Temple Law Visiting Practice Professor Kenneth A. Jacobsen,
former Temple Law Professor N. Jeremi Duru and third year law
student Han Gil Lee have formed Global Sporting Integration LLC
(GSI), a consulting firm specializing in assisting Minor and Major
League Baseball (MLB) players from Asian countries successfully
transition to the United States.
During the 2013 season,
approximately 60 Asian born players competed in MLB and its farm
systems. Often, these players face unique challenges associated
with international transplantation, such as a new language,
unfamiliar foods and climates, differences in training schedules
and practice regimens, media expectations and even the design of
the baseballs and stadium configurations. GSI specializes in
creating custom solutions for professional baseball players from
Japan, Korea and Taiwan to adapt, survive and thrive while playing
in the United States. Unlike a sports agency, GSI seeks to contract
with MLB and its clubs to ease the transition process for Asian
players. GSI’s program levels include English language education,
nutritional consulting, cultural immersion, and more, and will
begin at the player’s home country and see them through the entire
transition process.
For more information please visit www.globalsportingintegration.com.
“When a MLB team signs a player
from Asia, the team is not simply adding a new member to its
roster, it is bringing a person to start a new life in a foreign
environment,” said Han Lee, CEO of GSI. “The challenges of
transitioning to new lives as professional baseball players in
America has been an ongoing challenge for MLB and has cost many
promising players their careers, resulting in large financial
losses for both the player and their clubs.”
“A smooth transition can mean a
long and successful MLB career, while a failed transition will
likely mean a short and uninspired career for the player, and a
substantial economic loss for the team,” said Ken Jacobsen,
principal of GSI. “These challenges have played a part in the
premature end of the careers of several high profile Asian MLB
signees, resulting in millions lost.”
“As someone who has
represented the interests of international baseball players for
over 20 years, I recognize the importance of what GSI brings to the
table: a variety of services specifically designed to ease a
player’s often difficult transition to the United States. GSI’s
services present an exceptional opportunity for MLB, its teams,
their players, and the player’s agents and representatives to form
more lasting and fruitful relationships, which work to everyone’s
benefit,” said Don Nomura, MLBPA Certified Agent, KDN Sports, Inc.,
whose clients include Yu Darvish (Texas Rangers) and Kyuji Fujikawa
(Chicago Cubs).
While Asian players comprised
only 2% of the Major League player population in 2013, MLB has
recognized Asia as a fertile source of future players and has set
up regional offices in Tokyo and Beijing with that growth in mind.
The current wave of players coming from Asia shows no signs of
slowing, with new amateur prospects being signed each season and
several high profile Asian professional players having expressed an
interest in making the move to MLB.