Park Hoping For Return To Form

Charlie Nobles at Mets.com, writes about Chan Ho Park and how he is trying to get back to All-Star form:

As a Met, he figures to have three things going for him in his bid for a turnaround season. Park is back in the National League, he's healthy and he's happy to be playing again in a city where many of his native countrymen can see him pitch.

When Park made the transition from the Dodgers in the National League to the Rangers in the American League in 2002, he was considered among the game's premier pitchers. After a back injury that lingered for three painful years, he was largely viewed with disdain by Texas fans.

The Park fan club had pretty much dwindled to some dogged loyalists from his native Korea.

"But I never give up, that's the most important thing," Park said, raising his voice to make a point. "I never gave up. Everybody said I was done. I didn't let that take me out of the game. I knew if I could get healthy, I still knew how to get hitters out."