Baseball players Lee Dae-ho, from right, Choo Shin-soo and Oh Seung-hwan promote their book, "Thanks, Baseball," at Kyobo Book Centre's Gwanghwamun branch in central Seoul, Dec. 3. / Yonhap



By Baek Byung-yeul









" src='https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/K2016120800213-200.jpg/dims/resize/120/optimize' /> Cover of "Thanks, Baseball" co-authored by Choo Shin-soo, Lee Dae-ho and Oh Seung-hwan

The Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda once said, "The saddest day of the year is the day the baseball season ends." Baseball fans seem to be gloomy after the baseball season ends.

To comfort fans, three Korean major leaguers ― Choo Shin-soo, Lee Dae-ho and Oh Seung-hwan ― recently co-published essays in "Thanks, Baseball" to share their life stories.

The trio, all born in 1982, haven't been on the same team since the beginning of their professional careers, but they met in the same league, Major League Baseball (MLB) this year as Lee and Oh play for the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, while Choo has been playing for the Texas Rangers.

Slugger Lee, who received the MVP award in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league last year, decided to follow his old dream of playing in the world's top baseball league and embraced his new challenge, signing a minor league deal with the Mariners. Though he didn't deliver a consistent performance for the Mariners, batting .253 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs, Lee inspired many baseball fans for his challenge.

Spending 11 seasons at the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and the NPB, relief pitcher Oh signed with the Cardinals last off season and wowed major league fans with his stunning performance. In his first MLB season, Oh played in 76 games as a relief pitcher and recorded six wins, three losses and 19 saves with an ERA of 1.92 in 79 2/3 innings.

The Rangers outfielder Choo has been a pioneering player among fellow Korean baseball players, playing 12 seasons in the MLB. He is also known for encouraging Lee to play baseball with his elementary school baseball team in Busan.

The three lined up to write the essays after the season as they wanted to commemorate the 2016 season when they played in the same league together. The book includes interviews and photos conducted by baseball writers Lee Young-mi and Cho Mi-ye, who covered their performance this season.

Speaking about his impression of the book, Oh said he could publish the book thanks to his friends. "I published this nice book with my friends. I will keep doing my best next season," Oh said during a book signing event at Kyobo Book Centre's Gwanghwamun branch in central Seoul, Dec. 3. "It is a great honor for us to play in the MLB. We left this fortune in the book," Choo said.

Lee recalled his first major league season, saying "I was deeply overwhelmed when speaking with them in Korean in the U.S. because I don't understand English well."

Throughout the book, the trio expressed their gratitude to the sport of baseball. They wrote they could make more friends and set the far-reaching goal of playing in the world's best baseball league.