A ‘reverse export’ success story: Can Kelly become the first KBO player to win a KBO+World Series without Ryu Hyun-jin…starting Game 2 of the NLCS?

Merrill Kelly (Arizona Diamondbacks), a KBO “reverse export” success story, is going for the “all-American” record. The first KBO player to win a KBO championship and a World Series title.

Kelly started Game 1 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Dodgers in the 2023 Major League Baseball postseason on Aug. 8 and pitched 6 1/3 innings of three-hit ball with two walks and five strikeouts to lead Arizona to an 11-2 victory. It was his major league fall ball debut.

Kelly will start Game 2 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS). A win in the NLCS will advance to the World Series.

Kelly has fall baseball experience, having played for the SK Wyverns (now the SSG Landers) in the KBO from 2015-2018. He helped the team win the 2018 Korean Series with a 2-1 record and a 2.19 ERA.

He then moved on to the Major Leagues, where he had a chance to win the World Series. If he wins, he will become the first KBO player to win a championship in both Korea and the United States.

Ryu made it to the Korean Series in 2006 with the Hanwha Eagles, going 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three games (two starts), but lost to Samsung 4-1 and tied the series.

In the major leagues, he made it to the World Series in 2018 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but did not win.먹튀검증

He took the loss in Game 2 against the Boston Red Sox after giving up four runs in 4⅔ innings.

Shin-soo Choo did not have World Series experience in the major leagues. Instead, he won a championship in the KBO last year with SSG.

Yasiel Puig made back-to-back World Series appearances with the Dodgers in 2017 and 2018, but did not win either.

Last year, he made it all the way to the Korean Series with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes, but finished as the runner-up.

Carlos Baerga and Juan Lagares also played in the Korean Series and World Series, but were unable to win.