The Oklahoma City Triple-A team was renamed the Comets before this season to honor Mickey Mantle -- nicknamed the ¡°Commerce Comet¡± for his Oklahoma hometown and his galactic talent -- but it might not be long before the nickname becomes associated with another star.
The first name of Hyeseong Kim, who signed with the Dodgers this offseason, translates from Hanja Korean to ¡°comet.¡±
And wouldn¡¯t you know it, he ended up with the Comets to start his tenure in the organization. It¡¯s the kind of fate-driven event that can only happen once every 100 years or so.
On Friday, Kim channeled Mantle by hitting his first stateside home run. The 26-year-old from Goyang, South Korea led off the game with Round Rock with a blast that might have briefly looked like a comet against the Texas sky.
Last season in Korea, Kim hit a career-best 11 home runs. His homer on Friday came against a team, the Express, named after another baseball legend, Nolan Ryan.
While the Comets-Express matchup evoked memories of the game¡¯s legends, Kim¡¯s first home run offered a glimpse of what could become an out-of-this-world future for baseball¡¯s newest comet.