When Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres) hits a single hit, the home fans go wild shouting ‘Awesome Kim’. San Diego coach Bob Melvin explained the reason himself.
Kim Ha-seong started as a leadoff and second baseman in the 2023 major league home game against the Washington Nationals held at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA on the 24th (Korean time) and scored 2 hits in 5 at-bats (1 home run), 3 RBIs and 2 runs. .스포츠토토
Kim Ha-seong, who continued his eight-game hitting streak with a pleasant home run, raised his batting average from 0.251 to 0.254. Kim Ha-seong took the leadoff two days in a row and properly raised the team atmosphere.
After the match, manager Melvin said in an interview with local radio outlet ‘97.3 The Fan’, “Ha-sung Kim’s play in the game is so passionate that it affects everyone. He just plays in his own style, but he is contagious and we It plays a big role in showing what kind of team it is.”
Indeed, it was a big success that the command tower also acknowledged. In his first at-bat, Kim Ha-seong gave his team the lead with a lead-off home run in the first inning of his major league debut. Washington starter Patrick Corbin’s 91.9 mph (approximately 147.9 km) hit the sinker, and the ball went slightly over the center fence. Washington center fielder Derek Hill’s devastated expression after a failed jump catch made Ha-sung Kim’s home run even more dramatic.
Kim Ha-sung’s timely two-run hit at the bottom of the 5th inning was a shot that pierced the frustration of San Diego home fans. After Kim Ha-sung’s home run in the first inning, San Diego continued its scoreless streak with two double hits. The tight one-point lead was headed toward the middle of the game. However, at the end of the 5th inning, Ha-seong Kim attacked Corbin’s four-seam fastball with 1 out, 2nd and 3rd base, and the moment he wiped out the two, Petco Park heated up once again. Afterwards, San Diego actually took the win by making a big inning, scoring 6 runs with 4 more runs, including a Zander Bogatz three-run.
In the 6th inning, when San Diego was ahead 7-1, he hit a homerun-type ball and once again captivated the home crowd. The ball, which lifted Chad Curl’s 96.5 mph (about 155.3 km) sinker from 2nd out and 2nd base, headed for the center wall behind the head of Washington center fielder Hill once again. But this time, Hill caught it with a jump catch on the warning track, and Kim Ha-seong grabbed his head. With a batting speed of 102.6 miles per hour (about 165.1 km) and an expected batting average of 0.830, it was a ball that could be a home run at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, and Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the San Diego line-up gave the home fans the joy of a 13-3 victory by scoring a large number of points (4 points) again in the 7th inning.
In addition to hitting, it was Kim Ha-seong who showed stable defense by handling 4 out of 9 Washington ground balls that day. It wasn’t just the coach who fell in love with the passionate play. While sharing the home run video on the official SNS, the San Diego club said, “Kim Ha-seong cannot be stopped. gave it a new nickname.
MLB.com, the official website of the major leagues, also praised Ha-seong Kim for leading the advance of San Diego with his first individual leadoff home run in the first inning.