Manager Bob Melvin, who left the San Diego Padres and moved to the San Francisco Giants, did not forget to mention Kim Ha-seong (28). He brought out Kim Ha-seong’s name along with Japan’s top legendary players.
On the 26th (Korean time), the U.S. ‘NBC Sports Bay Area’ expressed hope for newly appointed coach Melvin to recruit free agents. Coach Melvin, who had one year left on his contract with San Diego but moved to San Francisco, signed a three-year contract until 2026. Baseball Operations President Farhan Zaidi also signed an extension until 2026 and will keep pace with Coach Mel B.
Coach Melvin, who started with the Seattle Mariners in 2003 and went through the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, and San Diego, amassed a total of 1,517 wins and 1,425 losses (.516 winning percentage) over 20 years, and received the Coach of the Year award three times. He earned the trust of his players with his ‘virtuous’ style. It’s thick. San Francisco, which is predicting an aggressive move in the free agent market this winter, is hoping that coach Melvin’s reputation will help in recruiting.
Coach Melvin also said at the press conference that day, “Recruiting players is important. “During my time in Oakland, there were not many players recruited because I relied on players in the club’s system, but in San Diego, there were many,” he said. “I hope my experience can help in some way.” Then I will be able to play a bigger role here. “I will help in any way possible,” he said, adding that he would also step forward to recruit players.
President Zaidi also said, “I don’t know how much of an impact Coach Melvin’s reputation will have on recruiting players, but the players who played with him liked the experience. As a free agent, he will receive a positive response from anyone. “That will be meaningful,” he expected.
The media reported, ‘As the offseason begins, San Francisco is known to be showing great interest in Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Korean outfielder Lee Jeong-hoo, who are considered strong free agent targets along with superstar Shohei Ohtani, who also doubles as a pitcher. Coincidentally, Coach Melvin has many relationships with East Asian players.’
Coach Melvin said, “There was Ichiro Suzuki in Seattle. He worked with Hideki Matsui in Oakland and Hideo Nomo when he served as Phil Garner’s bench coach with the Detroit Tigers. There were many prominent players in the Pacific Rim region, including Judo Darvish in San Diego and Kim Ha-seong, who played last season. “Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Kazuhiro Sasaki also played together in Seattle, so I am familiar with Asian players,” he said. 스포츠토토
Ha-Sung Kim’s presence was so deep in Coach Melvin’s mind that he was mentioned along with legendary Japanese major league players such as Ichiro, Matsui, Nomo, and Darvish. Of course, since we spent the last two years together, there are bound to be more afterimages, but it is meaningful that director Melvin never left out Kim Ha-seong among Japanese legends.
If Lee Jeong-hoo heads to San Francisco as expected, Coach Melvin will once again form a relationship with a Korean player following Kim Ha-seong. President Zaidi again expressed his intention to strengthen the outfield, saying, “We will add depth to the starting pitcher and center fielder.” San Francisco Chairman Greg Johnson also said, “Teams that spent a lot of money in free agency did not perform well this year, but we will move proactively. “Our goal is to win,” he said, predicting big losses from free agency.
