"these guys can play"

I'm obviously a big fan of Korean baseball, and I've always been fascinated by the lives of the (by rule) three foreigners, almost always American or arriving via MLB, every Korean squad is allowed to carry.  So here's a great interview with a few of them:

"How competitive do you feel the KBO is compared to what you faced in the States?

Lindblom: These guys can play. There are some really good ballplayers here. I think one of the common misconceptions when new foreign-born players who show up is that they feel that they can dominate the league. You see with a lot of guys that that doesn’t happen. It’s been a learning process for myself too. Hitters can hit. You put the majority of these guys in a Triple-A lineup and they can hold their own. There are a few guys you can put in a major league lineup and they would hold their own. There are some different areas where it’s not as developed, maybe like defense isn’t as important as it is in the States, but the players are really good.

Romak: It’s the hardest question to answer. These leagues are so different. It’s an unfair comparison because there’s one night you can face a 19-year old kid who, in the States, because of his age, he might be in A-ball. But here, he’s in the country’s version of major leagues. He has good stuff but he’s really young. The next night, you could face a veteran guy whose talent might be MLB-level. When KIA was really strong [back in their championship 2017 season], facing their lineup – that’s better than a Triple-A lineup, for sure. One night, it looks Triple-A. The next night, it looks Double-A. It’s just a very different league. That being said, there are tons of talented guys here."

I've always described an average KBO squad (Korean Baseball Organization) as somewhere between American AA and AAA farm clubs, with the top two or three at AAA level with a few MLB caliber prospects.  There are also some very interesting insights into the family lives of these guys as well, so read the whole thing.