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Oh Seung-hwan dressed up as Luigi of Super Mario

Posted September. 23, 2016 07:15,   

Updated September. 23, 2016 07:38

한국어
There is a rite of passage that all rookies of the Major League Baseball must undergo, which is called “Rookie hazing.” “The Final Boss” Oh Seung-hwan (34·St. Louise Cardinals) was no exception, despite his long career that runs the gamut of professional baseball leagues both in Korea and Japan.

The Korean pitcher much feared by many sluggers has dressed up as the Luigi, a fictional character featured in the Japanese video game “Super Mario.” On Wednesday local time, the official Twitter account of the St. Louise Cardinals posted a picture where Oh and his translator Eugene Koo dressed as the Mario brothers.

Wearing a pot-bellied plumber suit and a fake mustache, Oh seemed to have a hard time holding back an awkward laughter at his costume that was quite uncharacteristic of his other nickname, the “Stone Buddha.” Oh’s translator Eugene Koo was seen enjoying the unusual festivity in a full Mario costume.

The tradition of rookie hazing differs from team to team. The recent trend is to have rookie players dressed up in funny costumes to let them walk and greet the fans on the streets in September when the regular season is nearing the end.

Several days earlier, Choi Ji-man (25) of the Los Angeles Angels showed up buried in huge balloons shaped like a Japanese wrestler, giving many fans a good laughter. It was Mike Trout, the star player of the Angels that provided the costumes for the rookies.

Maeda Kenta, the star pitcher of the Japanese professional league who joined the Los Angeles Dodgers at the age of 36, dressed as a cheerleader and greeted the fans in the Dodger Stadium last week.

Back in 2013, then rookie pitcher of the Los Angeles Dodgers Ryu Hyun-jin (29) dressed as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the movie “Ghostbusters.” Kang Jung-ho (29), who joined the Pittsburg Pirates last year, had prepared the costume of Batman villain Riddler, but he got exempted from the hazing thanks to the knee injury that he sustained in August. Lim Chang-yong (40), who wore the uniform of the Chicago Cups in 2013, managed to get himself out of the hazing by citing his old age.

Other Korean players such as Lee Dae-ho (34·Seattle Mariners) and Kim Hyun-soo (28·Baltimroe Orioles) who entered the Big League this year have yet to go through a rookie hazing.



이헌재 기자uni@donga.com