What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start

Jun 03, 2025

What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
LA Dodgers Kim Hye-sung is circling the base after hitting a superior two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium on the 1st (Korea time).




What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
LA Dodgers Kim Hye-sung hits a superior two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium on the 1st (Korea time). AP Yonhap News
What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
LA Dodgers Kim Hye-sung (left) is receiving fierce congratulations from his teammate Kiké Hernandez after hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium in LA on the 1st (Korea time).

What kind of light will 'Hye-sung' that appears in the Major League Baseball (MLB).

MLB was turned upside down by the rookie's amazing performance from South Korea. Kim Hye-sung (26), who was recruited by the Los Angeles Dodgers through posting last winter, changed his perception of himself with his amazing performance in offense and defense.

Kim Hye-sung was close to being called up to the big league due to the injury of her main player, but she appeared in an interleague home game against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 1st (Korea time) and set a record that will remain in MLB's history.




Kim Hye-sung started the game against the Yankees as the ninth shortstop and recorded four hits, one walk, two RBIs and three runs in four at-bats, including one home run. It was Kim Hye-sung's first four-hit, five-base game. If I had only added a triple, I would have achieved 'cycling hit'.

What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
Hit fielder Kim Hye-sung catches a straight hit by Yankees Jobit Vivas and quickly throws himself to second base, leaving second baseman Austin Wells out. AP Yonhap News
This was not the only one. Kim Hye-sung also showed amazing skills in defense. a defensive inning in the top of the third inning. Kim Hye-sung, who was moving behind the second base with no outs and runners on the first and second bases, caught Yovit Vivas' straight hit and ran to the second base with the momentum, stretched out his glove by sliding and out the runner Austin Wells, achieving a 'Unassist Double Play'. I filled two out counts by myself.

He then moved to center field when defending in the top of the sixth inning and took care of leadoff hitter Aaron Judge. Kim Hye-sung quickly caught Judge's ball and threw it quickly and accurately to second base when it cut through the left-center outfield and hit the fence on a one-bound basis. Judge, who looked down on Kim Hye-sung's throwing ability, was eventually tagged out at second base. It was Kim Hye-sung's first outfield bodhisattva scene.




What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
Kim Hye-sung celebrates in the outfield with Michael Confoto and Andy Pazs after winning against the New York Yankees on the 1st (Korea time). ImagesYonhap News
Kim Hye-sung's performance quickly excited the entire MLB. It turned out that it was the first great performance since the 20th century.

Opta Statts, a statistics company, said Kim Hye-sung is the first player in the modern era since the 20th century to hit more than four hits in a game, including a home run, and at the same time recorded a single double play and an outfield bodhisattva in defense. He was named in major league history as a true 'multiplayer'.

It is worth evaluating that Shohei Ohtani's record of hitting cycling hits in the attack and going through the infield and outfield at the same time is almost comparable to his record of 50 home runs and 50 steals in one season. In some ways, it can be seen as a record that is difficult to reproduce again.




What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
With this one-time performance, Kim Hye-sung instantly rose to the ranks of the 'Super Rookie' that the entire MLB is paying attention to. Thanks to her performance on the day, Kim Hye-sung's contribution to replacement players (fWAR) soared from 0.2 to 0.6.

This means that Kim Hye-sung has emerged as a dark horse in the race for the NL Rookie of the Year. The fWAR of Drake Baldwin (Atlanta Braves), who is considered the most advanced in the NL Rookie of the Year, is 1.3, followed by Tim Tawa (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Liam Hicks (Miami Marlins). Kim Hye-sung is fourth in terms of fWAR. This means that it has become the first Korean to try for the Rookie of the Year award in the Major League.

However, despite this performance, Kim Hye-sung is not yet the main player of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After the 1st day of the game "Kim Hye-sung has above average shoulders and arms, and he is very good as an all-around player. LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who praised Kim Hye-sung again in the game against the Yankees on the 2nd, said, "If I get a chance to play, I can perform and use it well.'

What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
This is because the Yankees put forward left-hander Ryan Yarbrough as the starter. Roberts was still pushing Kim Hye-sung into the framework of the 'Platoon System' he believed in.

However, Dodgers home fans have not forgotten Kim Hye-sung, who performed amazingly. When Kim Hye-sung, who was excluded from the starting lineup against the Yankees on the 2nd, appeared as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 8th inning, home fans cheered and welcomed Kim Hye-sung's appearance. In the hearts of Dodgers fans, Kim Hye-sung has already become a real person who emits brilliant light.

In the end, Roberts said after the game on the 2nd that `Kim Hye-sung will start as shortstop in the next game.' Kim Hye-sung will start the home game against the New York Mets at 11:10 a.m. on the 3rd.

The Mets' starting pitcher on the day is right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn. Blackburn made his big league debut with Oakland in 2017 and came out with four to five pre-issuances before moving to the Mets at the trade deadline last year. However, he was hurt by a hit in a game against San Diego on August 24 last year, his fifth start for the Mets.

Since then, Blackburn, who was out for the season due to back disk symptoms, has re-entered his rehabilitation due to a right knee injury at the end of March, the end of spring camp. In minor league rehabilitation games, he started in seven games and recorded a 2-2 record with a 3.68 ERA. In the end, he returned as a big league starter after almost 10 months.

What history will we write today? Kim Hye-sung, who made the U.S. excited for the first MLB record. Why I'm looking forward to his start
It can be seen as an easy opponent for Kim Hye-sung, who has gained confidence in hitting. Kim Hye-sung has a batting average of 0.413 (19 hits in 46 at-bats) and two home runs and seven RBIs in 22 games since the big league call-up on the 4th. The OPS stands at a whopping 1.036. If the game is narrowed down to the last seven games, the batting average will soar to 0.455 (five hits in 11 at-bats) with an OPS of 1.318 (five hits in 11 times at bat). In terms of time limit, he deserves to be one of the scariest hitters in the Dodgers.

In addition, Kim Hye-sung is batting .400 (18 hits in 45 at-bats) with an OPS of .949 against right-handers. For Kim Hye-sung, Blackburn, who just returned from injury, is a good pitcher to draw multi-hitters.

If Kim Hye-sung again shows his strong performance against the Yankees on the 1st, he can break the platoon frame that Roberts is pushing and leap to the real starting line. In addition, he can firmly establish a top position in the NL Rookie of the Year race. I'm already looking forward to how Kim Hye-sung will perform against the Mets.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.