“We’re excited to be here in Korea.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who arrived in Korea through Incheon International Airport on the 15th, held official training for the ‘2024 MLB World Tour Seoul Series’ at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 16th.
The Dodgers will play a special game against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 17th and the Korean National Baseball Team on the 18th, and will then play a two-game series against the San Diego Padres on the 20th and 21st after training on the 19th. The Seoul Series will be the first Major League Baseball game to be played in South Korea.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman joined Shohei Ohtani for the official press conference.
Both Betts and Freeman are iconic Dodgers hitters. Betts was selected by the Boston Red Sox with the 172nd overall pick in the fifth round of the 2011 draft and made his first big league appearance in 2014. In 2018, he won the American League MVP after hitting .346 with 32 home runs, 80 RBIs, 129 runs scored and a 1.078 OPS in 136 games and 180 at-bats. He has been with the Dodgers since the 2020 season.
Freeman is also a former MVP. Drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the 78th overall pick in the second round of the 2007 draft, he made his major league debut in 2010 and stayed with Atlanta through the 2021 season. In the 2020 season, which was shortened due to COVID-19, he hit .341 with 13 home runs, 53 RBIs, 51 runs scored, and a 1.102 OPS in 60 games and 73 at-bats, earning National League MVP honors. He has been playing in a Dodgers uniform since the 2022 season.
Both Betts and Freeman are looking forward to playing in Korea. ”I’m so excited to be here,” Freeman said. Everyone is looking forward to it. It’s my first time playing overseas. I haven’t seen much of Korea yet, but I’m looking forward to it.”
“Same here,” Betts said. Both my wife and I are very interested in Korean culture. I think it will be important for us to focus on the game.”
This season, the Dodgers went on a spending spree under Stovall. After acquiring Ohtani, they added Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernandez, and Kike Hernandez to bolster their lineup.
“We’ve got good players like Ohtani and Glassnow, and I didn’t expect to get this much attention, so I’m going to work hard,” Freeman said.
Glassnow and Darvish Judah started the first game between the Dodgers and San Diego. The next day, Yamamoto and Joe Musgrove will face off. ”Darvish and Musgrove are both hard-hitters,” Freeman said. San Diego is also a tough team, so it will be a good test,” Freeman said.