Hye-seong Kim from LA Dodgers stages a smooth debut

"There were some regrets, but overall, I think it was good."

Kim Hye-seong (26, LA Dodgers) said this after making his Major League Baseball (MLB) spring training debut on the 21st, where he recorded one at-bat with no hits and one walk in two plate appearances. The Dodgers played the official opening game of this season’s MLB spring training against the Chicago Cubs at their spring camp home stadium, Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, but suffered a 4-12 defeat.

Starting as the Dodgers’ eighth batter and second baseman, Kim grounded out to third base in his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning. However, in his second at-bat in the bottom of the fourth, he successfully drew a walk, marking his first official MLB on-base appearance. Defensively, he turned two plays into outs. He was later substituted for Justin Dean (29) at the start of the fifth inning, concluding his debut game.

During an in-game interview in the eighth inning, Kim remarked, “Overall, MLB pitchers’ velocity was slightly faster compared to the KBO.” When he batted in the KBO in 2024 with the Kiwoom Heroes, the average speed of the four-seam fastballs he faced was 142.7 km/h. However, in this game, he saw seven fastballs averaging 153.8 km/h. The changeups he faced (four in total) averaged 142.4 km/h.

Despite this, he did not appear overwhelmed. In both of his plate appearances, Kim battled to a full count, forcing the opposing pitcher to throw a total of 13 pitches. Among the 36 batters from both teams in the game, he had the highest average pitches per plate appearance (6.5). He also only swung at one pitch outside the strike zone, which resulted in a foul. Kim concluded by saying, “I will prove my abilities and prepare well so that I can perform in the regular season at Dodger Stadium.


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com