Former University of Toledo outfielder Jared Hoying has found a home in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Now in his third year with the Hanwha Eagles, the 30-year-old Hoying is challenging himself culturally and on the baseball diamond.

“My experience has been nothing short of great in the KBO,” Hoying told The Blade via email from South Korea. “The baseball is awesome here. When fans are in the stands it's the equivalent of a major soccer crowd jammed into a 15 to 20,000-seat stadium. Cheerleaders on dugouts, drums banging constantly, and just pure interest and joy from the fans. Off the field it took a bit of time to get adjusted. The language barrier is tough, and I still struggle to eat the food, but I now know where to go if I ever just need some sort of Western-style food.”

The KBO has been in the headlines as one of the first baseball leagues to return amid the coronavirus pandemic. The league even inked a television deal with ESPN to broadcast live games.

The league has been cautious with its players and has not allowed fans back into the stadiums. Hoying was not surprised, however, the KBO was one of the first to return to action.

“Korean culture is very disciplined and regimented,” Hoying wrote. “It didn’t surprise me one bit that South Korea was the first country to really get a grasp on the virus. Everyone seems to follow the precautions put in place really well and that is why we are able to play baseball right now. When we leave the hotel we have to wear a mask to the ball park then upon entering the park we have to walk thru an infrared camera and get our body temperature checked. After that we are free to do what we need to do for the game, like business as usual. Once the game is over, we have to re-take our body temperature before leaving the stadium. All of the umpires wear masks along with the base coaches. Trainers and non-game personnel are also required to wear a mask while at the field.”

Entering his third season in the league, Hoying said there was a lot of uncertainty about when the league would start back, making it one of the most difficult offseasons for him.

“So many unknowns was the hardest part prior to opening day,” Hoying wrote. “For months, you just continued to practice and work out without knowing when you were going to play a real game. That weighed on the mind a lot, because it was hard to stay disciplined not knowing if it was going to be weeks or months.”

Hoying had a monster season for Hanwha in 2018 when he hit .302 with 30 home runs, 110 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases in 142 games. He followed that up in 2019 with a .284 average with 18 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 124 games.

In seven games so far this season, Hoying is hitting .250 with a home run, five RBIs, and a stolen base.

Hoying had a brief stint in the major leagues with the Texas Rangers for parts of 2016 and 2017, when he played in 75 games across those two seasons and hit .220 with a home run, 12 RBIs, and four stolen bases.

“Playing in the big leagues was a dream come true,” Hoying wrote. “For a small town kid from Ohio to make it all the way to the top was pretty special not only for me but all of the people that helped me along the way. Obviously everyone wants to be a 10-year big leaguer and never have to play in the minors or anywhere else for that matter. But like most people say in the baseball industry it’s hard to get there and even harder to stay. I try not to think about getting back to the big leagues. If I end up back in a big league uniform it would be awesome, but I try to go day by day and not look ahead.”

Coming from Fort Loramie, Ohio, Hoying said it was a blessing to play at a NCAA Division I school like Toledo, let alone embark on a 11-year professional career that has taken him first around the United States and now around the world.

“Being from such a small town it was a huge deal just to go to a Division I college for me,” Hoying wrote. “I just truly loved baseball so much that I wanted to keep improving and playing. I’m so competitive in the fact that I don’t like to lose, but I also don’t want any obstacle to get in the way of me being a good player. If I have to hit until my hands bleed to improve I’ll do it just to get better because I don’t like to play bad. My old coach at Toledo, Cory Mee, really laid the foundation for me mentally when it came to practicing, and always trying to get better.

“That mindset has fortunately led me into my 11th professional season. I figure I have come this far I might as well play until they rip the jersey off my back.”

First Published May 14, 2020, 4:40 p.m.