The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets to advance to the World Series for the first time in four years, and Korean-American Tommy Hyunsu Edman, 29, was the star of the show.
The Dodgers defeated the Mets 10 to 5 in Game 6 of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) National League Championship Series (NLCS) at Dodger Stadium on October 20. The Dodgers will be playing for their eighth World Series title in four years. It’s also the first time in 43 years that the two most prestigious teams, the New York Yankees and the Dodgers, have met in the World Series.
The star of Game 6 of the NLCS was Edman, who started at shortstop in the No. 4 spot and went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and four RBIs. In six games of the NLCS, Edman went 11-for-27 (.407 batting average) with one home run, 11 RBIs, and a 1.023 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) to earn Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors for the series. This is the first time a player of Korean heritage has been named postseason MVP.
“The Dodgers have invested more than $1 billion in Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, but the leadoff hitter in the Championship Series is an unexpected player,” MLB.com said of Edman. “He’s only the 12th player in history to win postseason MVP honors after a midseason trade.” Edman started the season on the injured list with wrist and ankle injuries, and only joined the Dodgers from the St. Louis Cardinals in late July.
Edman is a Korean-American born to a Korean immigrant mother, Kyung-Ah Kwak, and an American father, John Edman. His Korean name is HyunSu Kwak, with his name given to him by his grandmother.
Edman has also played for the Korean National Team. He played for the South Korean national baseball team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) last year. This was in accordance with the WBC rules, which allow the country of birth of one of the parents to determine the country of play. Edman was the first player without a Korean nationality to make the team since the inaugural WBC in 2006.
Edman was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft while attending Stanford University. He made his big league debut in 2019 after bouncing around the minors, and in 2021, he won a Gold Glove (National League second baseman), which is awarded to the best defender for each position.
BY JIHYE KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.jihye6@joongang.co.kr]
