Matthew Randel (born February 15, 1977) is an American- born Korean former professional baseball pitcher. Randel was an unusual American pitcher in that over 80% of his baseball career was played in Asia. He dropped out of college after two seasons at Lewis-Clark State College in 1999. He was invited to tryout for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in Japan. He spent two years with the Hawks, playing mostly for their lower-tier team. He went back home to the United States in 2001, returning to baseball in 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas. The following year he returned to Japan where his career fizzled out after two years. His career was revived once again when a former teammate, Gary Rath, mentioned Randel to the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. There he was able to establish himself as a reliable starter for four seasons until an injury forced him to retire.^[1][2]

Early life

As a young child, Randel had no interest in playing baseball, but his father made him join a youth league when he was six and his attitude toward the sport eventually changed.^[1] His high school career was in Ridgefield, Washington, where he went to high school at Ridgefield High School. Here, he was a four-year letterman and three-time team MVP. In his Junior and Senior year, he was a dominant pitcher in the 1A Trico League and averaged 15 strike outs each game.^[3] Randel was the 84th-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1995 amateur draft. Instead of signing with the Dodgers, he accepted an athletic scholarship with Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, ID. In his freshman year, he was the winning pitcher in the NAIA World Series Championship game. He threw a four hit, 10-strikeout complete game in a 9-0 victory against St. Ambrose, Iowa.^[4]

Playing career

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Career statistics and player information from the KBO League