New Yankee Chan Ho Park: "Philadelphia was the no. 1 choice."
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New Yankee Chan Ho Park: "Philadelphia was the no. 1 choice."
Andy Martino
TAMPA--As a reporter, it is my job to be skeptical of messages like "the Phillies have one of the best clubhouses in baseball, and many players want to play for the team." It's not that I'm supposed to be overly negative about something like that; I just have to make sure that it isn't mere spin, repeated so many times that it begins to feel like truth.
In the past week, I've had the chance to touch base with Cliff Lee and Chan Ho Park, two short-term visitors to the Philly area--and two guys who seem to wish they were in Clearwater this month. Both pitched well in 2009, and both hoped to return this season. Lee, of course, was part of the Halladay mega-deal. Park was, in Brad Lidge's estimation, "the MVP of our bullpen" last season, but the team did not re-sign him.
After failing to reach an agreement with agent Jeff Borris in December, the Phils moved on to sign Danys Baez and Jose Contreras instead. It was a gamble for the team, swapping a known quantity for two players yet to succeed in Philadelphia. And for Park, like Lee, it was extremely disappointing. The more you see former Phillies shake their heads, shrug, and say how much they loved it in that clubhouse, the more real the Phils current reputation seems.
Park was no exception. Standing in the locker room of the defending champs, dressed in the iconic pinstripes, Park made clear that he regretted leaving Philadelphia.
He began by saying the right things about becoming a Yankee. "They have the most history, and they are popular in the world, even in Korea," Park said. "When I grew up, they were a symbol--New York. Yankees."
But he spent most of his time yesterday talking about an off-season he called "frustrating."
"I had a wish after the season," he said. "Philadelphia was the no. 1 choice. I had a tough time leaving there. I had much support from fans and community, and I had the best teammates there, so..."
Well, he was asked, why didn't it work out with the Phils?
"Too late. Too late. Too late. It didn't work well in the beginning, and later on, too late," he said.
Basically, Park orginally expected a raise from the Phils, feeling that a strong performance had earned him more than the $2.5 million he made in 2009. His agents negotiated with Amaro through mid-December, and then the Phils decided to move on. Park was shocked.
"They were talking, and it didn't work," he said. "Trying to get a deal, and it didn't work out, and then later on they just gave up, and I lost."
He eventually signed for one year, $1.2 million to become a Yankees reliever. Park said that while he still preferred starting--and claimed to have drawn interest as a starter from several teams, though he declined to name those teams--he was more comfortable in the relief role than ever before.
"I knew a lot of teams were going to expect more" from him as a reliever, Park said. I" had success in the bullpen last year and the year before."
Park also addressed the criticism leveled by Charlie Manuel this winter. In complimenting Baez and Contreras as pitchers who would never refuse to take the ball, even if injured, Manuel was clearly taking a shot at Park. It is likely that Manuel's view of Park as a victim of frequent minor injuries contributed to the Phils lack of aggressiveness in pursuing the pitcher.
"I was disappointed in what he said," said Park. "That's what he thinks, but I don't think it has any meaning. He still is my favorite manager. I didn't talk to him, and I didn't believe it (when he first heard about the comments). But who cares? He's still my favorite manager. The whole team; they're the best. That's why it's so difficult to leave. The fans, especially the fans. They're the best.
"(It is) mostly sad...to leave Philadelphia. I had fun last year. Good memories and things. That makes me sad, but in the future (I'm on) a good team, and we have a chance to win. That's what's most important."
Comments (62)
It's the same story. Dawkins, Park etc "all wanted to stay in Philly". It seems like the old story continues to be true: "Money Talks and Bull...t walks".— gabed- This story is fascinating. Amaro appears to be playing his hands very shrewdly with agents and players in negotiations. Amaro has a fantastic clubhouse with a manager for whom players love playing. That's a huge attraction for a free-agent. Amaro is sending the message that he will offer value for a player (see Halladay) but not over-pay. Within the next two or three years, Amaro will have to negotiate with Rollins, Howard, and Utley. Next year Werth. Amaro be able to keep them if they all take a little less than what they can get on the open market, but they'll take less to play in front of a packed house every night and go to the post season every year. We'll see if Amaro can make this work long term - but it's very very clever.— smel4727
- In the end it comes down to the player not the agent. The agents are supposed to get the best offer and its up to his client to pick which offer to take. Park tried to hold out for a starters position and didn't get one. Rube likes to move fast (see Ibanez and Polanco) and when Park turned down the offer Rube moved on. Agents are going to learn that Rube moves fast with his take it or leave it approach. As much as I like Chollie he should not have thrown anyone under the bus. That was a Buddy Ryan quote.— EarlKeese
- You fellas do know that Park's agent is JEFF BORRIS, as pointed out in the article, and not SCOTT BORAS. Boras may use a lot of tactics unpopular with fans, but he had nothing to do with the Phils' negotiations with CHP.— redcans
Comment removed.- The bottom line is that what happened to Park is the same that happened with Lee and Dawkins with the Eagles, which is that the teams just didn't want them anymore. We can talk about contracts all we want and he said she said, but in the end, the teams just didn't want them and they moved on. The Phils obviously didn't try hard to keep Park. No matter what people say about Park (what's wrong with a player wanting to start?), if he didn't want to stay with the Phils in the bullpen, he wouldn't be negotiating with the Phils. Same with Lee and all the talk about he wanting to test FA (which he never said to the Phils, by the way). If that's what they wanted to do, they wouldn't be negotiating. In the end, Amaro didn't want them and spun it around as the player's fault. I just hope Amaro doesn't ruin this team too much.— awl
- Comment removed.
- is he serious?... he was offered more money and woulda been a much more valuable player in philly. He was actually becoming a fan favorite for his performance last year. CHAN HO really blew this one. Less money and will pitch less inning in NY. ENJOY NEW YORK CHAN HO..— Apollo Creed
- Swing and a miss. Borris and you swung too high. 3.0-1.2 = A lot of millions.— phillyart
- If you really want to play for the Phillies so badly, tell your agent to just get it done! You employ him, not vice versa.— dasher
- I'm not so damn sure Charlie was singling ANYBODY out with his comments, just pitchers in general.And I don't think Park is blaming his agent enough in the negotiations. Our Fightins (Ruben, bless his heart!) offered a nice raise for a job well done last year, and the agent turned his nose up at it. And Ruben found people that the team needed and could pay decently. As much as I appreciate what Chan Ho did for our team last year, his agent got him his current job,(@ half the money , and one third what he was offered here) so he'll just have to live with it. All the best to Chan Ho....until the Series!— TBear
- UncleEddie's post hit it dead on. I never understood the so-called iron man mentality when it almost always costs the team games. Almost every time the guy playing hurt actually only winds up hurting the team.— phillyjeffsr
- TRANSLATION FROM KOREAN.... I regret listening to that Numbnut Boris when he told me to reject the 3.5 million and now I am in a different tax bracket....— Fo Fo Fo
- I think I'm with alwaysanotherview because it seems like with both Park and Lee the Phils made an offer that wasn't well received (different situations, obviously) and if you don't like what they're offering, they'll thank you and go do something else. Park said it - he lost...probably north of $1.5 mill. He should fire his agent, agree with that, too.— PhillySubsMac
- sounds like there's a difference of opinion between the view Amaro has given us and Chan Ho. I'm betting Chan Ho wasn't lying.— chriszak
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