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| 다저스 김헤성. Yonhap News |
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| Ohtani stroking Kim Hye-sung's head. EPA Yonhap News |
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| Dodgers Yamamoto. AFP Yonhap News |
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He is suffering from the platoon system, but Kim Hye-sung is already emerging as the center of the LA Dodgers team' chemistry.
In particular, his close relationship with Japanese players who are the backbone of the team's power, such as Yoshinomu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, stands out. According to local media on the 15th (Korea Standard Time), Yamamoto replied that he was learning about my favorite Korean food from Kim Hye-sung when asked about Kim Hye-sung during an event on the eve of the Major League All-Star Game.
Kim He-sung entered the Dodgers with a hot welcome from Ohtani from the time he joined. Alec Gamboa (Lotte Giants), who stayed with Kim Hye-sung in the spring camp, said, "I was very impressed by Kim Hye-sung's humanity and hard work," adding, `I knew it would go as well as it does now.'
He was called by the big league only in May, and since then, he has been playing under a platoon system that is not used as a left-handed pitcher. During the KBO League, Kim Hye-sung was not a batter with particular weaknesses in left-handed pitchers. It depends on the season, but there are some seasons that were better played against left-handed pitchers, such as 2020-2021.
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| 커쇼와 김혜성 .AP Yonhap News |
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Ahead of this season, he joined the Dodgers for 3+2 years and up to $22 million. Concerned that he was going too strong, he expressed confidence with a cool answer, saying, `It's the same no matter which team you compete with.'
Contrary to expectations before entering the U.S., he seems to adapt well to fastballs in the big leagues. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, however, has a different opinion. Judging that his weakness against the left-handed pitcher is certain, he is using it only as a right-handed pitcher.
The position is as good as the super utility as Kim Ha-sung, playing second baseman, shortstop, and center fielder. However, unlike Kim Ha-sung, he was not used as a third baseman because he did not have strong shoulders, and unlike the KBO League, which mainly played left field, the big league covers center field who can make full use of his fast feet.
In particular, he was the youngest captain at the age of 22 when he was the Kiwoom Heroes, and later led the national team to the Asian Games gold medal by standing at the center of the national team's chemistry.
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| Congratulations to Michael Confoto, Kim Hye-sung, and Andy Page's victory. AP Yonhap News |
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Yamamoto talks about Kim Hye-sung "in English little by little. I think communication is important. So I have a lot of conversations with Kim Hye-sung," he stressed. He then added, `I promised to visit the Korean town of LA with Kim Hye-sung someday and go to a Korean restaurant.'
Yamamoto, born in 1998, is one year apart from Kim Hye-sung, born in 1999. Since they are similar in age in the same Chinese character culture, they seem to have naturally become closer.
Yamamoto dominated the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in his prime after 2021, and led the Orix Buffaloes to win the Japanese Series in 2022. By 2023, Yamamoto, who won the Sawamura Award for the third consecutive year, entered the U.S. through posting and wore a Dodgers uniform, stamping on a record 12-year - $325 million in total.
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| Dodgers Yamamoto.Yonhap News |
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Last year, he was in charge of 90 innings in 18 games, 7 wins and 2 losses with a 3.00 ERA, and led the team with Ohtani and matched the World Series trophy. This season, he has shown his true colors by recording eight wins, seven losses and a 2.59 ERA in 104 ⅓ innings in 19 games in the first half.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
