"I want to face the best hitter in the majors, Onati"
"My favorite pitchers are Kershaw and Darvish"

Aspiring Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Jang Hyun-seok has expressed his ambition to become a starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers like Park Chan-ho and Ryu Hyun-jin.

Jang Hyun-seok held a press conference on Thursday afternoon at the Seoul Dragon City Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 사설토토 to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The ceremony was attended by John Dibble, director of scouting for the Pacific region, and Dean Kim, the Dodgers' international scout in charge of Korea. Jang Hyun-seok was happy to wear a Dodgers jersey with number 18 and a hat.

Jang Hyun-seok, a pitcher for the Masan Yongmago, declared his intention to play in the major leagues without submitting an application to the KBO Draft on April 1.

His agent, Rico Sports, announced on the 9th that "Jang Hyun-seok signed a contract with the Dodgers for a signing bonus of $900,000 (approximately 1.2 billion won)."

With Jang Hyun-seok joining the major leagues, attention is focused on whether he can develop into a pitcher to succeed Park Chan-ho and Ryu Hyun-jin. The fact that the Dodgers bet $900,000 on a Korean high school student is a sign of their confidence in his chances of success.

Dodgers President Andrew Friedman, Executive Vice President Caleb Kerr and Director of Minor League Pitching Rob Hill sent Jang a video congratulating him on his signing.

"It's an honor to wear a Dodger uniform," Jang said. The Dodgers have been watching me for a long time, and I knew they were interested in me. I'm happy to have signed this contract."

"We've been following Jang since he was in middle school in 2020," said Dibble. We had seven scouts watching him, and all seven gave us the green light to move forward with the signing process. We are thrilled to have him sign with the Dodgers."

On why he chose the Dodgers, Jang said, "The Dodgers are a familiar organization for Korean players. I chose the Dodgers because they are the team that develops the most pitchers among the 30 teams in Major League Baseball," he explained.

While expressing his desire to reach the major leagues as soon as possible, he also vowed to become a player like Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) and Darvish Yu (San Diego Padres).

"It would be great to get to the major leagues quickly, but I might get injured, or it might take a few years," Jang said. "I want to be a pitcher like Clayton Kershaw, I want to be a starter, 스포츠토토맨 I want to be a player like Kershaw," he said.

"I've seen a lot of videos of Darvish pitching in Japan and a lot of videos of him pitching in San Diego. He's the type of pitcher I like in terms of balance. I tried to learn a lot from Darvish's videos."

Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) is the hitter he would like to face the most.

"There are a lot of hitters in the major leagues, but I would like to play against Ohtani. He is one of the best hitters in the major leagues. I want to play against him because he is a fellow Asian player and the player I respect the most after Darvish."

He also cited the advanced baseball system as a reason for wanting to play in the major leagues.

"I could have gone to the major leagues after playing in Korea, but my dream was the major leagues. I thought I could play baseball more perfectly in the scientific system and good training facilities of the major leagues," he said. "The American system is much better than Korea, and I thought it was better to learn in the United States than to learn in Korea."

He added, "My goal is to get to the major leagues as soon as possible. I want to become a starting pitcher for the Dodgers like Park Chan-ho and Ryu Hyun-jin before me."

Director Dibble said, "First of all, we have identified Jang's strengths and weaknesses. We have already started the process. Depending on whether he gets a visa or not, we'll see if he can join the training program in October. Currently, the Dodgers have sent him a program and he is starting the training."

"I saw his velocity, his physique, his ability to use his changeup, and one thing that stood out to me was his fighting spirit, his desire to win. I saw that in players who are playing in the major leagues," he said. "The way he got out of a jam with runners on first and second base with two strikeouts and a ground ball, the way he mixes up his four-pitch arsenal, his curiosity and willingness to learn, I thought that would be a good synergy for us."

Regarding the choice of number 18, Dibble said, "The uniform was specially designed for Jang Hyun-seok. Some of the best players in Asia, such as Daisuke Matsuzaka, 토토 have worn the number 18 jersey."