WAIPI'O — The Hanwha Eagles of Korean professional baseball hold spring training here. But they're also interested in having some of their prospects back in Hawai'i in the fall.

The Eagles want their players and perhaps some others from their league to participate in Hawaii Winter Baseball once again. The Korean Baseball Organization had some of its players in HWB during the 1993 and 1994 seasons, but had no representatives when the league revived last fall.

It wouldn't take much to familiarize the Eagles with Hawai'i. They have been holding spring training at Central O'ahu Regional Park since early January and will continue through March 7. Their 45 players, plus coaching staff and other team personnel, use two or three of the baseball fields at the multi-field city park. This is their second year training here; last year the LG Twins also trained here. Korean teams have been training in Hawai'i for years.

"We want to introduce (Korean) teams to Hawaii Winter Baseball," Eagles manager In Sik Kim said through an interpreter.

Earlier last week, HWB president Hervy Kurisu visited the Eagles at practice. He spoke with Kim, as well as other team representatives about how the HWB works. Kurisu said HWB will negotiate with Korea Baseball Organization, the governing body of pro baseball in Korea, to see if an agreement can be reached.

The KBO also wants an offseason league to groom its prospects. Like Nippon Professional Baseball, the KBO has a "major league" club and a farm team. There are eight teams in KBO.

The Eagles need not look far for first-hand background on the league. One of their two foreign players on the team is outfielder Jacob Cruz, who spent the previous 13 seasons playing in the U.S. majors or its minor league affiliates. He played for the West Oahu CaneFires in 1995.

Cruz, who is in his first season with the Eagles, said Hawai'i Winter Baseball was a good experience because Americans got to interact with players from Asian leagues.

"I got to meet a lot of different people," he said. "I have a lot of fond memories of Hawai'i."

If Korea sends players, there might be fewer spots available for U.S. players than this past season. Only 21 of the 30 Major League teams and 10 of the 12 Nippon teams committed players to HWB this past season. After recent meetings with Major League Baseball and Nippon officials, Kurisu said all 30 MLB and all 12 NPB teams are planning to commit players. There is no plan to add to the four teams in HWB this coming season. Expansion wasn't planned until after the second season.

Meanwhile, the Eagles go about their training nearly every day at Central O'ahu Regional Park. They can't be missed. There are huge banners along fences that explain this is the Eagles spring training site. They have set up tents with tables and chairs for players' meals and meetings. The players are dressed in their uniforms (white with red trim and lettering). The names on the back of their uniforms are in Korean, unlike in Japan, where the players' names are in English.

The Eagles lost to the Samsung Lions in the Korea Series that Eagles spokesman and translator Jang Hyun Seok could only describe as being "very painful." The Eagles finished third during the regular season, but beat the fourth-place Kia Tigers in a playoff and then beat the second-place Hyundai Unicorns for a shot at the first-place Lions for the Korea Series. Samsung won the best-of-seven series in six games with one of the games finishing in a tie after 15 innings.

Hanwha's Kim is one of the most respected managers in Asia. He was manager in the Korea-Japan Super Game, an exhibition between the Korea and Nippon all-stars. He also led Korea to a bronze medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and a gold medal in the Busan Asian Games in 2002. Most recently, he was manager of Korea's World Baseball Classic team. Despite going 6-0 in pool play, including two wins against Japan and one against the U.S., Japan eliminated Korea in the semifinals and eventually won the World Baseball Classic.

The Eagles work out four consecutive days, then take a day off, and repeat the pattern, Seok said. The team is staying in Waikiki.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.