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<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Written by: Justin Choi<br>Follow him on Twitter: @justinochoi<br>Follow Prospects Worldwide on Twitter: @ProspectsWorldW</strong></p>



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<p class="has-medium-font-size">Though much younger than the MLB, the KBO has a rich history that&#8217;s been written by the achievements of legendary players. To put them into context, I&#8217;ve decided to compare 5 KBO legends with MLB players that serve as their counterparts, both statistically and symbolically. Without further ado, here they are: </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Dong-won Choi (ìµëì) = Sandy Koufax</strong></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://yagongso.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/a0053836_4e7034e5cd7a4.jpg" alt="" width="591" height="353"/></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://a.espncdn.com/photo/2016/0128/r48844_1296x729_16-9.jpg" alt="" width="583" height="341"/></figure></div>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">Choi&#8217;s short but insane 5-year peak from 1983 to 1987 resembles that of Koufax. During that period, Choi was renowned for his deadly fastball-curveball combination, punching out hitters left and right. In fact, Choi still holds the KBO single-season strikeout record with 223 in 1984! Unfortunately, his ridiculous workload – ;exemplified by his starting games 1,3,5, and 7 of the 1984 Korean Series –ultimately took a toll and cut his career short. Still, like Koufax, he retired with mid-40 WAR and is considered one of the best pitchers in KBO history. If Koufax possessed the &#8216;Left Arm of God,&#8217; perhaps Choi had God&#8217;s right arm. </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Woo-ram Jung (ì ì°ë) = Trevor Hoffman</strong></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://pds.joins.com//news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/201805/24/dbd84d4f-4210-4122-8267-027566e2437c.jpg" alt=""/></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/foHDHQxlil107cEBylxiQC77KRzTyxe9hpZH_L0qwEAypeapozDhqJn-qR76xdB6lhLkXkRV7oxBRHdROjX3yvaCfe3nvN4kp8Hwhu3YgCMqz8FWWQ8" alt="" width="563" height="352"/></figure></div>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">Woo-ram Jung is, without a doubt, the best KBO relief pitcher of all-time. In his lengthy 17-year career (which is still ongoing!), he has accumulated an impressive 31.2 WAR and a KBO record 169 saves. He also possesses the unique record of appearing in at least 50 games in 10 consecutive seasons. In short, consistency defines him. It&#8217;d be an honor to compare him to Mariano Rivera, but unfortunately, having dedicated his career to the mediocre-to-average SK Wyverns and Hanwha Eagles, Jung has little to no post-season heroics. Therefore, he reminds me of the ever-underrated Trevor Hoffman, a brilliant reliever with a similar fate. </p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Seung-Yup Lee (ì´ì¹ì½) = Albert Pujols</strong></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://img.etoday.co.kr/pto_db/2018/04/600/20180416152748_1204733_700_388.jpg" alt="" width="599" height="332"/></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bc0d4bb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1200x674+0+0/resize/840x472!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb6%2Fe3%2Fb8b5baa10a10936217444a6edad0%2Fla-1496374811-tihyqqyhay-snap-image" alt="" width="599" height="332"/></figure></div>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">While Pujols was tearing up the Major Leagues in in the early-to-mid 2000&#8217;s, so was Seung-Yup Lee half the world away. A first baseman who hits for average and power? Check. Lee has a career batting average of .302 and the single-season record for home runs with 56. A face of the franchise? Check. Lee played with the Samsung Lions his entire career, and like Pujols, helped lead his team to a championship title. Numerous accolades that bolster a Hall of Fame candidacy? Check. if you think Pujols&#8217; 3 MVPs are impressive, then Lee&#8217;s 5 should be too. No wonder they call him the Lion King! </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Dong-yul Sun (ì ëì´) = Cy Young</strong></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://img7.yna.co.kr/mpic/YH/2019/07/12/MYH20190712002900038.jpg" alt=""/></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://www.kendallcountynow.com/_internal/cimg!0/278hmmtpc7pcz58c5q52k1rf3cgasx3" alt="" width="582" height="499"/></figure></div>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">There&#8217;s a strong case for Cy Young being the best right-handed pitcher in MLB history. But there&#8217;s also a case for Dong-yol Sun being the best right-handed pitcher&#8230; period. Why? Sun&#8217;s 107.1 WAR lags behind Young&#8217;s 163.8, but the KBO only played around 108 games back in the 80s, when Sun was active. Less opportunities to pitch simply equals less WAR. </p><div class="9z5Ul8e5" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> 
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<p class="has-medium-font-size">Furthermore, while Cy Young was an around-average stat accumulator in his later years, Sun managed to put up 9 WAR in his final KBO season, and instead of retiring afterwards, signed with the Chunichi Dragons and became a dominant closer. </p>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">What I&#8217;m certain about, however, is that in 1986, Sun pitched the greatest season is baseball history. That year, he had a 0.99 ERA backed up by a 1.16 FIP in 262.2 innings pitched. What did that add up to? An astonishing 15.1 WAR. But like I said earlier, that was achieved in only 108 games! If we convert 15.1 WAR into WAR/108, we end up with 22.7. Twenty-two-point-seven wins&#8230; from a SINGLE player. </p>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">The Hatae (now KIA) Tigers, whom Sun pitched for, won 67 games in 1986. Without Sun, there is no playoff berth, no eventual championship title. </p>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">Dong-yul Sun <em>was</em> the Haetae Tigers. </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Jong-bum Lee (ì´ì¢ ë²) = Derek Jeter</strong></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://img1.daumcdn.net/thumb/R800x0/?scode=mtistory2&;fname=https%3A%2F%2Ft1.daumcdn.net%2Fcfile%2Ftistory%2F160C43264B0E069E22" alt=""/></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://media12.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Video/202001/tdy_news_melvin_jeter_200122_1920x1080.focal-760x428.jpg" alt=""/></figure></div>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">Jong-bum Lee and Derek Jeter are the most well-known shortstops of all-time in their respective countries. You can ask any Korean adult who Jong-Bom Lee is and probably get a correct response. </p>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">Lee set the KBO on fire by hitting .393 and swiping 83 bags in just his second season. Due to his agility, he was nicknamed &#8216;The Son of the Wind&#8217; and was universally loved by fans and the media. And similar to Jeter, he retired with a .297/.369/.458 triple slash and 67.7 WAR. </p>



<p class="has-medium-font-size">Just like Jeter, however, there are those who question Lee&#8217;s defensive capabilities. Some say that Lee committed too many errors, while others say that his range and arm strength made up for them. Regardless, Jong-bom Lee is a fantastic shortstop who defined the 90s and 2000s. </p>
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5 KBO Legends And Their MLB Counterparts
