A file photograph of Seo Gil-won / Courtesy of Seo Gil-won



By Kang Hyun-kyung

Being a Major League Baseball (MLB) player had long remained an unrealistic dream for deaf catcher Seo Gil-won since his days playing baseball at the Sungshim School for the Deaf in the mid-western city of Chungju.

Recently, however, he realized that his dream career was not beyond his reach.

Seo, 21, came to build such confidence after he met two role models -- Baltimore Orioles' outfielder Kim Hyun-soo and Choi Ji-man who joined the Los Angeles Angels in April. The two major leaguers inspired the deaf catcher to keep chasing his dream career.

Seo, a freshman of Gallaudet University Department of Physical Education and Recreation in Washington, D.C., calls them "hyung," or brothers.

On Sept. 28, he had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He threw the ceremonial first pitch to Choi in front of some 20,000 cheering spectators at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

"I was thrilled for the chance to be a part of the Major League Baseball that day. I was honored to have such a wonderful opportunity," Seo told The Korea Times via Kakao Talk. "Ji-man finally kept his promise."

Seo first met Choi in the United States in 2014. He was then a student attending an English language course there. Choi, who played in the minor league at that time following his signing of a contract with Seattle Mariners in 2010, contacted Seo first after reading newspaper articles about the deaf baseball player.

During their get-together, Choi made an interesting offer to Seo.

"Ji-man said that he would invite me to throw the first pitch in an MLB game if he joins the league," Seo said. "He didn't forget what he had said two years ago and kept his promise."

After the ceremonial pitch, Choi donated a scholarship worth $20,000 for Seo.

Seo's first pitch in the major league, meanwhile, was a tearful moment for those who are familiar with the deaf catcher's past struggles in Korea.

"While reading newspaper articles about Gil-won in the major league game, many thoughts came to my mind," said Park Jung-seok, a former baseball coach of the school. "My sad memories about the difficult times that he and other deaf baseball players in our school had gone through were mixed with the joy of watching my student standing in the major league stadium. I was so proud of him."

Park had taught Seo for 12 years before his student went to the United States to study in 2013. His deaf parents were unable to finance their son's overseas studies, so Catholic and local charity groups and activists joined hands to send the talented player to the United States, a country described as one of the best places for players with disabilities to chase their dreams. According to Park, Sister Jang Myung-hee, the former principal of the Sungshim school, took the initiative to raise funds for Seo.

The MLB has had several athletes with disabilities. William Hoy (1862-1961), a center fielder who played for several teams between 1888 and 1902, was the first deaf player in the league.

"Gil-won is an optimistic, diligent student. He is a talented athlete," Park said. "He never missed training when he attended Sungshim School for the Deaf. If his physical condition were stronger, I think he would have played in the Korean Baseball Organization."

Park said Baltimore Orioles' Kim Hyun-soo was the first inspiration to Seo to keep him chasing his dream career. He lauded the major leaguer for his years of good work for the deaf students before he left Korea to pursue his major league career in 2015.

"One day Kim told our students that he would continue to help them and said some day he would like to be the owner of the Sungshim baseball club," he said.

In Korea, Kim played for the Doosan Bears baseball team in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) league and visited the school during the wintertime. His siblings and some of his fan club members joined him on his trip to the school and gave gifts to the deaf baseball players. Kim also donated millions of won for the baseball team.

"I heard that each fan club member donated 500 won (50 cents) whenever Kim hit a home run in the KBO league," said Sungshim schoolteacher Seomoon Eun-kyung. "Kim and his fans donated the money collected in the year."

During his stay there, Kim hung out with the deaf players and corrected their at-bat posture to help them improve their performances.

Seo's ties with Kim have continued in the United States after Kim joined the Baltimore Orioles. Because of his tight academic schedule, Seo said he was unable to find time to visit Baltimore to watch Kim's games.

"Baltimore is just an hour drive from where I live, so next year I will try hard to make time for a trip to Baltimore to see him playing there," Seo said.