What kind of romance does it have to play baseball with a player who was his idol when he was young? A boy who dreamed of becoming a major leaguer beyond a professional baseball player made his dream come true by wearing the national flag on his chest. He also set a new goal as a professional baseball player. 토토사이트
Lotte Giants catcher Son Sung-bin was selected for the 2024 Major League Seoul Series Special Match "Team Korea" entry held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul from the 17th to the 18th.
Then, he played with the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers and faced off several superstar players while wearing catcher masks. Son said in a telephone interview with MHN Sports on Wednesday, "It was like a dream. It meant a lot to me that I met the players I respected when I was young and thought they were cool."
Notably, Son naturally had conversations with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado during the game. As a substitute in the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres on Thursday, Son played with pitcher Jung Hae-young. He allowed Jackson Merrill, the San Diego Padres leader, to have a hit and steal a base.
He stole second base, but his throwing ability paid off. Tatis Jr., a follow-up hitter, also gave a thumbs up to Son. "I told Tatis that I respect him," Son said.
On meeting him, Son also said, "One of my favorite players since childhood was Machado. So, as I told Tatis Jr., I said, 'I respect you, you are a role model,'" he said. "Then Machado responded to me thanking me."
"I asked Machado if he could give me a bat as a present, but Machado just laughed without answering. The Major League referee in the back also laughed with me," Son said in a behind-the-scenes story.
There were more than just interesting episodes. It was the special match that enabled Son to set a new goal and commitment.
"They were Major League players, but they were just like us when we played at the ballpark. However, they were clearly different from us when we were practicing batting or defense before entering the game," Son said. "(ML players) had routines for each player, and there was a huge amount of concentration even in the atmosphere where they were shouting haha. When I saw that, even the best players in the world do that, I vowed to become a player who shows that, too."
Son is growing into a good catcher year by year. He posted an excellent record of 1.80 seconds last year when throwing balls to second base from home. Based on the record, he added 0.700 seconds to block stolen bases. He was selected as a member of the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) national team last year.
"Major League Baseball is a dream stage for a baseball player. I also thought that I want to become a better player and play baseball with big league players," Son said. "I will do my best to become one of the best players in the world."
"The first goal of this season is to enter the opening game. I will show my fans a great performance," he added.
Meanwhile, in the exhibition games this season, Son recorded a batting average of 0.667 (2 hits in three times at bat) and OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.334 in four games.