How hot the summer has been. Kim Ha-sung (28, San Diego Padres), who seemed exhausted in September, but still has the top value in the league. That’s how hot summer was.
“The season is really, really long,” Kim Ha-sung said in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, a U.S. media outlet, on the 14th (Korea Standard Time). I’m grinding it in,” he confessed. It can be seen that Kim Ha-sung is currently physically exhausted.
This season, Kim Ha-sung played in 141 games as of the 15th and has a batting average of 0.268 17 home runs, 58 RBIs, 80 runs, 35 steals, OPS of 0.771. The WAR (winning contribution to substitute players) of baseball statistics site Baseball Reference is 5.7 and ranks fifth in the National League. Although it is difficult to compare with when it was leading, it still has top-class value. Another site, Fangraph, also ranked 16th in the league with 4.4 points.
In September, Kim Ha-sung appeared in 11 games and has a batting average of 0.178 (8 hits in 45 at-bats), six RBIs, six steals, and an OPS of 0.423. The game that hit (six games) and the game that hit (five games) are similar. He has never hit a single in more than three consecutive games. The home run has been quiet for 20 games since the game against Miami on the 22nd of last month.메이저놀이터
In response, the San Diego club also gave Kim Ha-sung a chance to recharge by giving him a break. On the 13th, San Diego excluded Kim Ha-sung from the starting lineup for the first time in 49 days. Previously, it was unusual in that even if he was injured during base running or kicked a bucket in the dugout, he rarely rested.
However, Kim Ha-sung also had no hits and three strikeouts in four at-bats against the LA Dodgers on the 14th, when he played after a break. Although not as much as a shortstop, he is maintaining his position as a center infielder at second base, and it seems that the aftermath of playing 71 games as the first batter is coming.
On the contrary, Kim Ha-sung is still at the top of the list in terms of player value even though he has been in a slump since September because he had a spectacular summer. Kim Ha-sung had a batting average of 0.240 and OPS of 0.694 at the end of the game on June 19. This was not much different from last year’s batting average of 0.251 and OPS of 0.708.
However, Kim Ha-sung spent two hot months after recording three hits in four at-bats against San Francisco on the 20th of the same month. Until August 20, exactly two months after the game (double header against Arizona), Kim Ha-sung had a batting average of 0.317 with 11 home runs and 26 RBIs, 40 points, 16 steals, and OPS of 0.926 in 53 games (51 starts). During this period, Kim Ha-sung ranked at the top of many indicators, including sixth place in the Major League’s overall WAR (Pangraph), fifth place in stolen bases, and 19th place in OPS.
Kim Ha-sung’s season performance, who spent two crazy months, also rose vertically. The batting average of the season once rose to 0.290 and the OPS also entered the 0.800 range. In mid-August, some places (ESPN) evaluated that Kim Ha-sung ranked fifth in the National League MVP race. It was only Choo Shin-soo (2010, 2013) and Ryu Hyun-jin (2019, 2020) that a Korean player was named in the Major League MVP vote.
Although his performance is falling in the fall, the local view of the U.S. is still friendly to be friendly Kim Ha-sung. On the 14th, MLB.com , the official website of the Major League, selected Kim Ha-sung as the most advanced player in San Diego this season. The media said, “Kim Ha-sung has grown into an elite leadoff with a 0.358 on-base percentage and 35 steals, ranking second in the number of pitches per at-bat,” adding, “Defensively, there is no better player in San Diego than this.” He mainly played at second base, but he also played at shortstop and third base to fill the gap, including injuries to his teammates, and played everywhere he needed him, he said highly of his versatility.
Kim Ha-sung himself also expressed satisfaction with this season. “I personally think I played really well throughout the season,” he said. “Compared to last year’s and this year’s records, I played more, played more, and played much more.” “It’s hard, but I think I did a great job this year,” he said.
San Diego currently ranks fourth in the National League West with 69 wins and 78 losses, and is also behind in the wild card race. However, the discovery of Kim Ha-sung is one of San Diego’s few achievements this season.