On Dec. 23, A.J. Preller and the San Diego Padres introduced their new infielder from Korea, Sung-Mun Song. After flying to San Diego from Korea on Friday, Dec. 19, Sung signed his new contract and flew back home to Korea.
On Tuesday, the Padres introduced Song via Zoom call and he joined Preller and manager Craig Stammen addressing his future with the team. Various members of San Diego sports media asked questions during the call.
Song made a statement in English and then answered questions. He sees himself as a fill-in to the regular infielders and as a utility player in any role given to him. Song considers his increase in production the past two seasons to weight training as well as nutritional improvements.
He was motivated by seeing his former teammates coming to the US and playing in the big leagues. As a close friend of former Padre, Ha-Seong Kim, Song always wanted to make the jump but didn’t think he had the ability until he was able to improve his game. Preller added that he also sees a change in Song’s hitting technique and is now able to pull the baseball to add to his power.
Manager Craig Stammen sees Song as a versatile player who can play all over the field, including outfield. One of his main roles being relieving Manny Machado at third base to allow him to DH or just get off his feet.
Song explained that his relationship with Ha-Seong Kim influenced his decision to sign with the Padres as Kim spoke highly of his former teammates, the staff and how beautiful the city is as well as telling Song that he should challenge himself by reaching for the major leagues.
Song spoke multiple times with the Padres over the last several years and those talks included encouraging him to play multiple positions to ready himself for a chance with MLB. He also referred to his long-time admiration for Manny Machado and his desire to meet and play with him.
Song was voted KBO Player of the Year by the players association in Korea. He spoke about making an increased effort over the past few years to improve as a player and he thinks the other players recognized that effort.
Song’s walk-up song is a Korean hip-hop title by Zico titled Okey Dokey. He would like to continue to use that as his walk-up song in San Diego.
Korean journalists also participated in the call and there was a discussion of whether Song would be available to play for Korea in the World Baseball Classic. Preller stated the Padres support for the WBC and players wanting to play for their country. They will discuss it further over the next few weeks.
Journalist Jeeho Yoo asked Stammen about using Song in the outfield. Stammen sees it as a project in Spring Training and they will see how it plays out.
Song, 29, is considered a late bloomer as a possible MLB player. It should be noted that he lost almost two years of his baseball career while fulfilling his military requirement in South Korea. Although primarily signed as a utility option for the Padres, it is possible that he could play almost every day. Relieving the regular starters, coming in as a defensive replacement late in games and serving as a DH are all roles he could fill if all goes well for the Padres and Song.