Living Up To The Hype - LA Sports Today

It is a quote (cliché) attributed to NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi that we’ve all heard dozens of times in our respective lives:

“Act like you’ve been here before”

Dodgers rookie sensation Hyeseong Kim acted like he’d “…been here before” when he made his major league debut with Dodgers against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park on Sunday evening.

The 26-year-old Goyang, South Korea native, who the Dodgers signed as an international free agent on January 3, 2025 to a lofty 3-year/$12.5 million contract, went 2-for-4 with two singles, a RBI, and a run scored in the Dodgers 7-4 win over the Fish.

**Kim’s first major league hit was a sharp opposite field single to left to lead off the top of the fifth inning.** **(Fox Sports)**

“Our team is a very strong team, we play really good baseball. I just wanted to contribute to the team and then the results came out, so I really contributed today,” Kim said postgame through an interpreter.

“He was great, you know. Just ahh… I think the other night, you know, him on the bases (as a pinch runner) shows his kind of fearlessness, and for him to come in here and throw out a knock, get a couple hits and play good defense, it was just really exciting. He just adds that spark to our ball club,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Kim postgame.

In a bit of irony, Kim was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Saturday’s game against the Marlins. At OKC, Kim, whose first name translates to “comet,” slashed .252/.328/.470/.798 with five home runs and 19 RBI in the 28 games in which he appeared with the OKC Comets. (You can’t make this stuff up, folks).

Welcome to The Show, Comet!

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As for those seven Dodgers runs, two came on Dodgers first baman Freddie Freeman‘s two-run 402-foot home run to center in the top of the third, and two on Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani‘s two-run 386-foot home run to right-center in the top of the fifth.

Freeman’s third-inning home run was his seventh of the season.
(Fox Sports)

Ohtani’s fifth-inning home run was his MLB-tying ninth of the season.
(Fox Sports)

The other three Dodgers runs came on a first-inning RBI double to center by right fielder Teoscar Hernández, a sixth-inning RBI single to center by the aforementioned Kim, and a seventh-inning RBI double to left by pinch-hitter/second baseman Chris Taylor.

Play Ball!

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