Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers has ended his first regular season in Major League Baseball with a home run.
The South Korean big league rookie blasted a two-run homer to open the scoring as the Dodgers defeated the Seattle Mariners 6-1 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Sunday. He had last homered May 31.
The dinger was Kim’s only hit in four at-bats in the game. Kim, who signed with the Dodgers in January after eight seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization, finished his rookie campaign with a .280/.314/.385 line, three home runs, 17 RBIs and 13 steals in 71 games.
Kim ranked third on the Dodgers in steals despite playing less than half the season. The versatile defender played 45 games at second base, 11 games at shortstop and 17 games in center field.
Hyeseong Kim #6 of the Los Angeles Dodgers at bat against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on September 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)
The 26-year-old began the season in the minors and made his MLB debut May 3. Kim finished that month batting .422 but regressed over the ensuing months. He batted just .193 in July and then missed the entire month of August due to a left shoulder injury. Kim then logged only 23 at-bats and batted .130 in September, his homer in the finale being the only extra-base hit for the month.
The Dodgers, the 2024 World Series champions, are headed to the postseason after winning the National League West with a 93-69 record. They will meet the Cincinnati Reds in the best-of-three Wild Card Round.
Kim’s former KBO teammate, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, batted 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead his team to a 4-0 win over the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
This was Lee’s second three-hit effort in three games, as the MLB sophomore finished the year with a .266/.327/.407 line, eight home runs, 55 RBIs and 10 steals in 150 games.
Lee also led the Giants with 12 triples — the third-highest total in MLB — and 31 doubles. His .266 batting average was also tops on his team, while he finished second on the Giants with 149 hits and 10 steals.
Jung Hoo Lee #51 of the San Francisco Giants warms up before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on September 16, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Getty Images)
Lee only played 37 games last year after suffering a shoulder injury but established himself as an everyday outfielder this year for the Giants, who finished third in the NL West at 81-81, two games out of the final NL Wild Card spot.
Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves, who also played with Kim Hye-seong and Lee in the KBO, went 0-for-3 with a walk to close out his fifth MLB campaign, as the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 at Truist Park in Atlanta.
The Braves finished fourth in the NL East at 76-86.
This was a tale of two seasons for Kim Ha-seong. After four years with the San Diego Padres, he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in February while still recovering from a shoulder injury that had ended his 2024 season prematurely.
Ha-Seong Kim #9 of the Atlanta Braves rounds the bases after hitting home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fourth inning at Comerica Park on September 21, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Getty Images)
Kim didn’t make his Rays debut until July 4, but he immediately suffered a calf injury that kept him out for three games. He went on to miss more action later on with back problems, and the Rays waived him at the start of September.
The Braves claimed him and made him their new everyday shortstop. The 29-year-old had a solid September, which included a season-best 10-game hitting streak.
Kim ended up playing 24 games each for the Rays and the Braves. He only batted .214/.290/.321 with two homers and five RBIs for the former, and .253/.316/.368 with three homers and 12 RBIs for the latter.
Aside from the trio of former KBO players, Pirates utility player Bae Ji-hwan also saw action in MLB this year. He appeared in only 13 games and recorded one hit in 20 at-bats with nine strikeouts.
The 26-year-old made the Opening Day roster in March after leading the Pirates with 16 hits and 13 runs scored in spring training. But he was sent down to the minors in early April and spent a week in the majors after a call-up in early May.
Bae was brought back up to the majors in early September, only to be sent down to the minors again after going 0-for-9 with four strikeouts in six games. (Yonhap)