With this year’s MLB free agent market enlivened by international players, Ben Lindbergh talks to three guests about three baseball-rich countries. First, Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency joins to discuss the response in South Korea to Jung Hoo Lee 이정후’s signing, Shin-Soo Choo 추신수’s forthcoming retirement, the legendary career of Choi Dong-won, and the ongoing reckoning with bullying in the KBO and Korean culture at large. Then (44:21) Ben talks to NPB historian Rob Fitts about trailblazing Japanese pitchers Eiji Sawamura and Masanori Murakami, and how baseball would be different if Japanese players had entered MLB earlier. Lastly (1:12:02), Ben brings on Sami Khan, co-director of The Last Out, a documentary about three Cuban players who hoped to make the majors, to discuss their harrowing defections and how a talent exodus affected Cuban baseball.

Audio outro: Ian Phillips, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to Yoo on Lee

Link to Yoo on Lee 2

Link to Yoo on Lee 3

Link to Yoo on Lee 4

Link to Yoo on Choo

Link to Yoo on Fedde

Link to other Fedde article

Link to Choi Dong-won wiki

Link to Choi Dong-won Award wiki

Link to Yoo on An’s bullying

Link to Yoo on An 2

Link to An scouting report

Link to info on Babcock firing

Link to info on Peters firing

Link to volleyball twins article

Link to K-pop bullies

Link to Mel Hall article

Link to Mel Hall wiki

Link to Rakuten bullying

Link to Stove League EW wiki

Link to stream Stove League

Link to translators EW episode

Link to baseball deadening article

Link to KBO rules changes

Link to Yomiuri baseball cheers

Link to Rob’s website

Link to Rob’s SABR page

Link to Sawamura wiki

Link to Sawamura Award wiki

Link to posting system explainer

Link to EW Episode 1311

Link to EW Episode 1621

Link to EW Episode 1816

Link to Sugar wiki

Link to Ballplayer: Pelotero wiki

Link to Cuba-NPB/KBO article

Link to post on Rodríguez defection

Link to article on Rodríguez FA

Link to article on Arocha

Link to The Last Out trailer

Link to The Last Out website

Link to Q&A with the doc stars

Link to ESPN on Dominguez

Link to article on Cuban baseball decline

Link to ESPN on Cuba and the WBC

Link to wet feet, dry feet wiki

Link to 2018 MLB deal

Link to scuttled MLB deal

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