Hyeseong Kim makes feelings known after 1st career HR at Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Hyeseong Kim registered his first MLB home run in the National League West team's come-from-behind 9-3 win over the Athletics on Wednesday.

The South Korean star's first career home run came in front of the home crowd at Dodger Stadium. He went deep against Gunnar Hoglund's four-seam fastball in the fifth inning to tie the game 3-3.

Kim, who signed a $12.5 million, three-year contract with the Dodgers in the offseason, reflected on his first home run at Dodger Stadium in a postgame interaction.

"As a person who always dreamed of playing in this stadium, I'm really happy, and I'm really thrilled right now," Kim said via his interpreter Joe Lee.

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The Dodgers called up the Korean infielder from Triple-A after Tommy Edman was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right ankle inflammation. An injury to Teoscar Hernandez has also seen Kim racking up decent playing time this month.

He went 2-for-2 on the night, improving his season batting average to .360 with three RBIs in 11 games. He has been a versatile addition to the team as the former three-time KBO Golden Glove winner has covered second base, center field and shortstop for the Dodgers.

Dave Roberts feels Hyeseong Kim is helping his Dodgers case

Following the win, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke about Hyeseong Kim's milestone hit. Roberts feels that Kim has helped his case since making his MLB debut earlier this month.

"I think that we wanted to get him here to cut his teeth, get his feet wet and see what the big leagues are about, get familiar," Roberts said of Kim. "Once Tommy and Teo come back, there's some decisions to be made. But performance, and how he's playing, certainly helps his case."

While the former KBO star is not the most powerful hitter in the Dodgers lineup, he is not trying to hit the ball hard, emphasizing control more than power.

“I don’t really try to think about hitting with power," Kim said. "I think the only thing that I really care about is to hit [the ball hard]. And if a hit comes out, I’m happy. And if not, I’ve got to try to work hard on it.”

It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers manage Hyeseong Kim in the lineup when Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez return.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash