After mulling over his next career option last winter, following a season in Triple-A, outfielder Victor Reyes decided to give South Korea a shot. The Venezuelan player heard great things about the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) from his countryman and close friend, Dixon Machado, a slick-fielding shortstop who played for the Lotte Giants from 2020 to 2021. And Reyes signed with the same Giants in December, agreeing to a one-year deal that could pay him as much as US$950,000 with incentives.
Reyes, 29, could not have anticipated then that he would also have an opportunity for an exciting rematch against a former Major League Baseball (MLB) foe — so much so that it gets Reyes’ heart pumping.
On Aug. 21, 2021, Reyes and the Detroit Tigers visited the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. They went up against Toronto’s South Korean starter, Ryu Hyun-jin, and mustered only five hits against the left-hander over seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 loss.
Reyes had two of those five hits by himself — a single in
the third and another single in the sixth.
About two months after Reyes signed in the KBO, Ryu reunited with his former KBO team, Hanwha Eagles, for whom he’d first pitched from 2006 to 2012. With 11 big league years in the rearview mirror, Ryu, the 2019 MLB ERA champion, sent a jolt throughout the KBO even before throwing his first pitch in an official game.
Ryu is scheduled to make two preseason appearances before making his Opening Day start on March 23. And the second of those two outings is expected to come against Reyes and the Giants on March 17.
“When I faced him in Toronto, I only had two at-bats against him,” Reyes told Yonhap News Agency through an interpreter at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Tuesday, after returning from spring training in Japan. The insinuation was clear: Reyes wanted to see Ryu more.
“The prospect of meeting him again in South Korea gets my heart beating fast,” Reyes added with a smile. “It’s exciting.”
Reyes brings 394 games of big league experience to t
he table. While he didn’t exactly set MLB on fire, with a career .264/.294/.379 line, the Giants said they signed the 29-year-old switch hitter because of his compact swing and ability to drive the ball. In 2023, he led the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, with 20 home runs. The Giants also said Reyes has a strong throwing arm and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield.
KBO teams can each sign a maximum three foreign players, with no more than two pitchers. All 10 clubs will each have two pitchers and one position player from overseas this season.
Foreign hitters are counted on to put up big numbers from the middle of the lineup right away. Pressure is an inherent part of their job description. And perhaps no one will be under as much scrutiny as Reyes, since his Giants boast a famously devoted fanbase that hasn’t seen a title since 1992. One foreign hitter may not be able to deliver a championship by himself, but having an unproductive player taking up that spot defini
tely hurts a team’s chances.
When asked about dealing with that kind of burden, Reyes shrugged and said: “I don’t have much to say about that. I just think that if I keep working hard, results will follow.
“I’ve heard all about how passionate Lotte Giants fans are,” Reyes added. “And I think every one of them will be hungry for victories.”
The Giants and their fans may have specific numbers they hope to see out of Reyes, be it 20 home runs, a .300 batting average or 100 RBIs.
However, the only number that Reyes will be focusing on will be the one under the win column in the standings.
“I don’t really pay attention to my stats. I want to win as many games as possible, reach the postseason and win a championship. That’s my biggest goal,” Reyes said. “Personally, I want to stay healthy for the entire season.”
Asked what he most looked forward to about his first season in Korea, Reyes smiled and said, “I just want to hit well.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency