It didn’t take long for Austin Dean to leave a lasting impression on fans of his new team in South Korea.
On April 8, in just his seventh game for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the first-year American hitter delivered a pinch-hit, walk-off double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Twins to a 2-1 win over the Samsung Lions.
“We have a long season, but right now, that is one of the coolest moments that I’ve gotten to experience,” Dean told Yonhap News Agency on Friday before facing the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. “Stuff like that was really special and just really cool. I really appreciated all the fans showing their support for that.”
And if Dean keeps producing more clutch hits like that, his love affair with the famously loyal and passionate Twins fan base may stretch into October for the postseason. Through Sunday’s action, Dean was batting .340/.364/.440 with five doubles and seven RBIs. The Twins are 9-5, tied for the second best record in the early going, and lead the league with a .296 team batting average, 86 runs scored, 140 hits, 31 doubles and a .792 on-base plus slugging.
Over the past decade or so, the Twins have only had three foreign hitters who could be considered productive: Roberto Petagine from 2008 to 2009, Luis Jimenez for parts of three seasons from 2015 to 2017 and Roberto Ramos from 2020 to 2021.
The others have been mild disappointments or, in some cases, unmitigated disasters. And where Dean ultimately falls in that spectrum will go a long way toward determining the Twins’ fortunes in the postseason.
The Seoul-based Twins have not won a Korean Series title since 1994. Their last appearance in the championship series was in 2002. They have been regarded as title contenders in recent postseasons, only to fall to underdogs.
Dean, who has played in 126 major league games for the Miami Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants, said he was aware of the Twins’ checkered history with their foreign position players. But he wasn’t necessarily feeling an added burden because of it.
“There’s been a foreign hitter curse at this place, and I’m looking at it as more of, ‘Let’s break this thing.'” he said. “I’m not putting pressure on myself. I’m going out and having fun, and just letting fans know it’s just who I am. I’m very energetic, very passionate. I hate losing.”
Dean also said two members of the team’s leadership group, captain Oh Ji-hwan and ex-captain Kim Hyun-soo, have been particularly helpful in trying to keep pressure off his shoulders.
“My job is to help the team win and that’s getting runs in, getting on base, scoring, (playing) defense,” he said. “I know the league here looks at outside hitters as the lord and savior. At the end of the day, there are nine guys on the field that are going to contribute, and I’m going to be one of those nine guys. And I’ve told these guys many times that I’m a very team-oriented guy, and I very much believe that being part of a cohesive group is going to take you long ways.”
To that end, Dean said he is willing to do whatever the Twins ask him to do, including stealing bases or playing in different positions on the field.
The Twins have shot out of the cannon in the bases swiping department, with league highs of 41 attempts and 27 steals through 14 games. No team has attempted, stolen and been caught more times than the Twins. Dean, who stole 44 bases in 856 minor league games but just one in 126 major league games, has one steal so far in the KBO.
Playing High-A ball in the Marlins system in 2015, Dean stole 18 bases. But the following year, he said the organization told him not to steal anymore, which left him befuddled.
“I don’t know why,” Dean said with a smile. “But I’m definitely a threat on the base. I can do it all. I’m trying to be a good asset for this team.”
Dean began the season in the right field but has since played at first base, which is not his primary position. Dean logged only six games at first base in the majors and 32 games in the minors. He also played that position in high school.
“I told (the coaching staff), ‘You can put me anywhere,'” he said. “I just want to play, and I just want to help the team.”
Dean revealed that the Twins had been interested in him since 2018 and said he was “pretty aware of who they were and the league itself.” Dean also said he’d wanted to join the Twins during the middle of last season, though the San Francisco Giants refused to let him leave.
And once the offseason came, Dean finally signed with the Twins, but he wasn’t the team’s first choice.
The Twins initially signed another former major leaguer, Abraham Almonte, on Dec. 6, but voided his deal four days later after Almonte failed a physical.
The Twins then pivoted to Dean and announced his one-year, US$700,000 contract on Dec. 22.
“It left a little sour taste in my mouth,” Dean said. “They obviously had just a different idea and somebody else they wanted and, you know, that’s fine. That’s the business of baseball. You’ve got to kind of accept that.
“Then, fortunately just in my end of the case, (Almonte) failed his physical, and it opened the door for me. I think this is a really cool opportunity for me.”
Other than the language barrier and culture shock that accompany new arrivals in the country, Dean said he hasn’t found it too difficult to fit in with the Twins.
“I’m very personable, and I’ve been a part of many teams,” Dean said. “I try to keep guys on their toes a little bit and make sure they’re having fun.”
Dean said it’s not fun when he faces sidearm pitchers, the type he hadn’t seen much in the U.S. majors or minors. As a proud competitor who has played “at the highest of high levels of baseball you can get to,” Dean admitted it can get frustrating at times when he struggles against pitchers here, knowing that he has faced better pitchers before in his native country.
“It’s just learning how to adapt to how these guys pitch and their styles,” he said. “I’m still learning as I go, and I have a great coaching staff. They’ve tended to every need that I’ve needed so far, and I’m very fortunate that I have them.”
Dean also feels fortunate that he finds himself in a situation where he is playing for something.
“We have a real purpose here. It’s to win,” he said. “My past couple of seasons playing in minor league ball … you don’t really have a purpose besides trying to get to the big leagues. We’re trying to win here. I really like that.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency