Let’s take a look at another one of the worst free agent fleecings in MLB history: Chan Ho Park’s robbery of the Texas Rangers in 2002. (By the way, you can always take a look at all of our inductees into the Greatest Moments in Fleece History by clicking on the category to the left).
In 2001, the Texas Rangers offense was dominant. They managed to score 890 runs as Alex Rodriguez joined Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Ruben Sierra and Gabe Kapler (17 hr’s, 72 RBI in 2001) to form a dangerous middle of the lineup. However, the Rangers also had the worst pitching staff in the majors that year, giving up a whopping 968 runs, leading to a record below .500. Needless to say, owner Tom Hicks and new GM Jon Hart were desperate for pitching that offseason. And desperation often begets fleecing when it comes to Major League Baseball Free Agency. Enter Chan Ho Park.
The Date: January 16, 2002
The Players:Rangers owner Tom Hicks and GM Jon Hart (The fleecees), and right handed pitcher Chan Ho Park and his agent, none other than Captain Fleece, Scott Boras (the fleecers).
The Fleece: The Texas Rangers signed Park to a 5 year, $65M deal.

The Result: In short, miserable. After winning 75 games in 5 years for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chan Ho Park won just 22 games for the Rangers and lasted just 3 and a half years in Arlington. He threw only 381 innings for the Rangers over that span. He made just 7 starts in 2003 and only 16 in 2004, mainly due to annoying injuries like hamstring strains, back strains and blisters. (Note that Park’s last year in LA was marked by recurring back problems, something that should have prevented Jon Hart from giving him $65,000,000.00. )
Performance-wise, Chan Ho Park’s Texas ERA’s for 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 were surely Texas sized: 5.75, 7.58, 5.46, and 5.66, respectively. His WHIPS for those years were just as awful: 1.59, 1.99, 1.44 and 1.68. He was a complete disaster from the start and embarrassed himself in nearly appearance. (In some starts, he even looked like he felt bad, as he saw Jon Hart sweating to death wearing a big fleece in the Texas heat). Even in 2005, when Park finally managed to stay healthy enough to throw 20 straight starts, opponents still hit nearly .300 against him and his 8 wins were mainly the product of that deep Texas offense.
Finally, in the summer of 2005, Texas jumped at the chance to rid themselves of Chan Ho by flipping him to the San Diego Padres for Phil Nevin. Park finished out his obscene contract with the Padres in 2006, posting a horrendous (by Petco Park standards) 4.81 ERA in 24 appearances. Park won just 33 times during his 5 year contract, equating to almost $2M per win. Pathetic.
John Hart stepped down as Texas GM after the 2005 season to take another job in the Rangers front office. The team went 331-337 during his reign as general manager. Awful. Rumors are that he still wears the heavy fleece Chan Ho Park gave him on cold nights.
Filed under: *Great Moments in Fleece History, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers | Tagged: Chan Ho Park | Leave a comment »