Dodgers' Korean player Kim Hye-seong missed a connecting flight causing a delay, spending 15 hours sleeping on the airport floor.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Korean infielder Kim Hye-seong was activated from the injured list today and traveled to join the team on the road to prepare for the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yet, he faced many troubles along the way, including a 14 to 15-hour layover at the airport. In a pregame interview, he stated, "I've never stayed at an airport that long before."

According to Bill Plunkett from the Orange County Register, Kim Hye-seong, who was playing rehab games in Triple-A, and his translator were flying from Oklahoma City to Pittsburgh. Due to missing their connecting flight and delays, they ended up staying at the airport for 14 to 15 hours, even having to sleep on the airport floor and eat all three meals there.

Kim Hye-seong was placed on the injured list at the end of July due to shoulder discomfort. He said he is now fully recovered and that the team has noticed improvements in his swing: "I personally don’t feel much difference, but our analytics team found my swing is clearly different from the start of the season."

“During the rehab games, I was able to work on the areas I tried to improve during spring training and early season,” Kim said. “Throughout rehab, I kept training consistently, focusing repeatedly on the same parts to refine my swing, and recently I feel it has gotten better.”

In his first game back, Kim was not in the starting lineup but came in as a pinch runner in the top of the ninth and scored on Shohei Ohtani’s double. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed hope that the competition among outfielders and infielders for playing time will have a positive effect: “You can see players like Miguel Rojas competing for playing time. When others are also fighting for the same opportunities, you see the level they bring, which gives them more chances.”