On the big screen of the Grand Ballroom of the Seoul Dragon City Hotel on the 14th, when Jang Hyun-seok (Yongmago) joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, a face that many Major League Baseball (MLB) fans have seen before appeared.
It was Andrew Friedman, one 메이저사이트 of the league’s most famous general managers, who has served as the president of baseball operations for the Dodgers since 2015.
“Congratulations on joining our family,” Friedman said. Jang has a bright future with his talent. We look forward to seeing him pitch at Dodger Stadium,” said Mr. Friedman.
Dodgers Executive Vice President Gaylon Kerr added: “Welcome to Dodger Blue. We can’t wait to get him here and start our development process.”
This shows how much the Dodgers expect from Jang Hyun-seok.
The Dodgers have been following him since he was a student at Gyeongju Middle School.
They even traded one of their own prospects to cover the $900,000 down payment on Jang’s contract.
Major League Baseball introduced a capped international amateur bonus pool to prevent “deep-pocketed clubs” from gobbling up overseas prospects.
The Dodgers, who had already filled their bonus pool, traded another prospect to make room.
“The Dodgers didn’t have any bonus pools, so we were wondering if we could make an offer,” said Jang’s agent, Lee Yerang of Rico Sports Agency. “It took time to explain the situation to the player and get his understanding,” he said.
Jang Hyun-seok throws down the gauntlet to MLB
(SEOUL, Aug. 14) — Jang Hyun-seok, a right-handed pitcher for Masan Yongmago who is challenging for the Major League Baseball (MLB), poses with his uniform at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ signing press conference at Dragon City Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Thursday afternoon. 2023.8.14 [email protected]
“He reminds me of Josh Beckett,” said John Dibble, the Dodgers’ director of scouting for the Pacific region, who previously spent 15 years as a scout with the Boston Red Sox and was involved in bringing Daisuke Matsuzaka to the United States.
Beckett, a right-handed pitcher with 138 career wins in the major leagues from 2001 to 2014, was named World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2003 with the Florida Marlins (now the Miami Marlins) and won 20 games in 2007 with Boston.
“I coached Beckett in the minor leagues for a while, and his curve is similar to Jang’s,” says Dibble. “I’m also close with Kim Byung-hyun, and he once told me, ‘Why are you bringing a guy to the U.S. who can’t strike out a couple guys in a game?’ I remembered that conversation when I signed Jang Hyun-seok, who struck out 14 batters in one game,” he laughed.
Jang Hyun-seok joins the Los Angeles Dodgers at a press conference
(SEOUL) Jang Hyun-seok, a right-handed pitcher for Masan Yongmago who is trying to make it to the Major League Baseball (MLB), attends a press conference to join the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dragon City Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Thursday afternoon. From left, Dean Kim, international scout in charge of Korea, John Dibble, director of scouting for the Pacific region, Jang Hyun-seok and Lee Yerang, head of Rico Sports Agency. 2023.8.14 [email protected]
“We felt it was right to use the balance of our bonus pool (from the trade) on Jang Hyun-seok, and we’re confident in his success,” said Dibble, who was actually responsible for the signing. “He’s got good control, good size, and good changeup. One of his strengths is his fighting spirit. He is exceptional in that regard.”
The Dodgers dispatched a coach to Korea in advance to closely examine Jang’s physical condition, and then began working on an optimal development program.
“The first thing is to understand the player’s strengths and weaknesses. We have already started by sending him our training program. Depending on when the visa is issued, we will decide whether he will participate in the training league in October.”
Jang Hyun-seok is the only amateur baseball player to be selected to represent Korea at the Hangzhou Asian Games next month.
“We decided to support him in any international competition, not only the Asian Games, but also the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the Olympics,” said Dibble.