Korean Baseball Player Tests Positive for Drugs

Here is something you will probably not hear much about from the Korean media:

A South Korean player at the first World Baseball Classic (WBC) in the United States has tested positive in a doping test, South Korean team officials said Saturday.

Park Myeong-hwan, a 29-year-old pitcher from the Doosan Bears, was tested for an illegal drug, and is banned from playing in remaining games, the officials said.

However, you will hear a lot of this:

The U.S. media has also been frank in its admiration. The New York Times cited Buck Martinez, the U.S. team manager, as praising the Korean team’s talent, spirit and preparation. MLB.com went further, hailing Korea as the best team in the world right now, a “Classic” formation — high praise in a country that has been living with baseball for more than 130 years. Thus the World Series is known as the “Fall Classic,” the All Star Game as the “Midsummer Classic” and, of course, the present competition the World Baseball Classic.

At least the US baseball team beat Korea at something, they at least had no positive drug tests which actually comes as a mild surprise considering the current steroid scandal in Major League Baseball.

Also isn’t it interesting that the US media praises the Korean team for playing well and winning against the US, where if a US team does well against Korea, the Korean media brings up the black helicopter, CIA conspiracy theories of how Yankee is screwing Korea. For example, I have yet to see a story in the Korean media about what a good speed skater the American Olympic gold medalist Apollo Ohno is. Instead he just gets tore apart by being called a cheater and needs riot police to protect him when he comes to Korea to compete. If you haven’t noticed by reading this blog, I don’t like the Korean media much.

With that said I hope the Korean team does win it all even though I will be subjected to the self congratulating media orgasm that is sure to follow.