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MLB San Diego-Dodgers manager "Thankful for Korean hospitality...great memories"
San Diego Padres manager Mike Shields and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will be remembered as the managers of the first teams to play a Major League Baseball (MLB) regular-season game in South Korea, thanked Korean fans and baseball officials before returning to the United States.
"There's something I really want to say," Shields said at the end of his press conference following the 15-11 victory in Game 2 of the 2024 MLB World Series Seoul at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday. I want to say thank you to the Korean people," he said, adding, "I was able to play a good game because of their hospitality, and we had a great time."
"The players did a great job in the opening two games," he said. "A lot of people helped us focus on the game. I want to thank everyone who organized this Seoul Series and helped us."
Dodgers manager Roberts, whose team won the opening game 5-2 the previous day but lost the second game, also answered "absolutely" when asked if playing two games in Korea would help the team.
"It was a good experience for us," Roberts said. We split the opening two games, and we didn't have any injuries," Roberts said, adding, "I think this series has helped increase the popularity of MLB in Korea. We had a great time in Seoul, thanks to the Korean fans and officials who made us feel welcome."
Schildt worked with Seung-Hwan Oh (now with the Samsung Lions) as the St. Louis Cardinals' quality control coach in 2017 and with Kwang-Hyun Kim (now with the SSG Landers) as the St. Louis manager in 2020 and 2021.
This season, he took over as manager of the San Diego Padres, where he met Gold Glove winner Hae-Sung Kim and continued his relationship with Korean players.
He was reunited with Kim in the Seoul Series.
Roberts met with Park Chan-ho, "Korea's first big leaguer," and Ryu Hyun-jin, "Korea's best pitcher of the 21st century," as well as the Dodgers manager and starting pitcher.
At the Gocheok Dome, Roberts met with Park Chan-ho and Ryu Hyun-jin.
The two managers already had a connection to Korea, but the Seoul Series made it even stronger.