No mercy on slugger

U.S. Major League Baseball is the field of dreams for Korean players and fans.

Becoming a Major Leaguer means instant fame and riches for the players and more pride and pleasure for fans.

By this standard, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Kang Jung-ho is a great disappointment for his recent off-field brushes with the law. The fact that Kang is talented and can’t handle himself can only add to Korean fans’ anger and embarrassment.

Kang’s latest trouble started with him driving away a BMW sedan at an intersection in Samseong-dong, Gangnam, at 2.38 a.m. Tuesday, after drinking heavily. When police arrived, Kang fled, leaving the passenger, indentified as Yoo, alone in the sedan with its front severely damaged, and with Yoo claiming he was the driver. A check of the “black box,” a surveillance camera in the car, showed Kang was behind the wheel.

Kang’s blood alcohol level was 0.084 percent, high enough to lose his driver’s license.

Kang later admitted that he drank with his associates and drove, but claimed he did not intend to lie about being the driver. Footage from the surveillance camera showed that he took a turn, lost control and careened along the guardrail. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Fans were furious and disappointed.

Many posts pointed out that Kang’s act was of the worst kind and unpardonable. One used a baseball analogy and called it a “hit and run” at the center of Gangnam Boulevard. Others called Kang’s drunk driving an act of murder.

If Kang is found to have conspired with the passenger and to have lied about being the driver, he may receive up to three years’ jail. Kang also faces allegations of sexually assaulting a woman in Chicago, but the probe is on hold because the alleged victim is missing.

In Korea, Kang faces expulsion from the Korean national team for the World Baseball Classic competition next March and is expected to be penalized because he is a national player. Now Kang’s team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, has expressed disappointment at his reckless act.

Concerned authorities in Korea and the U.S. should set an example by being tough with Kang, sending a strong message that even top players will be punished for drunk driving. Baseball lovers in both countries will not dispute this.