First Female Pro Baseball Starter in 72 Years... A Long-Awaited Dream Fulfilled

[Anchor]

Today, a women's professional baseball league has returned in the United States after 72 years. Kim Ra-kyung, the leading star of South Korean women's baseball, took the mound as the starting pitcher in that historic game. Although she did not become the winning pitcher despite a strong performance, Kim expressed deep emotion, saying she had achieved her dream of turning professional.

Reporter Lee Seonghun has the story.

[Reporter]

The 1992 film "A League of Their Own," starring pop star Madonna, tells the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which faded into history in 1954.

72 years later, women's professional baseball has been resurrected.

In the opening game of the WPBL, a women's pro baseball league starting with four teams, the starting pitcher for the New York team was—

[New York Heights starting pitcher, number 29, Kim Ra-kyung!]

It was Kim Ra-kyung, who has been a standout figure in South Korean women's baseball since her middle school days in 2015.

[Kim Ra-kyung / Pitcher, New York Heights: I threw a bullpen session on Tuesday so the manager could check on the pitchers. He must have been really impressed with my pitching then. He announced publicly in front of the teammates, "Ra-kyung is starting," and I think I received a round of applause.]

Facing LA's leadoff hitter Mo'ne Davis—who became a global sensation in 2014 as the first female winning pitcher in the Little League World Series—Kim threw the historical first pitch of the WPBL, resulting in a swinging strike. Facing a full-count situation with one out and runners on first and second, she induced a swing and a miss with a powerful fastball, carving her name in history as the pitcher of the first strikeout.

Armed with her fastball and a sharp-breaking curveball, Kim held her ground through four innings, racking up four strikeouts while allowing two hits and four runs. She was substituted in the 5th inning with her team leading 8-4, meeting the requirements for a win, but unfortunately missed out on her first victory as her team gave up four runs in the final 7th inning and allowed a comeback.

However, for Kim—who underwent elbow surgery during her college years and chose corporate-sponsored industrial league baseball in Japan over conventional employment simply out of her love for baseball—today was the greatest day of her life.

[Kim Ra-kyung / Pitcher, New York Heights: It feels like I'm being rewarded enough to offset all the loneliness, pain, and sadness I felt while playing baseball, and I think this is the first time I've felt this kind of reward. Since I shouldn't be the only one feeling this way, I feel I need to prove myself in a way that truly befits being a professional.]

(Video Editing: Ha Sung-won, Video Source: YouTube 'WPBL')
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.