[Sport] Mel Rojas: "I'm going to Japan because it bothered me that in the Major Leagues they doubted what I did in Korea"

[EvKirito]

                                                               

 

 

South Korean ball MVP received offers from MLB, but turned them down
In Japan it will earn US $ 5 million in two years plus other incentives

 

 

His stretch of dominance in South Korea culminated in an MVP award this year, slugger Mel Rojas Jr. is bringing his talents to Japan for 2021.

 

So why did you decide to leave KT Wiz at the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to sign with the Hanshin Tigers at Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB)?

It's complicated.

 

For one thing, Rojas Jr. said he didn't just sign Hanshin for money. It was his competitive fire that led him to a league widely considered superior to the KBO. He wanted to show Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs that he could play against tougher competition than South Korea.

 

"Some people in the MLB (team) offices, especially the general managers, said that what I've been doing in Korea means nothing to MLB teams because (the KBO) is not as competitive as the MLB." Rojas told Yonhap News Agency while on vacation with his family in Nashville, Tennessee.

"They said that if I did something similar in Japan, they would surely give me major league deals," the Dominican said. "And that pissed me off. People doubted me and I wanted to take up that challenge."

Rojas has little to prove at KBO, where he hit .321 / .388 / .594 with 132 home runs and 409 RBIs in 511 games.

 

He came in as a midseason replacement for Johnny Monell in June 2017 and hit .301 with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs in 83 games.

 

In 2018, his first full season, Rojas exploded with 43 home runs and 114 RBIs, in addition to stealing 18 bags.

 

He followed up with a 24-homer, 104-RBI campaign in 2019 and then set the KBO ablaze with his 2020 MVP season. Rojas led the league with 47 home runs and 135 RBI, and finished third with a .349 batting average. , as he reached a category before winning the Triple Crown.

 

Rojas also outscored all players with 116 runs scored, 374 total bases, .680 slugging percentage and 1,097 on base plus slugging (OPS) slugging percentage.

The 30-year-old has yet to play in the majors and feels that proving his worth in Japan will bring him closer to the big show.

 

At the same time, money came into play. Starting next year, the KBO will allow clubs to reduce player salaries if the season is interrupted by extraordinary events such as the coronavirus pandemic. Rojas said that he will be guaranteed his full salary at NPB, no matter the situation.

 

Rojas signed for two years for US $ 5 million, plus US $ 500,000 in incentives. He has a player option for the second season. The Wiz said last week that they were poised to make Rojas the highest-paid foreign hitter in KBO history.

 

Former Samsung Lions infielder Darin Ruf holds the record with $ 1.7 million he earned in 2019. Rojas earned $ 1.5 million in 2020. Rojas acknowledged that he had the same offer from both the Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants with based in Tokyo, but chose the former for a combination of reasons on and off the field.

 

"They're still working to put together a really good team for next year," Rojas said of the Tigres. "Tokyo is really nice, and the Giants are like the Yankees (from New York) in Japan. But Hanshin is based in a more familiar city (Nishinomiya). My family will come with me."

 

Rojas said he had such a great time with the Wiz that he would love to go back to South Korea to play again. "KT fans have been great," he said. "I am very grateful for the way the KT fans have treated me with such respect. From the bottom of my heart, I really appreciate it."

 

When asked to pick his favorite moment as a member of the Wiz, Rojas chose to have the team clinch second place in this year's postseason on October 30, his last day of the regular season.

 

The Wiz lost to the Hanwha Eagles 4-3 that night, but still secured the second seed when the LG Twins lost to the SK Wyverns 3-2.

 

The Wiz were the last of 10 teams in Rojas' first season in 2017, before improving to ninth in 2018 and then sixth in 2019. They reached the postseason for the first time in 2020.

 

"The day we got second place ... it was very emotional," Rojas said. "The fans were screaming in the outfield and I knew LG had lost. Tears were coming from my eyes. When I first arrived, it was the last team. Finishing second (in the regular season) was very special."