San Diego Padres’ Ha Sung Kim, 28, continues to struggle in the second midseason tally of Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Fan Voting.
The MLB office announced the results of the second round of All-Star Fan Voting on Nov. 21 (ET). Kim received 200,453 votes, 안전놀이터 placing him eighth among the 10 National League (NL) candidates. While he moved up one spot from the first interim tally (ninth), the gap between him and Ozzie Albies (Atlanta Braves, 884,328 votes), the second-place finisher among the top two candidates to advance to the second round of voting, makes an All-Star selection virtually impossible. The leader in that category is Luis Arajuez (Miami Marlins, 1,056,439 votes), who is chasing a .400 batting average.
In 68 games this season, Kim is batting .250 with five home runs, 21 RBI, 12 doubles, and a .708 OPS. While his bat has been a bit of a disappointment, he’s made up for it with his league-leading defense. According to Baseball-Reference, Kim leads the majors with a defensive WAR (wins above replacement) of 1.9, and his offensive WAR of 3.1 ranks seventh among all players and first among second basemen.
However, he didn’t get as many votes in the fan voting as he deserved. This is likely due to a number of factors, including a disappointing batting performance, a lack of recognition compared to star players, and a poor team performance.
Meanwhile, at the halfway point, the NL was led by position, with catcher Sean Murphy (Atlanta, 1.328 million votes), first baseman Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers, 1.649 million votes), and second baseman Luis Arajuez (Miami, 1.056 million votes), third baseman Nolan Arenado (St. Louis Cardinals, 936,057 votes), shortstop Orlando Arcia (Atlanta, 1,063,559 votes), and outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta, 2,014,668 votes). Acuna Jr. leads both leagues in the second round of voting following the first midterm tally.
In the American League (AL), catcher Adley Rutherford (Baltimore Orioles, 895,217 votes), first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays, 1,095,052 votes), and second baseman Marcus Simien (Texas Rangers, 1,144,056 votes), third baseman Matt Chapman (Toronto, 929,590 votes), shortstop Bo Bissett (Toronto, 1.561 million), designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels, 1.854 million) and outfielder Aaron Judge (New York Yankees, 1.844 million) are leading their respective positions. Ohtani is first overall in the AL and second in both leagues for most votes.