Dodger Milestones in the Development of International Baseball During the O’Malley Era: The 1990s

Invited by P.P. Tang, Commissioner of Professional Baseball in the Republic of China (Taiwan), Peter O’Malley visits that country and is on the field with other special guests for the opening of the inaugural season of the four-team Chinese Professional Baseball League at Taipei Baseball Stadium. Baseball leaders from several countries attend and hold meetings in Taipei

The Dodgers host the eight team presidents from the Korean Baseball Organization Professional League for a detailed seminar encompassing all aspects of the front office with Dodger executives. The meetings are conducted by Peter O’Malley and Woong Hee Lee, Commissioner of Baseball in Korea

The Dodgers establish a working relationship with the Adelaide Clipsal Giants of the Australian Baseball League. Four Dodger minor leaguers were invited to play for the Giants when its season began in November

Peter O’Malley travels to Guangzhou, China for dedication ceremonies of the “Mitsui Little League Baseball Friendship Field,” the first-ever field for the chartered league in China. O’Malley also meets with Li Ruihuan, a member of the People’s Republic of China six-member Standing Committee of the Politburo, and China sports and baseball leaders, at the Great Hall of The People

The Dodgers are the first Major League Baseball team to have a regular season game broadcast in the Korean language in the United States

Peter O’Malley is invited as a special guest of the Nicaraguan Sports Institute to travel to Managua, Nicaragua, where he meets with Mrs. Violeta Chamorro, President of Nicaragua and participates in Opening Ceremonies for the Nicaraguan Senior Baseball at National Stadium

For the first time, the Dodgers publish their Line Drives fan newsletter in Korean, Japanese and Spanish languages, in addition to English

The Dodgers play a two-game exhibition series in Monterrey, Mexico at Estadia Monterrey against the Mexican League’s Industriales de Monterrey and the Milwaukee Brewers. National hero Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers pitches against the Brewers and wins

The Dodgers welcome the Nigerian National Baseball team to train at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, FL, as the players prepare for the IBA’s Youth Championships in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

Peter O’Malley welcomes the Czechoslovakian National team to Dodger Stadium, where he spoke to the players, before they toured the ballpark and were introduced to the crowd prior to the Dodgers-Houston Astros game

The Dodgers host the 2nd Annual International Baseball Association World All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. Twenty-eight countries are represented by 44 amateur baseball stars. Japan Baseball Hall of Famer Sadaharu Oh is the honorary coach for the East team. Rachel Robinson, widow of Hall of Fame Dodger and American hero Jackie Robinson, throws the ceremonial first pitch  

Peter O’Malley privately builds and dedicates “Little League Friendship Field” in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaraguan President Violeta Chamorro participates in the opening ceremonies. The small stadium, with seating for 3,000, was painted blue in honor of the Dodgers

The professional Samsung Lions of South Korea make their second visit to train at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, FL

Baseball is played in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games as a gold medal sport for the first time and Peter O’Malley is in attendance with other international baseball leaders to celebrate the achievement

Akihiro “Ike” Ikuhara, longtime Assistant to the President of the Dodgers, passed away on October 26. Working closely with Dodger President Peter O’Malley, Ikuhara played a significant role in developing the Dodgers’ international professional and amateur relationships, exchanges and friendships  

The Samsung Lions of South Korea return to Dodgertown, Vero Beach, FL for spring training. The Lions defeat the Moscow Red Devils, 7-0, at Holman Stadium, marking the first-ever meeting between a Russian team and a Korean professional team

The Dodgers air the first Major League Baseball regular-season game broadcast in Mandarin Chinese in the United States. It is the first time four languages were broadcast for a MLB game in the U.S., as the Dodgers vs. Cincinnati game is also heard in English, Spanish and Korean

Peter O’Malley leads the 1993 Friendship Series, a Dodger delegation to Taiwan and Japan. The Dodgers are the first Major League Baseball team to visit Taiwan, playing three exhibition games in Taipei. They continued the goodwill tour with two games in Fukuoka, Japan

Peter O’Malley signs South Korean-born pitcher Chan Ho Park, the first player to reach Major League Baseball from that country. He debuted on April 8, 1994. Park would go on to win 124 games in 17 seasons in MLB, the most wins by a pitcher from Asia

Peter O’Malley has his first meeting with Ann Murphy, president of the Irish Baseball and Softball Association, founded in 1989, in Lausanne, Switzerland, with the goal of helping to make baseball more visible and develop players in Ireland

Peter O’Malley invites the baseball team from prestigious Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan to train at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, FL for two weeks, marking the first time an amateur team had visited Dodgertown and trained alongside the major league Dodgers

A coach and two players from Italy are guests of Peter O’Malley during Spring Training at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, FL

For the first time in baseball history, a major league regular season game between the Dodgers and the Montreal Expos on July 5 at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles is broadcast in five languages. The Dodger broadcasts included English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin) and the Expos in French

Peter O’Malley announces the signing of Hideo Nomo, the first Japan-born player to participate in Major League Baseball in 30 years, and the first to complete his career in the United States. His first season produces “Nomomania,” as he starts the 1995 All-Star Game in Texas and wins the NL Rookie of the Year award, thrilling a worldwide audience, as fans in Japan watch broadcasts of his every start live, including on large screen video boards on street corners in 13 major cities in Japan

For the fourth time, the professional Samsung Lions of South Korea prepare for their season as they train at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL   

Hanyang University becomes the first university team from South Korea to train at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, FL

Ireland baseball officials and players Mick Manning of Templeogue and Mike Kindle of Monkstown were invited by Peter O’Malley to participate in spring training workouts at Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida. Kindle said, “This was a dream come true for me and certainly one of the greatest moments of my life.” Two years later, O’Malley privately built two baseball fields (adult and Little League) in Ireland

Finishing in third place at the 14th Annual World Senior League Championship in New York, a Tianjin, China baseball team are guests of Peter O’Malley at Dodger Stadium. Fifteen 18-year-olds meet O’Malley and tour the ballpark

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan throws the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium, prior to sitting with Peter O’Malley and watching Hideo Nomo beat the St. Louis Cardinals. After the game, Nomo visits the Chairman’s Box to meet Mr. Nakasone

The Dodgers establish a working agreement with the Sinon Bulls of the Chinese Professional Baseball League to assist with instruction, training and scouting

The Samsung Lions of South Korea hold spring training camp at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL for the fifth time

The Sinon Bulls of the Chinese Professional Baseball League become the first team from Taiwan to train in Latin America, when they visit Campo Las Palmas, the Dodgers’ baseball academy in the Dominican Republic

For the second consecutive year, the Sinon Bulls of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan train at Campo Las Palmas in the Dominican. Former Dodger Manager Bill Russell makes a 10-day goodwill trip to Taipei to work with the Sinon Bulls during their pennant stretch

The Dodgers are the first MLB team to broadcast a regular season game in Russian-language

Dedication ceremonies are held by Peter O’Malley for two baseball fields he privately built – a regulation-sized adult baseball field (Dodger Baseball Field) and an international standard Little League field (O’Malley Little League Field)– in Corkagh Demesne Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin, Ireland. U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith participates in the festivities

The Dodgers are the first Major League Baseball team to open a full-time office in Asia, as Akihiro “Ike” Ikuhara’s son-in-law Acey Kohrogi is named the Director of Asian Operations in addition to Assistant to the President. Kohrogi opens the office at the Fox building in Tokyo