Los Angeles Dodgers relay team also fell in love with Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres). Although he is a player of a rival team, Ha-sung Kim spared no praise for his growth.
Kim Ha-seong started as the first hitter and second baseman against the Dodgers on the 5th (Korean time), succeeded in reaching 3 bases with 2 hits and 1 walk in 4 at-bats, and also recorded 2 stolen bases. He recently continued his 10-game hitting streak, raising his season batting average to 2.8 7 Lee (100 hits in 349 at-bats) and an OPS of .840.
His performance in the second half was great. In 20 games, batting average is 3.92 (29 hits in 74 at-bats), 5 homers, 10 RBIs, 15 walks, 8 strikeouts, .500 slugging percentage, .635 OPS, 1.135 is exploding. It is ranked 2nd in batting average, 4th in on-base percentage, and 9th in OPS in the second half of both major leagues.
Ha-sung Kim’s performance also impressed the opposing team’s Dodgers relay team. Caster Joe Davis and commentator Aurel Hershiser, who exclusively broadcast the Dodgers on ‘Sportsnet LA’, highly praised Kim Ha-seong.
Hershiser, a 204-win Cy Young Award pitcher who led the Dodgers to the World Series championship in 1988 and received MVP, said, “From the first week of June, Ha-seong Kim became a completely different player offensively. He is making a strong hitting ball with a hot hitting feeling.” In fact, since June, Kim Ha-seong has shown the league’s top batting productivity with a batting average of 3.26 li (61 hits in 187 bats), 10 homers, 23 RBIs, and 15 steals in 54 games, OPS .952.
Then Davis said, “Suddenly, he emerged as one of the most complete players in the National League. He hits with power and holds the record for stealing the most bases on a San Diego team. I think he will have to keep watching.” As he said, Kim Ha-seong stole second base when third batter Juan Soto was at bat.
In the second at-bat in the third inning, the two exchanged praises for Ha-seong Kim. Davis said, “I talked about Kim Ha-seong in the first episode, but he hits hard and runs well. He is also the second baseman with the league’s best defense. In terms of baseball reference WAR, the only player worth more than Kim Ha-seong in the National League is Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves). It’s pretty amazing,” he said.
He continued, “This is the image of Ha-sung Kim that he showed during his 7 years in Korea. He struggled in his first year in the big leagues. He was the team’s mascot and liked by his teammates, but he didn’t play much in the second half. There was productivity last year, but not to this extent,” he continued.
At that moment, Ha-seong Kim hit the 100.5 mile (161.7 km) sinker on the 5th pitch of Dodgers starter Bobby Miller and connected it with a left-handed hit. Davis said, “This is Ha-sung Kim’s biggest growth. The biggest question mark was whether I could hit the 101 mph fastball with a hit, but I pulled it sharply and made a hit.” 메이저사이트
Hershiser also said, “We were talking about Ha-sung Kim’s reversal, but Ha-seong Kim of KBO is right. That swing now seems to prove it.”
Kim Ha-seong played an active role against the Dodgers this year with a batting average of .209.2 (7 hits in 24 at-bats), 1 home run, 4 RBIs, and .829 OPS in 7 games against the Dodgers. The growth of Kim Ha-sung was noticeable even in the Dodgers’ dedicated relay team, and he did not hesitate to explain and praise him even though he was a player on the opposing team.