Being a business partner instead of a pitcher, Chan Ho Park sitting across from John Fisher says something important. Park, then 21 years old and from Gongju, South Korea, walked into the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse thirty years ago. He was the first Korean-born player in Major League Baseball history, which was a big deal. In this case, he’s becoming an owner in the sport, which is something no other Korean has ever done.
Park’s investment group, Team61, told the Athletics in late July that it would be putting $70 million into the team. The name comes from Park’s uniform number, which he wore his whole career. Out of the total, $55 million has already been agreed upon. The last $15 million is still pending approval by MLB. This is the kind of investment that has both monetary and symbolic value, and it’s hard to tell them apart in this case.
The people around Park seem like an odd mix of baseball stars, Hollywood stars, and K-pop royalty. Team61 includes actors Ken Jeong and Daniel Dae Kim, who are both Korean-American and have made a big impact on culture. So, supposedly, is Suga of BTS, which is one of the most famous K-pop groups of all time. The team’s lineup looks like it was almost designed to get international attention for a team that, well, needs it. During the second of three planned seasons, the A’s are playing in West Sacramento. At the same time, a $2 billion dome stadium is being built on the Las Vegas Strip. There is real pressure to get fans in a new city, and going beyond American borders isn’t just a nice idea; it’s a smart move.
Park will also become Fisher’s senior adviser, whose job it will be to help with player development and Asian projects. That’s important to pay attention to. South Korea has quietly become one of the best places in the world to find baseball players. Park is very familiar with that world because he has spent his whole career both living in it and representing it. People in the ownership structure might be able to open doors that a normal front desk wouldn’t even know to try to knock on.
Park said in his speech that he had seen “firsthand how even a small point of connection can create meaningful change.” That kind of language is simple to take in. But it makes more sense when you think about the fact that Park joined the league in 1994, a long time before there were any real ways for Korean baseball players to get into MLB. For many Korean baseball fans, he was more than just a pitcher. He was the first sign that the game could be theirs too. His 124 wins over 17 seasons with teams in cities from Los Angeles to New York tell a story. More time is spent on the cultural one.
For their part, the A’s are building something in Las Vegas that no one can quite guess yet. A minority stake was bought by Harbinger Sports Partners, which includes Mark Cuban, the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks. This was done just days before Team61 made its announcement. Fisher is moving quickly to get the franchise a lot of money and credibility before it opens in Las Vegas in 2028, as shown by the fact that it has added two major new owners in just one week.
It’s still not clear if all of this will lead to real success on the field or long-term fan engagement. Stadiums don’t fill up on their own, and big-name investors can only do so much. Aside from the money, Park’s involvement gives the team a real connection to fans around the world that most MLB teams can’t really make. He played in more than one league. He changed how it looked. It looks like he now wants to have a say in where it goes next.
