NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Ryu Hyun-Jin grew up in South Korea dreaming of playing in his country's professional baseball league. Once he achieved that, he developed a new goal -- to pitch in the United States for a major league team.
Ryu's dream got closer to reality last week when the Los Angeles Dodgers submitted the highest bid for the right to negotiate with the 25-year-old left-hander and his agent, Scott Boras.
Under baseball's posting system, the Dodgers offered $25,737,373.33 to Ryu's team in South Korea, the Hanwha Eagles. Los Angeles settled on that figure because the numbers 3 and 7 are considered lucky in Korean culture.
It was the third-highest posting bid by a big league team for the chance to negotiate a contract with a player from Asia.
