The South Korean baseball club Kiwoom Heroes announced Friday they have reached a strategic partnership agreement with the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB).
The Heroes said the deal will allow the two clubs to exchange ideas and know-how on baseball operations. To that end, the teams will send baseball operations employees to each other and hold regular meetings to share the latest information in the area.
According to the Heroes, a high-ranking official from the Diamondbacks will visit Seoul on Sept. 8 to officially sign the deal and watch the Heroes host the Hanwha Eagles at Gocheok Sky Dome in the capital city.
A staff member from the Diamondbacks' research and development department will join the Heroes' scouting team on a road trip to the southeastern city of Daegu for a three-game series against the Samsung Lions starting Friday evening.
The Heroes said they plan to send their operations staffers to Arizona as soon as possible, and have them watch the Diamondbacks at work before the end the ongoing regular season.
In February this year, the Heroes held their spring training at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona, also the spring home of the Diamondbacks. According to the Heroes, the D-backs showed interest in the KBO club's ability to churn out multiple MLB players and to remain a consistent postseason contender. This led to working-level talks between the teams' front office staff, which laid the groundwork for the partnership.
The Heroes have seen three of their own players reach the majors in recent years: former Minnesota Twins first baseman Park Byung-ho, ex-Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho and current San Diego Padres infielder Kim Ha-seong. Another Kiwoom player, outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, is scheduled to be posted for MLB clubs after this season.
"In the way we run our baseball operations, our club and the Diamondbacks have a lot of similarities," the Heroes said in a statement. "By exchanging our know-how, we can create synergy. We hope to take a step forward in our operations by applying Arizona's operational know-how to our system. And we look forward to providing Arizona with whatever help they need."
The Diamondbacks joined MLB in 1998 as an expansion team and won their first and so far only World Series title in 2001 with South Korean pitcher Kim Byung-hyun as their closer.
Through Thursday's action, the Diamondbacks ranked second in the National League West at 67-61. They are holding down the third and final Wild Card spot.
The Heroes were the Korean Series runners-up last year but are in last place through Thursday at 46-67-3 (wins-losses-ties).
The Heroes previously signed a similar strategic agreement with the Boston Red Sox in October 2014.
Source: Yonhap News Agency