Two of Korea’s biggest football stars sent their autographed club jerseys to the major league club San Diego Padres as good luck presents for their games in Seoul.
Inside the Padres’ clubhouse at Gocheok Sky Dome on Wednesday, Son Heung-min’s Tottenham Hotspur shirt and Kim Min-jae’s Bayern Munich shirt were placed on every chair in front of stalls.
The Padres are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Dodgers later Wednesday in the first game of the historic Seoul Series. This will be the first Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season game in Korea.
In a statement provided to Yonhap News Agency, the Padres said both jerseys “come directly from” Son and Kim and their respective clubs.
The second game of the Seoul Series on Thursday overlaps with Korea’s World Cup qualifying match against Thailand in Seoul.
“Given the timing overlap … Kim and Son aimed to align their support of fellow Korean star athlete Kim Ha-seong,” the Padres said. “Every Padre player and manager Mike Shildt received both jerseys as a good luck gift for the series.”
Kim Ha-seong, as the Korean face of the Seoul Series, has handled plenty of off-field duties in addition to preparing for the new season. One of his teammates, pitcher Joe Musgrove, thanked Kim for going out of his way to help Padres players enjoy their stay in his home country.
“He has taken really good care of us here. He and his translator have both hooked us up with recommendations of places to check out things that are specific to their culture and what they do here,” said Musgrove, who will start Game 2 of the Seoul Series on Thursday. “I know he’s very excited to be home. It’s probably been a lot for him to come back and take on that role and be going through what he’s going through 추천 over the last week getting to play in his hometown. But we’re very grateful and we’ve loved having him. I know he’s really loved here, very similar to how he is in San Diego.”