MLB Seoul Series: Dodgers vs. San Diego at Gocheok Dome - Otani, Kim, Ko greet fans

2024-03-15 16:40:00

Seoul Series at Gocheok Dome on the 20th and 21st
Dodgers-San Diego squad arrives
Ha-seong Kim and Woo-seok Ko also greet fans

Shohei Otani of the Los Angeles Dodgers of the American Professional Baseball Major League is waving to fans as he enters Incheon International Airport on the 15th. Right behind him is Otani’s wife, Mamiko Tanaka, who made her first appearance after announcing her marriage last month. Incheon = Reporter Choi Hyuk-jung sajinman@donga.com “Let’s go Shohei, let’s go Dodgers.”

The moment American Major League Baseball (MLB) ‘superstar’ Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) appeared at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 15th, waiting fans simultaneously chanted slogans in support of Ohtani and the Dodgers. Otani, wearing comfortable training clothes and a backwards baseball cap, bowed slightly and greeted fans with a smile on his face. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, who Ohtani first revealed on her social media just before boarding the plane to Korea, followed Ohtani about a step behind. Mr. Tanaka, who played basketball in Japan, also greeted fans with a bright smile.

The Dodgers players visited Korea on this day for the 2024 MLB opening two-game series (Seoul Series) against San Diego held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 20th and 21st. The Seoul Series is the first MLB regular season game to be held in Korea.

Otani and Tanaka walked a little apart, but Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and others entered the arrivals hall side by side, holding their wives’ hands. Fans’ cheers grew louder every time the MLB star players they saw on TV appeared.

The Dodgers players boarded buses that had been prepared in advance and traveled to their lodgings in Yeouido, Seoul. After resting that day, Dodgers players will train at Gocheok Sky Dome starting on the 16th. After training, coach Dave Roberts, Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman are scheduled to attend a press conference. The Dodgers will play practice games with Kiwoom and the Korean national baseball team on the 17th and 18th, respectively, to improve their sense of real-life performance, and then play the opening game in Seoul on the 20th.

The San Diego team entered the country around 1:30 a.m. on the 15th. Shortstop Kim Ha-seong, who has grown into a key player in San Diego, said, “I feel good now that I can feel it.” “The fans will have a lot to look forward to, and I will do my best to have a good game,” he said. Pitcher Go Woo-seok, who joined San Diego this year, said, “I’m tired, but I’m in good shape.” The two, as well as Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., were also eager to provide fan service, signing autographs for each of the fans who waited for them even late at night.

The San Diego players, who had dressed up early, had a great time visiting various places in Seoul that day. Tatis Jr. visited Gwangjang Market in Seoul and posted a video of himself eating hotteok and dumpling soup on his social media. Eyewitness accounts of fans meeting Machado and Sander Bohartz at ‘The Hyundai Seoul’ in Yeouido, near the San Diego team’s dormitory, were also posted on the online community.

Incheon = Reporter Heonjae Lee uni@donga.com