"Why are you coming out of here?" The 2nd-tier home run king, ML 1 trillion won man to Dominica..."It feels like I'm watching a celebrity"
"Why are you coming out of here?" The 2nd-tier home run king, ML 1 trillion won man to Dominica..."It feels like I'm watching a celebrity"
Blog Article
Kang Min-sung (26, KT Wiz), who was invited by Mel Rojas Jr. and headed to the Dominican Republic during the inactive period, received the pleasure of welcoming Juan Soto (New York Mets), a "one trillion won man."
Kang Min-sung posted two photos with Juan Soto on his personal SNS account on the 9th. It was an unexpected luck that he greeted at Kiskeya Stadium in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.
Kang Min-sung, along with teammates Oh Yoon-seok, Bae Jeong-dae and Ahn Hyun-min, boarded a flight to the Dominican Republic in Latin America on the 27th of last month. This is because Mel Rojas Jr., a former KBO League MVP and foreign hitter colleague, invited them to his home country.
Rojas, who invited Bae Jeong-dae to the Dominican Republic at the end of 2023, sent invitations to three additional players along with last year's Bae Jeong-dae. Those who have already spent two weeks here will prepare for the Australian spring camp with Rojas by the 16th.
Kang Min-sung, who contacted OSEN on the 9th, said, "I am having a beneficial and enjoyable time every day in the Dominican Republic," adding, "I met Soto by chance while going to see the players practice before the Dominican Winter League game on the 8th (local time). Soto was born in the region, so I made a report for an event on this day."
Soto signed a 15-year, 765 million-dollar contract with billionaire owner Stephen Cohen's New York Mets in December last year, the highest ever in professional sports in the world.
Soto, who was born in 1998, made his major league debut with the Washington Nationals in 2018 and played for seven seasons with the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees. His overall performance in the big leagues is 285 934 hits, 201 home runs, 592 RBIs, 655 runs and OPS.953 in 936 games, and he played for the Yankees last year with a batting average of 288 hits (ranking ninth in the American League), 166 hits (10th), 41 homers (ranked third), 109 RBIs (ranked fourth), 128 runs (ranked first) and OPS.988 (ranked second).
Soto also has a splendid career in awarding. He won the National League Silver Slugger for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023, and was named the National League All-Star for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023. This year, when he moved to the American League, he also won the Silver Slugger and All-Star title, winning the All-Star title in the two major leagues and the Silver Slugger title. Soto even won the World Series in 2019 when he was in Washington.
Kang Min-sung, who met the superstar in person, said, "I introduced myself to Soto as a Korean baseball player from the 토토사이트 KBO League where Kim Ha-sung played. It was a really good time, and it felt like I was watching a celebrity."
Kang Min-sung is an infield prospect who graduated from Gyeongbuk High School and was selected as the 51st in the second round of KT's 6th round in the 2019 Rookie Draft. He won the Futures Southern League home run king with 12 home runs in 2020, and he joined the active military and fulfilled his military duty as a sniper in the 52nd Division.
After debuting in the first division in 2023, Kang realized the barrier of professional baseball by posting a batting average of 182, or four hits from 22 times at bat in 12 games. After playing in only one game for the first division in the 2024 season, he chose to go to the Dominican Republic to rebound in the 2025 season when he turned 26.