St. Louis, MO (AP) The St. Louis Cardinals searched all over the world, looking for the right kind of left-handed pitcher. They think they’ve found him in Kwang Hyun Kim.

The NL Central champions announced Tuesday they had signed the 31-year-old South Korean to a two-year contract. Through an interpreter, Kim said he had followed the Cardinals and their success while growing up and hoped someday to play for St. Louis.

Kim went 17-6 with a 2.51 ERA in 190 1/3 innings last season and earned the award as the best pitcher in the Korean Baseball Organization.