Wow, 'Crazy Recovery Speed' SONG! Finally, he made his debut in ML's first exhibition game. Unfortunately, he was caught by LAD's good defense

*This content was translated by AI.

Song Sung-moon (31, San Diego Padres) played in an exhibition game for the first time and took the batter's box after achieving his dream of entering the big league. I entered the batter's box twice, but unfortunately I couldn't hit a hit.

Song Sung-moon played as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning of the 2026 Major League Baseball exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Peoria Stadium in Arizona on the 23rd (Korea time) and recorded no hits and one strikeout in two at-bats.

Song Sung-moon suffered a side injury during off-season training, and his dream of making his big league debut seemed to be delayed. The news of Song's injury was reported in the middle of last month. It is reported that he suffered a flank muscle injury during batting training in Korea. According to his agency, he was diagnosed by the hospital with more than four weeks to resume training. Eventually, he received intensive treatment at the Ijima Treatment Center in Yokohama, Japan, and then moved to Arizona to join the team. And after showing a crazy recovery pace, he missed two exhibition games, but took the opportunity to play in his team's third exhibition game.

Song Sung-moon appeared as a pinch hitter in Manny Machado's at-bat in the bottom of the sixth inning when San Diego was trailing 0-4. Song Sung-moon just watched sinker enter the low zone on the first pitch against Dodgers right-hander Carlos Duran. Song Sung-moon, who lost his bat on the body slider on the second pitch, was quickly driven to an unfavorable 0-2 ball count. The third ball is a ball. The fourth ball. He just watched a 97.8-mile (157.4 km) four-seam fastball that entered the outer zone and struck out the rookie.

Since then, Song Sung-moon has been deployed as a third baseman to play defense. The bottom of the ninth inning when San Diego was continuously trailing 1-5. The Dodgers replaced the pitcher with left-hander Christian Suarez. The following match is with leadoff hitter Song Sung-moon. Song Sung-moon just watched the first pitch and the second four-seam fastball that came into the outer course. Song Sung-moon, who was quickly driven by a 0-2 ball count again, is at a disadvantage. The third pitch was slightly put on the outside zone, and Song Sung-moon succeeded in the cut. The fourth ball. A 93.5 mile (150.5 km) sinker came into the low course from the middle. Song Sung-moon hit it properly and hit the ball toward the second base. a heavy hit. But bad luck hit him. The ball was sucked into the glove of Dodgers shortstop Noah Miller, who tried to make a diving catch. It was the moment when Song Sung-moon's one hit was deleted.

Meanwhile, San Diego lost the game 1-5. Kim Hye-sung, who had two hits, three hits, and one run in the first exhibition game the previous day (22nd), took a break in the game and promised the next one. Ryan Fitzgerald played as the starting Dodgers' second baseman, and Miguel Rojas kept the infield at shortstop.

Meanwhile, Song Sung-moon succeeded in entering the big league by signing a four-year contract worth $15 million (about 22.2 billion won) with San Diego in December last year.

First, a down payment of 1 million dollars (about 1.5 billion won) will be divided into two. The down payment will be paid to Sungmoon Song in January 2026 and January 2027, respectively. The annual salary for the 2026 season is $2.5 million, which is about 3.7 billion won in Korean money. He will then receive $3 million (about 4.4 billion won) in the 2027 season and $3.5 million (about 5.2 billion won) in 2028, respectively.

On top of that, if he stays in San Diego as a player option in 2029, he will receive $4 million (about 5.9 billion won). Song Sung-moon will have the right to exercise his one-year option after playing for three seasons. In 2030, the fifth year, $7 million (about 10.4 billion won) of mutual options was included. If the mutual option is not implemented, the San Diego club will pay Song Sung-moon $1 million (1.48 billion won) as a buyout amount.

Song Sung-moon should compete fiercely for the starting lineup from the spring camp right away. Not only competition with existing prominent superstars, but also competition with prospects who are aiming for a call-up in the minor leagues is inevitable. Although he was silent in the first game, if he showed good performance in future exhibition games, the time to be registered on the dream major league roster could be faster.

Regarding the expected competition for the starting lineup, Song Sung-moon said, "I know that there are some people who are worried about that. In fact, the U.S. is really the best stage. I think it's natural to compete no matter which team you go to. The same is true for both South Korea and the United States. There are many good players on any team. Now it's important for me to compete on the spot and show good performance. There will be many things to learn by being with good players. Just as (Kim)Ha-sung survived by competing with good players in the United States, I will prepare well to show that."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.