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| The first Park Chan-ho baseball camp held on November 19, 2011. Kim Hye-sung, who has dreamed of seeing Park Chan-ho and Ryu Hyun-jin in front of her, will start a new challenge at the LA Dodgers. Park Chan-ho recommends Ryu Hyun-jin to say hello at the opening ceremony. Reporter Heo Sang-wook |
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| A match between the LA Dodgers and Team Korea was held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 18th. Team Korea Kim Hye-sung hits a double at first base with no outs in the top of the third inning. Gocheok = Reporter Jung Jae-geun |
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| A match between Team Korea and the LA Dodgers at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 18th. Kim Hye-sung is scoring during Kang Baek-ho's sacrifice fly with one out and third base in the top of the third inning. |
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A child's dream, which he pledged to become a great player like Park Chan-ho and Ryu Hyun-jin, is coming true. Kim Hye-sung chose the LA Dodgers, the prestigious U.S. Major League Baseball club where they played.
Kim Hye-sung (26) signed a contract with the LA Dodgers, a prestigious Major League team, in a surprise move. In the early morning of the 4th (Korea time), just before the posting deadline, Kim Hye-sung agreed to a three-plus-two-year contract of up to 22 million dollars (about 32.4 billion won) with the Dodgers. According to the details of the contract, a total of $12.5 million (about 18.4 billion won) for three years, including $1.5 million in buyouts, is guaranteed by the 2025-2027 season. A two-year club option has been added to this. If the Dodgers exercise their options, the first three-year contract will be $11 million, excluding buyouts, plus $11 million for the additional two years. The contract does not include a minor league rejection clause.
The Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Angels were mentioned as potential candidates. The Dodgers were an unexpected choice. Gavin Lux, who is showing strength in hitting, is currently in the Dodgers' second baseman position, and Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor are also in the infield backup position. Kim Hye-sung's chances to play are expected to be limited, as he also has a strong competitor named Mookie Betts in the shortstop position.
For now, second base, shortstop backup, and pinch-runner roles are expected. Although the main competition is unlikely to be easy, Kim Hye-sung's versatile defense and runner ability are expected to act as positive factors.
In this situation, attention is bound to be paid to the background of Kim Hye-sung's choice of Dodgers. According to agency CAA, the Los Angeles Angels offered a higher five-year, $28 million, while the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres also showed interest.
The presence of Shohei Ohtani, a member of the same CAA, may have had a significant impact. Ohtani reportedly met Kim Hye-sung in the U.S. and gave him various advice. In fact, during Kim Hye-sung's stay in the U.S. at the end of last year, the two players trained together and built a friendship. After the announcement of the contract, Ohtani welcomed Kim Hye-sung by posting "Welcome my friend" in Korean on SNS, and Kim Hye-sung responded.
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| Dreamers of baseball listening to Park Chan-ho's story. Among these children is Kim Hye-sung. |
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| Park Chan-ho, Lee Seung-yeop, Lee Dae-ho, Ryu Hyun-jin, Song Seung-joon, Kim Tae-kyun, and Kim Sun-woo attend as coaches. |
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| The image of Ryu Hyun-jin coaching the pitching form to the child. Ryu Hyun-jin entered the Los Angeles Dodgers the following year. |
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Let's go back to November 2011, 13 years ago. Kim Hye-sung, who was 12 years old at the time, participated in the first Park Chan-ho baseball camp. Legendary Park Chan-ho, who ended his 17-year major league career, and Ryu Hyun-jin, Lee Seung-yeop, Kim Sun-woo, Kim Tae-kyun and Lee Dae-ho, who were active professional players at the time, participated as mentors.
Kim Hye-sung was nominated by Kiwoom (then Nexen) in the second round in 2017 and became the first professional player from the camp. Later, he participated in Park Chan-ho's camp as a coach in 2018. Kim Hye-sung said in front of the children at the time "I was also in the seat you sat in the sixth grade of Munchon Elementary School in Goyang eight years ago. At that time, Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim Tae-kyun, Lee Dae-ho, and Jung Geun-woo came as coaches. It was really good." He pledged to become a great player like them."
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| Park Chan-ho during the 1999 Los Angeles Dodgers. Sports Chosun DB |
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Both Park Chan-ho and Ryu Hyun-jin, who raised the dream of 12-year-old Kim Hye-sung, spent their heyday with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Park Chan-ho went 84-58 with two saves and a 3.77 ERA in nine seasons with the Dodgers. In particular, he won 10 games for five consecutive seasons from 1997 to 2001, giving great hope and comfort to Koreans suffering from the IMF financial crisis at the time.
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| 스포츠조선 DB |
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Ryu Hyun-jin was 78-48 with a 3.27 ERA from 2013 to 2019 with the Dodgers. In particular, in 2019, he ranked first in the National League's ERA with 14 wins and 5 losses and a 2.32 ERA.
Now Kim Hye-sung succeeds them. His challenge to write the history of a new Korean major leaguer begins with the Dodgers uniform he has dreamed of since childhood.
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| LA다저스 SNS |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
