Summary Millionaire Hur Min has joined an American team as a knuckleball pitcher.
SEOUL (AP) - A South Korean millionaire who founded the country s first independent baseball club has joined an American team as a knuckleball pitcher.
The Goyang Wonders said Thursday that 37-year-old Hur Min is joining the Rockland Boulders, a team in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, also known as the Can-Am League.
The oddball entrepreneur and baseball fan was trained to throw a knuckleball for the past eight years but has not played organized baseball before. Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro has been one of his teachers.
Hur throws a knuckleball at 90 kph (56 mph), the Wonders said. "I m happy to show the Wonders players and others who haven t had a chance that you ll see a fruit of your effort if you don t give up and keep trying," Hur said in a statement. "I ll continue to take up challenges for a higher stage."
In 2011, Hur founded the Goyang Wonders, the first independent baseball team in South Korea, where there is no minor league. He told a Korean reporter in 2011 that he "seriously considered" buying the Los Angeles Dodgers when it was put up for sale.
Hur made it big when his company s online game, Dungeon & Fighter, became popular in China. He said in a 2011 interview that his assets are close to 1 trillion won ($899 million).
Hur held a CEO position at online commerce firm Wemakeprice until last month.
