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PHOTOS: Los Angeles Dodgers newest pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu meets fans for the first time in Koreatown
Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Dodgers' newest pitcher, signs a ball for life-long fan Joe Hiraga of Monterey Park on Tuesday outside the Radio Korea building.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Fans answer trivia questions about Ryu, to win baseballs. Hundreds filled the Koreatown plaza to take pictures and get autographs.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Ryu is the first player to go directly from a Korean professional league to the major leagues in the U.S. He signed a six year, $36 million contract with the Dodgers.
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Hyun-Jin Ryu, 25, is interviewed in Korean before signing autographs for fans.
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Ryu signs his name with his number, 99. Ryu keeps the same number from his former Korean team.
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Thomas Ji, left, of Belltower and Roy Schin of Los Angeles brought a baseball and bat for Hyun-Jin Ryu to sign. Ryu signed memorabilia and took photos with fans from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Ryu signs the jacket of 2-year-old Blake Sunwoo, named after retired Dodger third baseman Casey Blake.
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Fans take pictures as Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu emerges from the Radio Korea building on Tuesday.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Chris Yi of Los Angeles holds a baseball that Ryu signed.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Desmond Meza of Los Angeles shakes hands with the left-handed pitcher.
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PHOTOS: Los Angeles Dodgers newest pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu meets fans for the first time in Koreatown
One of the Dodgers' new pitchers, Hyun-Jin Ryu, signed autographs and took pictures with fans outside the Radio Korea building Tuesday at noon.
Wearing his number 99 jersey, Ryu emerged from the building amid cheers and the sound of Korean drums. A sportscaster interviewed him in Korean before the left-hander met fans one-by-one in the plaza on Wilshire Boulevard.
Ryu is the first baseball player to go directly from a Korean professional league to the American major leagues. The Dodgers announced Monday that Ryu signed a six-year, $36 million contract as part of the new management's effort to recruit more international talent to play for Los Angeles.
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