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Inside Baseball
Dodger Chan Ho Park's fizzle could cost him big in the free-agent market By Stephen Cannella
Seven innings into his start against Arizona last Thursday, Park left with stiffness in his pitching elbow. That followed a disastrous relief outing three days earlier, in L.A.'s first game after baseball's six-day hiatus in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Park was summoned in the seventh of a 1-1 game against the Padres and failed to retire any of the five hitters he faced. He took the loss after getting booed off the mound at Dodger Stadium. That debacle sparked criticism from Boras of the way L.A. was using Park, 28, and from others it rekindled the questions about Park's tenacity and toughness that have dogged him through much of his eight-year career. "Twenty million for a guy who's 20 games over .500 in his career?" scoffs one National League advance scout, pointing to Park's 78-54 record. "That's exactly what's wrong with this game." "I don't think the Dodgers will make the same mistake they made with [Darren] Dreifort," says one National League general manager, referring to the five-year, $55 million deal L.A. gave 29-year-old righthander Dreifort to re-sign last winter. Dreifort, another Boras client, was 4-7 with a 5.13 ERA before undergoing surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament in early July; he could be sidelined until the start of the 2003 season. "As for the rest of the clubs, I don't think the money's out there." Not that Park will want for suitors. He is still the cream of what will be a thin crop of free-agent starters. His 95-mph fastball and sharp curve are ace quality, and through Sunday he was third in the National League in strikeouts (211) and opponents' batting average (.212). Still, Boras may find the going slow if he begins negotiations with the $20 million mark in mind. "Park has the potential to be great," says Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly, "but he hasn't done what some others have." Issue date: October 1, 2001
For more Inside Baseball see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, September 26. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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