Sports
Why Dodgers prospect Hyun-Seok Jang could become one of MLB's next Korean stars
During a workout at Dodgers spring training recently this spring, Rob Hill was stopped by a bystander confused by a case of mistaken identity.
The person had seen Hill, the Dodgers director of minor league pitching, talking with a tall, lanky, athletic Asian player on the backfields at Camelback Ranch.
Was that, the bystander asked, two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani?
No, Hill politely informed them. The player in question was actually Hyun-Seok Jang.
While Ohtani and fellow Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto have inevitably dominated headlines during Dodgers spring training this year, club officials have quietly raved about the other talented Asian product embarking on his first spring with the team.
Jang, a 20-year-old right-handed pitcher who signed for $900,000 out of South Korea last year, doesn’t have the name recognition of a big-league standout yet. But, in several years, the club is hopeful he’ll be staging his own MLB ascension — one the team never got to experience with Ohtani more than a decade ago.
When Ohtani was coming out of high school in Japan in 2012, the Dodgers attempted to persuade him to move to the United States immediately.
They were enamored with his capabilities as a pitcher. They visualized his road to major-league stardom. And, had Ohtani’s preference to remain a two-way player not ultimately persuaded him to stay in Japan and play in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, he might have been a Dodger long before signing his record $700-million contract this offseason.
Last summer, Jang faced a similar set of circumstances, albeit without the two-way caveat.
A native of Changwon, South Korea, a port city on the country’s southern coast, Jang emerged as not only the nation’s top high school player, but one of its more promising young pitching products in recent memory.
He has all the tools of a potential future MLB starter, from his 6-foot-4 frame to his upper-90s mph fastball to an array of breaking pitches that can induce swing and miss.
Yet, like Ohtani, he had the option to bide his time until then playing in his home country — where he was widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the most recent KBO League draft, and would have been a prominent national figure in Korea’s baseball community.
“He would’ve started in the KBO, at the top level, right away,” said Daniel Kim, an independent South Korean journalist who has contributed to ESPN’s coverage of the nation’s domestic league. “If you’re a top one, two, three [high school] player, you get a lot of recognition.”
However, in what was a relatively polarizing move in South Korea, Jang decided to forge a different path.
As he neared the end of his high school career, he announced his intention to sign with an MLB team. Last August, the Dodgers were the ones to secure his signature. And now the team — which just so happens to open its season Wednesday in Seoul against the San Diego Padres — is hoping he can become their next Korean success story, following in the footsteps of past star pitchers like Chan Ho Park and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
“We see a future with top-of-the-rotation starter stuff,” Hill said. “It’s just a matter of getting there and doing it. He can do so much with the ball. He’s so adept at trying to improve. I think the sky’s the limit.”
Jang, who declined an interview request for this story, explained at the time of his signing that he wanted to move to the U.S. to expedite his path to the major leagues.
He noted MLB clubs’ advanced infrastructure for pitching development, from advanced analysis to high-tech training facilities.
He said he was eager to face American competition, despite the unglamorous minor-league lifestyle of small towns and long bus trips that come with it.
Most of all, he wanted to test himself competitively, unafraid of uprooting his life and moving 6,000 miles away to a country where he speaks little (though more every day, Hill said) of the English language.
“It was a tough decision for me because I dreamed of pitching both in the KBO and MLB,” Jang said in a statement last August, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. “But ultimately, I wanted to challenge myself in the best league in the world and decided to take a crack at MLB.”
To Dodgers executives, it was the last piece of confirmation they needed.
“I think it’s a really good indication of make-up and work ethic,” general manager Brandon Gomes said of Jang’s decision.
Added Hill: “He’s incredibly ambitious … He doesn’t care necessarily about everyone’s opinions. He just wants to be good.”
There were plenty of other teams, of course, interested in the pitcher. The Texas Rangers were seen as the strongest other contender to sign him, according to one person with knowledge of the situation who was unauthorized to speak publicly.
At the time Jang announced his MLB intentions, the Dodgers also lacked the kind of money remaining in their annual international bonus pool to seriously make a run at signing him, forcing the front office to quickly try and seek out a trade.
A deal quietly came together on Aug. 4 of last year, when the Dodgers flipped prospects Aldrin Batista and Maximo Martinez to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for international slot money.
A week later, Jang’s signing with the team was official — a turn of events even the pitcher acknowledged came as a bit of a surprise.
“I knew they were interested in me,” he said at a news conference announcing the decision. “But I didn’t think I’d end up signing with this team.”
Before coming to the U.S., Jang played with the South Korean national team in last year’s Asian Games. By helping the country win a gold medal in the event, he earned an exemption from its mandatory military service obligations, clearing the way for him to play full-time in America this year.
According to Dodgers vice president of player development Will Rhymes, Jang will likely start this season in the rookie-level Arizona Complex league. Currently ranked as the club’s 18th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, he is still at least two to three years away from the big leagues.
In the meantime, Jang has worked closely with Hill and the rest of the Dodgers player development staff this spring on refining his expansive repertoire of pitches — which includes a sinker, changeup, curveball and slider in addition to his tantalizing high-velocity four-seamer.
“I mean, what doesn’t he throw?” Hill joked about Jang’s arsenal. “The actual command and ability to manipulate the baseball, it’s pretty advanced for his age.”
When Gomes first met Jang in person at the club’s DodgerFest event last month, he was struck by how the then-teenage prospect (Jang only turned 20 last week) sized up to Bobby Miller, the 6-foot-5 right-hander coming off a promising rookie season in 2023.
