Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up

Apr 18, 2025

Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up



Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up
If it's called up within this year, it's a success. There is no need to be impatient at all.

Last year, when Kim Hye-sung (26) said he would challenge the Major League through posting, many baseball fans expressed concern and concern. Not a few people laughed at his brave challenge. It was considered a reckless challenge for Kim Hye-sung, who has not been prominent in the KBO League for less than a few years, to go to the Major League where the world's top stars compete.

In fact, the response at the beginning of the post was not cool. The sophistication of the KBO League's overall batting average of 0.304, the ability to digest multiple positions, and the ability to steal 211 bases in eight seasons were cited as selling points, but major league clubs hesitated. He pointed out the level difference between the Major League and the KBO League and the power that is significantly lower.




Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up
However, Kim Hye-sung finally made what seemed impossible into reality. He succeeded in signing a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the winner of the 2024 World Series. The conditions were not bad either. A total of $12.5 million for three years of coverage and $22.5 million for up to five years were signed. Kim Hye-sung will fly to LA in the U.S. and be inscribed with number 6He signed an official joining ceremony in a low-blue uniform and also participated in spring camp.

However, he has yet to make his big league debut. Early in the spring camp, manager Dave Roberts ordered Kim Hye-sung to revise his batting form entirely. This means that Kim Hye-sung is regarded as a 'future resource' rather than 'instant power'. Since he signed a contract for at least three years anyway, Kim Hye-sung with a long breath is 'It is a plan to grow into a player suitable for Juss.

Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up
Minor League broadcast screen capture
Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up
Minor League broadcast screen capture
In fact, such a time was expected from the time Kim Hye-sung signed the 「World Series Winning Team」 and the star team LA Dodgers. The Dodgers are full of resources on the field inside and outside. The depth of the main and backup is also quite thick, and the team is also full of talent in the minor league pool. If Kim Hye-sung's goal was to make a "fast big league debut" from the beginning, it was appropriate to sign a contract with a lower-middle-class team with a thinner player base.

However, Kim Hye-sung's ultimate goal is not 'big league debut'. The goal is to remain in the big league for as long as possible and play as a main player. To do that, we need time to endure. To be honest, Kim Hye-sung's strengths are different compared to his seniors in the past KBO League Kiwoom Heroes such as Kim Ha-sung (Tampa Bay) and Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco). This is the fact that Stat shows.

In addition, Kim is still adjusting to the new batting form. Even in the spring camp, he was rarely able to produce a hit in the aftermath of the modification of the batting form. At one point, he recorded a disastrous batting average of 0.071. In the end, Kim Hye-sung was informed of going to Triple-A in the minor league around the opening of the season. This is not a humiliation. It's part of a normal upbringing. You should be proud that you didn't go below Double A.

Kim Hye-sung is steadily growing in Triple-A Oklahoma City under the Dodgers. He has appeared in 16 games so far on the 18th and has a batting average of 0.268 (19 hits in 71 at-bats) with three home runs, 13 RBIs, and 16 runs and an OPS of 0.854. It's a good grade.




Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up
In particular, the growth of the long-shot power that the Dodgers coaching staff wanted through the revision of the batting form is confirmed in the three home runs. It is 0.19 per game, which is an overwhelming improvement compared to the KBO League days. Kim Hye-sung has only hit 37 home runs in 953 KBO league games. The production rate per game was only 0.04. Although there is less data, home run productivity has increased almost five times compared to the KBO League days.

The Dodgers coaching staff cannot be unaware of Kim Hye-sung's growth. It is growing well enough, and at this rate, it is worth considering that a big league call-up is possible within this year.

That doesn't mean he can go to the big leagues right away. In this regard, Roberts made quite meaningful remarks. "I will give 150 at-bats to center fielder Andy Pazs, who has been struggling with a batting average of .100 since the opening."

Are you going to play baseball for a year or two? Time is on Kim Hye-sung's side, and there is no reason to be impatient with the Major League call-up
It's a very common sense statement. It's usually right to give this much of a chance. There is no reason for Kim Hye-sung to be impatient with this. If Pazs remains sluggish even though he has about 100 more at-bats in the future, Roberts is sure to send him to the minor leagues without mercy.

It is not too late for Kim Hye-sung to seek a major league call-up opportunity after that. As long as the entry into the opening entry has been canceled anyway, there is little meaning in such a way as 'April Call-Up'May Call-Up'. From the Dodgers' point of view, Kim Hye-sung is a 'cultivating hitter'. This means that if he grows well, he is a player who can give him a big league opportunity.

Kim Hye-sung, who is in the first year of his major league challenge, needs to draw a bigger picture. To be honest, if a call-up is made within the first half of the year, it will be 200% successful. Even if the call-up is made after the summer and before the postseason, it deserves a hundred points. If you experience the postseason stage through this, there will be no more valuable experience than that.

In the end, he only needs to become a regular or utility member of the Major League within the contract period. The best scenario is to hold out for such a long time in the Major League. Time is on Kim's side. If you don't want to play baseball for one or two years, you don't have to be impatient.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.