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With the Twins finishing 83-79 last season, and a number of great young players on the roster, expectations are high for this season. But there are also a lot of questions to be answered as the team enters its second season under manager Paul Molitor.
One of the biggest questions is how Korean slugger Byung Ho Park will adjust to the major leagues.
Park isn't any old rookie, as he won MVP awards in 2012 and 2013 in the KBO League in South Korea, and won the league home run title in each of his final four seasons there. Last season, he hit .303 with 52 home runs and 146 RBI in 124 games for the Nexen Heroes.
That's what led the Twins to bid $12.85 million just for the right to negotiate with Park. They signed him to a four-year, $12 million contract.
While it's impossible to project how international players will adjust to the majors, the Twins must have felt good after watching Jung Ho Kang, who played for the same team as Park in South Korea.
Kang was a career .298 hitter with 139 home runs and 545 RBI in nine seasons in South Korea. Then he came to the Pirates last year and hit .287, with 121 hits, 24 doubles, 15 home runs, 58 RBI and 60 runs scored. The infielder finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting despite missing the final weeks of the season because of a broken leg.
Ready for the challenge
Speaking through a translator, Park said that when it comes to hitting, he doesn't expect much of a challenge. But the bigger challenge may be adjusting to playing and living in America.
"I think that baseball is baseball, baseball is the same anywhere I go," he said. "But culturewise, and other factors like the players and the environment, I'll have to adjust."
Does he expect it to be a challenge? "Sure, it's going to be tough, but as time goes by and I go through each game and practice, I'll find out and figure it out," Park said.
Park also said that he thinks the biggest adjustment, baseballwise, will be the American fastball.
"It could be different between the fastball here and over there, but I'll prepare a lot," he said. "I know that the fastball here is different."
It's a brief sample size, but so far this spring Park has shown that he can handle big-league pitching. He hit .259 (15-for-58) with a .279 on-base percentage, but he has a .466 slugging percentage and a .744 OPS. Park produced 13 RBI on 15 hits, including three doubles and three home runs.
Didn't expect the Twins
When Park was asked if he was surprised to land in Minnesota, he said that he was but only because the bidding process is unknown to the players in Korea until the bid is accepted.
"I heard a few teams were interested in me," he said. "So I was thinking about what team is going to bid on me?"
He said that after he signed his deal, he talked with Kang, who gave him some advice. "I am good friends with Kang with the Pirates and he told me not to change anything until I struggle," Park said. "So I'll listen to him."
While Park is primarily going to be the designated hitter, he did say he is capable of playing first base.
"I have been playing first base my whole life, so I am ready wherever the team asks me to play, I'll be ready," he said. "I'm excited, too."
Asked if he had heard of Twins first baseman Joe Mauer, Park said: "I heard a lot about Joe Mauer and knew Joe Mauer before. I met Joe Mauer before and I think he's a great person. I'm excited to become friends with him."
Of his new home ballpark, Target Field, Park said, "It's beautiful." When asked if the spacious dimensions are an issue, he said they were not.
"Size-wise, there's more stadiums that are similar to this, so I don't worry about the size," he said. "But the one comparison I can make is it is just beautiful out here."
Vikings deserve A-plus
I'm from the old school. I get a kick out of Internet bloggers that do all of the ratings on players and teams before their season or even their careers begin. I wish they would have to go back and see how accurate they were overall.
Typical of this is the NFL.com rating of the Vikings offseason moves as a B-minus. If they did some research, they would see Rick Spielman probably has the best track record in free agency of any NFL general manager.
The article, by Chris Wesseling, said: "The Vikings' plan is easy to ascertain: Upgrade the offensive line after NFL rushing leader Adrian Peterson was held under 100 yards in five of the final six games of the 2015 season. To that end, Rick Spielman added mauling guard Alex Boone and mammoth right tackle Andre Smith. Wide receiver remains a question mark after disappointing speedster Mike Wallace signed with Baltimore. Although Stefon Diggs exceeded expectations as a rookie, he's more of a second fiddle as opposed to a legitimate No. 1 receiver.
"On defense, it will be interesting to see how much longtime Titans safety Michael Griffin has left in the tank after Tennessee released him in February."
But I question the B-minus ranking. I think Spielman should get an A-plus.
JOTTINGS
• Glen Taylor reports Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell, General Manager Milt Newton and all the assistants have one-year contracts that expire at the end of the season. Taylor, who owns both the Wolves and the Star Tribune, also reported that NBA rules call for each team to have a minimum number of players insured. So injured center Nikola Pekovic, who signed a five-year contract for $60 million and has two years left after this season totaling $23 million, is being paid 80 percent of his salary from insurance. Incidentally, Wolves home attendance is 17 percent ahead of last season, with applications for 2016-17 season tickets coming in at a pace unseen in recent years.
• As I've noted before, the Gophers football schedule for next season is so much softer than it was in 2015. It opens with three nonconference home games, against Oregon State, Indiana State and Colorado State. Big Ten play alternates between home and road games, and it begins at Penn State, followed by Iowa at home, at Maryland, Rutgers at home, at Illinois, Purdue at home, at Nebraska, Northwestern at home and end the season at Wisconsin. It's the first year of the nine-game Big Ten schedule.
• Lou Nanne of hockey fame now has a steakhouse in Edina named after him, but local restaurant owner Michael McDermott is the big money behind it. Incidentally, Nanne would be my candidate for the Gophers athletic director job, at least for a short period, but he has no interest in the job. He lives for the university and has done so much for it already.
• Gophers men's basketball coach Richard Pitino was asked about the two transfers who he believes will start next season. "Reggie Lynch [6-9 from Illinois State] has the opportunity to be one of the best bigs in the conference next year. He catches everything, has very good low-post moves, he's extremely big, has a long wing span, can block shots. De'Vonte Fitzgerald [6-8 from Texas A&M], can shoot the ball, has great athleticism. I think both guys will be major components for what we're doing."
