The Los Angeles Dodgers held Korean Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, which involved GRAMMY Award winner Anderson .Paak and recent international signee Hyun-Seok Jang as part of the festivities.
As one half of the Silk Sonic duo, .Paak was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. He wore a pink feather hat and blue jersey with “NIPSEY” across the front in honor of local rapper Nipsey Hussle, who would have celebrated his 38th birthday on Tuesday if not for being fatally shot in 2019.
.Paak mimicked shaking off calls before nodding in agreement and going into a windup to deliver the pitch.
That was followed by a recorded message from Jang being shown on the video boards at Dodger Stadium to announce Vin Scully’s famed, “It’s Time for Dodger Baseball” call.
Jang’s involvement was his first official act with the team stateside since signing.
He received a $900,000 signing bonus and was formally introduced as a member of the Dodgers during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this week.
Jang was the presumed No. 1 overall pick in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) Draft that’s being held next month, but decided to forgo making himself eligible in favor of signing with an MLB team.
The 19-year-old pitched at Masan Yongma High School in Changwon, South Korea, going 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 27.1 innings this season.
Hyun-Seok Jang surprised to sign with Dodgers
During his introductory press conference, Jang expressed some surprise to have signed with the Dodgers despite their long-held interest.
The right-hander added he’s looking forward to being part of the organization and following in the footsteps of fellow Korean pitchers Chan Ho Park and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
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