KBO: ‘Spark Man’ arrives in Korea after signing with Lotte Giants

The pitcher former MLB right-hander Glenn Sparkman, agreed to sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization. The deal will be official once Sparkman passes a physical and medical exam.

This is the second year in a row that Sparkman (whose last name means Sparkman) has signed with an international team. Signed a deal with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball last June, but he only posted a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings:

Before heading to Japan, Sparkman had signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins, but saw no time on the active roster before being released last May – he was only in Triple-A.

A four-season Major League Baseball veteran, Sparkman posted a 5.99 ERA with the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals from 2017-2020, pitching all but one of his 180 career MLB innings in a uniform. KC.

Despite a disappointing ERA and low strikeout total as a major league player, Sparkman has been much stronger in the minors, posting a 2.88 ERA and a 22.85 K% in 378 2/3 rounds, though most of his Higher fanning rates occurred before 2015, when he had Tommy John Surgery.

With numbers suggesting a “Quad-A” career arc to date, Sparkman has a chance to reinvent himself at KBO, and at least rack up a guaranteed salary at a time when many free agents in a similar position are hoping he will. finish blocking.

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The 1.88-meter-tall Sparkman doesn’t turn 30 until May, so a solid performance with the Giants could open some new doors for a return to MLB next winter, or perhaps more lucrative opportunities by pitching in South Korea or Japan. .

Rafael Martinez

I am a fan of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and in general all of Mexican baseball. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, the LMB All Star, LMP (uninterrupted since 2009), signings of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, albeit as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I carry baseball in my veins. Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I came to El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services in Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and within days, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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