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MLB Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman signs a Padres jersey during a meet-and-greet inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024.

MLB Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman signs a Padres jersey during a meet-and-greet inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Major League Baseball traveled to South Korea to open the regular season this week, and with it came Hall of Fame pitcher Trevor Hoffman to meet U.S. troops and their families.

The San Diego Padres great spent time with baseball fans at Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, ahead of his former team’s exhibition games against Team Korea on Sunday and the LG Twins on Monday. The Padres won both matchups.

MLB Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman poses with San Diego Padres fans during a meet-and-greet inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024.

MLB Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman poses with San Diego Padres fans during a meet-and-greet inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

MLB Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman signs a fan's glove during a meet-and-greet inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024.

MLB Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman signs a fan's glove during a meet-and-greet inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

The San Diego Padres' mascot, Swinging Friar, poses with fans inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024.

The San Diego Padres' mascot, Swinging Friar, poses with fans inside the main exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, March 17, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

Hoffman, who played 18 years in the majors and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, posed for photographs, signed memorabilia and chatted with fans for about an hour during Sunday’s meet-and-greet at Humphrey’s main exchange. He was joined by team mascot the Swinging Friar.

Hoffman now serves as senior adviser for baseball operations for the Padres. 

The Padres meet the Los Angeles Dodgers, which acquired two-time American League MVP Shohei Ohtani as a free agent in the off-season, to open the MLB season in the two-game Seoul Series at Gocheok Sky Dome on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Luis Garcia is a reporter and photographer at Osan Air Base, South Korea, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2020.

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