario.

Q. Is this the highest level of baseball in the world?

A. I don't need to say that. People already know. Every other player's dream is to come play in the majors here.

Q. Next spring is another chance to play in the World Baseball Classic. Would you like to do that?

A. That's not up to me. It's up to the national team to decide whether they want to select me. We can talk about that more if I get selected.