Hyeseong Kim became the latest Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) star to make the jump to Major League Baseball after signing a three-year, $12.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason.
The 26-year-old is looking to follow in the footsteps of Chan Ho Park and Hyun-Jin Ryu as players from South Korea who found success with the Dodgers. Park was the first South Korean-born player in MLB history and Ryu enjoyed a six-year career with L.A.
Kim asked the two for advice, along with Jung Hoo Lee and Ha-Seong Kim, on how to quickly adjust to the Majors.
“I was former teammates with Jung Hoo Lee and Ha-Seong Kim, and have really good relationships with them, so I asked a lot of questions about their experience in getting adjusted to Major League Baseball. I also asked Chan Ho Park and Hyun-Jin Ryu,” Kim said through an interpreter.
Park and Ryu kept it simple with their advice to Kim.
“They told me to eat well,” he relayed.
Kim explained that he rooted for the Dodgers as a child due to their history with South Korean players. “We had a lot of great Korean players, such as Chan Ho Park and Hyun-Jin Ryu. I grew up watching them as a kid and there was a lot more exposure to the Dodgers,” he noted.
The Dodgers’ relationship with South Korea and a chance to win the World Series were reasons behind Kim’s decision to join the team.
Is Hyeseong Kim going to Tokyo Series?
As the Dodgers prepared to leave for Tokyo on Wednesday, it was not yet clear if Kim would join the team for their international trip.
Manager Dave Roberts announced on Tuesday that Kim was left off the Dodgers’ travel roster for the Tokyo Series. Roberts added Kim is going to begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
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