Matthew Randel (born February 15, 1977) is an American- born Korean former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Randel was an unusual American pitcher in that over 80% of his baseball career was played in Asia. He dropped out of college after two seasons at Lewis-Clark State College in 1999. He was invited to tryout for the

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

in Japan. He spent two years with the Hawks, playing mostly for their lower-tier team. He went back home to the United States in 2001, returning to baseball in 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas. The following year he returned to Japan where his career fizzled out after two years. His career was revived once again when a former teammate, Gary Rath, mentioned Randel to the

Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) and ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

. There he was able to establish himself as a reliable starter for four seasons until an injury forced him to retire.

Early life

As a young child, Randel had no interest in playing baseball, but his father made him join a youth league when he was six and his attitude toward the sport eventually changed. His high school career was in Ridgefield, Washington, where he went to high school at Ridgefield High School. Here, he was a four-year letterman and three-time team MVP. In his Junior and Senior year, he was a dominant pitcher in the 1A Trico League and averaged 15 strike outs each game. Randel was the 84th-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1995 amateur draft. Instead of signing with the Dodgers, he accepted an athletic scholarship with Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, ID. In his freshman year, he was the winning pitcher in the NAIA World Series Championship game. He threw a four hit, 10-strikeout complete game in a 9-0 victory against St. Ambrose, Iowa.

Playing career

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks

In 2000, Randel made his professional debut in Nippon(Japanese) Professional Baseball with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Randel. He faced three batters, gave up two hits and struck out 1 in 0.1 innings. At the end of the season, Randel returned home to the United States and took a year off from baseball.

Fort Worth Cats

In 2002, Randel was playing in Fort Worth Texas in the (Independent) Central League with the Fort Worth Cats. He started in 5 games, and had a 3.05 ERA with 75 strikeouts; and had a record of 4 wins,5 losses, and 1 save.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from the KBO League {{DEFAULTSORT:Randel, Matt 1977 births Living people KBO League pitchers Fukuoka Daiei Hawks players Yomiuri Giants players Doosan Bears players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Baseball players from Portland, Oregon Naturalized citizens of South Korea