Who is Chan Ho Park? Former All-Star set to throw ceremonial first pitch during the Seoul Series

Chan Ho Park became the first pitcher from South Korea to have pitched both for the LA Dodgers and the San Diego Padres three decades back. Park will reportedly take the mound to pitch the ceremonial pitch in Game 1 of the upcoming Seoul Series at the Gocheok Sky Dome.

Hailing from Gongju, South Korea, Chan Ho Park was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1994, when he was just a sophomore at Hanyang University, Seoul.

He went on to make his debut on April 8 of that year against the Atlanta Braves and pitched one inning as a reliever. He played one more game in the big league but spent the majority of the year down in the AA, where he finished with a 5-7 record and a 3.55 ERA.

He got his first major league start against the Padres in 1995. He spent his first full season as a big league pitcher in 1996, going 5–5 with a 3.64 ERA in 48 games (10 starts). Park earned his first All-Star selection in 2001 and finished the season 15–11 with a 3.50 ERA.

He stayed with the Dodgers until 2001 before signing with the Texas Rangers in free agency. In July 2005, he was traded to the San Diego Padres.

In October 2006, Park had his first career postseason game in the NLDS series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

He left the Padres ahead of the 2007 season to sign with the New York Mets. Due to poor form, he had to sign a minor league deal with the Astros later that year. The next year, he was invited by his former team, the Dodgers, as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

He last pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010 and then signed with the NPB team Orix Buffaloes for the 2011 season. The next year, he played for the Hanwha League and retired in November 2012.

More announcements from Dodgers v Padres, Seoul Series

The two-game Seoul Series on March 20 and March 21 will also see EXO's Baekhyun perform the national anthem of South Korea and America.

Apart from these K-pop sensations, Aespa and (G)I-DLE will also be performing at the Seoul Series.

Starters have been announced by both teams. For Game 1, it will be Tyler Glasnow up against Padres ace Yu Darvish. In Game 2, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the mound for the Dodgers and Joe Musgrove will start for the Padres.