San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. is looking forward to the passionate support culture of Korean baseball.
“On the first day, we ate good food and went to the market,” Tatis Jr. said at the official press conference at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Saturday. I think people have good style. I met some impressive friends and had fun. It’s been a good trip so far,” he said of his first impressions of Korea.
San Diego will open a two-game series against the Dodgers at Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul on April 20 and 21. It will be the first time a major league regular season game will be played in South Korea. It’s even more significant because it’s the season opener. With the Seoul series, South Korea becomes the 12th country to host a Major League Baseball game. Seoul is the fifth time in history that a Major League Baseball regular-season opener has been held overseas, joining Monterrey, Mexico; Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Sydney, Australia. The Seoul Series will be preceded by games between the Dodgers and Kiwoom and Team Korea and San Diego on Sunday, and San Diego and LG and Team Korea and the Dodgers on Monday.
After enduring more than 10 hours of travel time for the Seoul Series, the San Diego players arrived in South Korea on March 15 and immediately began acclimating to the ground. On the 16th, the official team practice was held.
San Diego star Tatis Jr. was more active than the rest of the team. He posted a photo of his family eating Korean street food at Gwangjang Market on the day he arrived in Korea, and on the 16th, he participated in the San Diego Padres Youth Clinic at Yongsan Children’s Park Baseball Field, where he spent time with young fans, followed by a team workout at Gocheok Dome.
In 414 career major league games, Tatis Jr. has a career batting average of .288 (1,611-for-451) with 106 home runs, 273 RBI, 301 runs scored, 81 doubles, and an OPS of .896. Tatis Jr. signed a 14-year, $340 million extension with San Diego ahead of the 2021 season, but his 2022 season was a major disappointment as injuries and a PED violation (80-game suspension) wiped out his entire 2022 campaign. But he bounced back last year, batting .257 (148-for-575) with 25 home runs, 78 RBI, 91 runs scored, 29 doubles and a .770 OPS in 141 games.
Kim, who often talked to the San Diego players about Korean culture, said, “We had a Korean language class in the clubhouse, and they were excited about it. They were willing to learn Korean. I think they all know basic Korean phrases like ‘hello,'” Kim said.
“I’ve heard that Korean baseball fans are very loud,” Tatis Jr. said. I know they cheer for 90% of the game. It’s going to be a great experience to play in front of such 토토사이트 passionate fans,” said Tatis, Jr.
Xander Bogaerts, who signed an 11-year, $280 million contract with San Diego last season, also had high hopes for the Seoul Series. Bogaerts is a specialty hitter who has a career batting average of .291 (5430-for-1580) with 175 home runs, 741 RBIs, 835 runs scored, 93 doubles, and an OPS of .812 in 1,419 games. “I’ve been to Seoul before,” said Bogartz, who represented the Netherlands at the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Gocheokdome. It’s great to be back, and I’m looking forward to revisiting some of the places I remember from before,” he said, reminiscing.
San Diego clubhouse leader Manny Machado said, “It’s been a long trip. It’s his hometown, so it’s been fun to see him get excited over the last couple months. It’s great to be able to play the opening game in his homeland,” said Machado, who is looking forward to a successful series in Seoul.