“When Bobby doesn’t make you look small, you’re like, ‘OK, this dude is put together,’” Gomes said. “With that body and his fastball quality right now, he certainly [projects as a] major-league starting pitcher.”
Once upon a time, the Dodgers thought something similar about a high-school-aged Ohtani.
In Jang, they see the chance to develop another future star from the other side of the world.
Sports
US Women's Open golfer strikes bird during tee shot in bizarre 1st-round scene
Hitting birdie putts is what every U.S. Women’s Open golfer is trying to do this week, but Isi Gabsa had a different experience with a birdie on the 12th hole during her first round from Lancester Country Club.
Gabsa teed up on the par-3 12th hole hoping to get in good position to lower her score, which sat at 2-over par through her first round. When she made contact, the ball was heading right for the green, which is exactly what she wanted.
However, as the ball landed, it struck a bird that was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bird was motionless, as the ball squirted a few feet away on the green.
An official ended up walking over to the green to check on the bird, and after giving it a look, he picked the bird up and carried it away.
It’s unknown if the bird perished from being struck by the golf ball.
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Gabsa would finish the hole with a par after missing the birdie putt. Her first round would conclude with a 3-over 73, putting her tied 67th after one round.
Lancester Country Club was full of odd happenings in Thursday’s first round, including the top-ranked golfer in the field, Nelly Korda, shooting a 10 on the same 12th hole. Korda’s round was in shambles after that, as she finished 10-over on the day.
The course is playing hard for the top women golfers in the world, as the leading score was only 2-under par by Japan’s Yuka Saso at the time of writing.
So, while Korda will have some work to do in Friday’s second round to make the cut, Gabsa is certainly still in the running with how close everyone’s scores were in the first round.
But she may be paying attention to what might be in the way of her golf ball moving forward after this unfortunate run-in with a bird.
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Sports
Jorge López cut by Mets after throwing temper tantrum — and glove — against Dodgers
Mets relief pitcher Jorge López threw a temper tantrum during a blowout loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday.
He also threw his glove — way up and over the protective netting behind the Mets dugout and into the stands at Citi Field after being ejected from the game.
And López threw in a couple of f-bombs during a postgame interview that will likely end up being his last official act as a member of the Mets, who designated the right-hander for assignment on Thursday.
The Puerto Rican veteran player might have known what was coming the previous night, when he told reporters that he felt the team was embarrassed by his behavior and he wasn’t sure if they wanted to keep him around.
“I’m ready to come back tomorrow if they want me [to] be here,” said López, a native Spanish speaker who conducted the interview in English.
Asked if he regretted his actions, though, López calmly stated, “No. I don’t regret it.”
López signed with the Mets, his sixth team in nine MLB seasons, as a free agent during the offseason. He appeared in 28 games and has a 1-2 record with a 3.76 earned-run average in 26 1/3 innings pitched.
He entered in the top of the eighth inning with one out, runners on first (Miguel Rojas) and third (Gavin Lux) and the Mets trailing 5-3. López gave up a double to Miguel Vargas, scoring Rojas and Lux, then forced Mookie Betts to fly out before surrendering a two-run home run to Shohei Ohtani for a 9-3 Dodgers lead.
After falling behind Freddie Freeman with a 3-1 count, López earned his ejection by angrily arguing a check-swing call with third-base umpire Ramon De Jesus. As he was leaving the field, a frustrated López hoisted his glove high into the air with an underhand toss. It was caught by a fan in the second row along the first-base line.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that López’s behavior was “not acceptable” and that the situation would be handled internally. “It definitely doesn’t look good,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said of López’s meltdown.
López described the incident to reporters as “just a misunderstanding” between him and De Jesus. He said his reaction was “out of emotion,” before adding, “I don’t give a f— to anything.”
Some parts of López’s comments were difficult to understand. In one such instance, it was initially reported that he had referred to the Mets, who are 22-33 and already 16 games out of first place in the National League East, as “the worst team in the whole f— MLB,”
On Thursday, López posted on his Instagram Story that he had been misheard and had actually referred to himself as “the worst teammate” in the league.
“Thanks media for make it worse,” López wrote.
Sports
Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight 'should not be going ahead' after boxing legend's health scare, UFC great says
UFC legend Michael Bisping took issue with the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight still having the green light later this summer after the boxing legend’s health scare on a plane.
Tyson wrote on social media he was feeling 100% after the incident “even though I don’t need to be to beat Jake Paul.” Still, Bisping said on his podcast that it was not a “good look” for Tyson.
“This is just a great example of why a fight like this should not be going ahead,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel, via Bloody Elbow.
Bisping said he respected Tyson for taking the fight against Paul at 58 years old but expressed concerns about him being able to sit on a plane for a few hours.
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“I think the man is pushing 60 and he’s got some medical problems. Maybe he just had a bit of food poisoning or had some food that just didn’t agree with him, but what we do know is that he was carted off the plan by paramedic and they did ask for medical assistance. … That’s not a good look,” he said.
Bisping then took issue with Paul allegedly “cherry-picking another opponent to bolster his resume to make himself look good …” He called it “absolutely embarrassing.”
Tyson and Paul are set to fight in a sanctioned bout in Arlington, Texas, on July 20. The fight will be streamed live on Netflix.
Four other fights are also on the card. Katie Taylor will take on Amanda Serrano, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will fight Darren Till, Ashton Sylve will fight Floyd Schofield and Neeraj Goyat will take on Whindersson Nunes.
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