Five years have passed since I left Korea, but I haven’t forgotten the 90-degree greeting.
Pitcher Merrill Kelly (35. Arizona Diamondbacks), who became the World Baseball Classic (WBC) U.S. representative, greeted the Korean players and referees she hadn’t seen in a long time. 먹튀검증
On the 23rd (hereinafter Korean time), Kelly, who was the first pitcher in a simulation game against Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO League held at Salt River Field in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, climbed the mound and gestured toward the Kiwoom team in the first base dugout. gave eye contact
Then, he took off his hat and gave a ‘Korean-style greeting’ to the KBO referees who appeared in the game that day. Kelly, who was familiar with Korean culture after playing for four years in the KBO League SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) from 2015 to 2018, was polite to the KBO referees she met after five years.
After pitching 15 pitches against 5 batters, Kelly nodded to the umpires once again as he walked down the mound. She even laughed and shook hands with referee Lee Min-ho.
“If you go to Okinawa or Vero Beach in the spring, you can see a lot of Korean referees,” said Kelly. It was nice to see familiar faces, so I wanted to say hello,” she said. At this time of year, Korean referees also go around the KBO team’s spring camp for actual training.
Five years have passed, but Kelly has not forgotten the Korean way of greeting. He said, “It was good to face a Korean team after a long time. Her memory came back when she was in Korea. Park Jae-sang, Kiwoom’s coach, was one of her teammates during her SK days. It was fun to see him again,” she said. Park Jae-sang, Kiwoom’s 1st team operation base coach, had a relationship with Kelly for four years as a SK player from 2015 to 2017 and as a coach in 2018.
Kelly, who debuted in the major leagues with success in Korea, worked steadily as a starting pitcher for four years and established himself as an Arizona ace. Kelly, who was also selected for the WBC U.S. national team, said, “It was my first time representing the U.S. to play baseball. I’m really excited. It’s an honor because it might be the last chance. It is great luck.”
Kelly continued, “Korea has a lot of meaning to me. It’s probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my career and life. I had a lot of experiences in Korea, and it was very special. If I hadn’t been to Korea, I wouldn’t have been wearing a uniform here in the Arizona locker room.” “I support the WBC Korean team as well. I want to see Choi Jeong and Kim Kwang-hyun, who became good friends when I went to Korea. Korea is a good team, and I hope to see Korean players in Miami,” she said, wishing the Korean national team to advance to the WBC semifinals.