"The Comet is head to the big league."
After waiting with her unique sincerity and positive attitude, a thrilling moment of glory finally came. Kim Hye-sung (26) has finally achieved her dream of becoming a major leaguer.
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Monday morning (Korea time) that infielder Kim Hye-sung, who was playing for the Minor League Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets, has made a call-up to the big league. It was an unexpected surprise call-up. There was no time for Kim to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, which is currently ranking first in the National League West with six consecutive wins.
However, a sudden injury variable appeared. Tommy Edman, a super utility who showed off his strong slugging capability by hitting eight home runs both inside and outside this season, got hurt in his ankle. Edman recently injured his ankle while stealing the bases. Due to a sprained right ankle, he ended up on the disabled list.
The Dodgers retroactively applied Edman as of April 30 and registered him as a 10-day DL. Kim Hye-sung, who was playing for Triple-A Oklahoma City, was then transferred to the big league. Kim Hye-sung, like Edman, has defense capability that can handle both infield and outfield defense.
As a result, Kim Hye-sung became the 28th Korean Major Leaguer in history. His dream, which seemed impossible, has finally come true.
Kim Hye-sung's big league call-up has been unusually introduced to MLB.COM, the official website of MLB.COM. Reporter Jeffrey Lutz decorated the article's first head with a nice sentence, "The Comet is head to the big league."
It was an interesting lead made after finding out that Kim's name is in the form of "comet" and "same" falling from the sky. Moreover, the name of Triple-A Team, to which Kim was a member, is also "Comets."
In other words, a "Hye-sung" from Korea stayed with other comets in Oklahoma City for a while and flew to LA. Reporter Lutz expressed this interesting narrative in one sentence. Considering this relationship, it is inevitable that Kim Hye-sung made his big league debut with the LA Dodgers.
MLB.COM's big deal with Kim Hye-sung's call-up news was also influenced by Lee Jung-hoo. As Lee Jung-hoo became a syndrome player in San Francisco this year, the U.S. interest in "batter from the KBO League" has grown. This is also a boon to Kim Hye-sung.
MLB.COM reporter Lutz reported on Kim Hye-sung's call-up and explained, "The Dodgers promoted infielder Kim Hye-sung from Triple-A Oklahoma City to make his major league debut," adding, "Kim Hye-sung's first name (name) can be translated into Comet (Hye-sung) according to the Korean pronunciation."
"Kim Hye-sung signed with the Dodgers in the offseason after spending eight seasons in the KBO League. He hit .304 or higher in every season from 2021 to 2024, and has achieved more than 20 steals in seven consecutive seasons. Kim Hye-sung signed a three-year total of $12.5 million (about 17.5 billion won) with the Dodgers in January and then went to Oklahoma City," he said.
She also went on to explain the relationship between Kim's name and Oklahoma City. "Unfortunately, Oklahoma City is nicknamed Comets after Mickey Mantle, a major league legend from Commerce. "Kim Hye-sung, whose Korean name is Comet, was here," he said. "Kim Hye-sung appeared in 27 games for Oklahoma City and hit .257 OPS.801 with 14 long balls. He also achieved eight multi-hit games, including the April 13 game against Round Rock, which hit two home runs."
Kim has been called up to the Major League for now, but it is uncertain when she will make her debut. Kim joined the Atlanta Brave Expeditionary Team at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, the day the call-up was announced, but was not included in the starting lineup and waited on the bench. There is a possibility that Kim could be deployed as a pinch runner or a defense player during the match. If so, she will be recognized as the 28th Korean big leaguer in history.
There is something equally important as the debut game. It is about how long he will remain in the big league. First of all, the call-up should be seen as a follow-up measure to Edman's injury, not because of Kim's overwhelming ability. This means that if Edman recovers to his normal condition and returns, Kim can immediately move back to Triple-A.
In the worst case scenario, player transfer may occur immediately after Edman's 10-day DL period ends. In other words, there could be a situation where Kim Hye-sung will go back to Oklahoma City on the 10th, six days later. To avoid this situation, Kim Hye-sung must show his best in the big league as much as possible. Attention is focusing on how much light Kim Hye-sung will emit in the big league. 바카라