The momentum of Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres), who stood shoulder to shoulder with ‘Japanese legend’ Suzuki Ichiro (50)’s record of 15 consecutive multi-on-base records in Asia’s major league, does not stop. If you add a little bit of exaggeration, he is ranked second in the overall batting average of the major leagues in the second half with his 메이저사이트 peak contact ability, reminiscent of Ichiro in his prime.
Kim Ha-seong started as the first batter and third baseman in the 2023 Major League home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was played at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on the 8th (hereinafter Korean time), playing an active role with 2 hits and 1 run in 5 at-bats, 15 consecutive multi-on-base marches continued
In the second at-bat in the third inning against Dodgers right-hander starter Tony Gonsolin, Kim Ha-seong pulled a slider that fell low in the middle of the first pitch and led to a left-handed hit. In the sixth inning, he hit a slider that came high in the middle of Gonsolin’s second pitch and made a hit that rolled in front of the center fielder.
Starting with the match against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the 25th of last month, he hit 13 consecutive games. With a career-high record, he raised his batting average from .27 to 2.88 (104 hits in 361 at-bats) during this period.
Kim Ha-seong is exploding with a batting average of 3.84 (33 hits in 86 bats), 5 homers, 10 RBIs, 17 walks, 11 strikeouts, .490 slugging percentage, .593 OPS, and 1.083 in 23 games in the second half. He ranks second in batting average and fourth in on-base percentage in both leagues in the second half. Freddie Freeman (Dodgers, .420) is the only hitter with a higher batting average than Kim Ha-seong in the second half.
The season batting average also ranked in the top 10 in the National League (NL). 1st Luis Araez (Miami .374), 2nd Freeman (.340), 3rd Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta .339), 4th Bryson Stadt (Philadelphia .302), 5th Orlando Arcia (Atlanta .297) , 6th Alec Bom (Philadelphia .290), 7th Christian Yelich (Milwaukee .290), 8th Lane Thomas (Washington .290), and Kim Ha-seong is 9th.
Never before has a Korean major leaguer ranked 10th in batting average. The only hitter in the regulation at-bat was Choo Shin-soo (SSG) ahead of Kim Ha-seong. Choo Shin-soo had a total of 9 regulation at bat seasons, and among them, the highest batting average was 12th in the American League (.300) in the 2010 Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians). He had earlier batted in his first 300 in 2009, but had never entered the ‘top 10’ as 21st in the AL.
Kim Ha-seong, who became the second Korean player to become a legal at-bat hitter after Choo Shin-soo last year, ranked 36th overall in the NL batting average (.252). He was above average, ranking 36th out of 63 hitters in regulation at bats. This year, he is in the top 11.8% with 9th out of 76 players, and is looking to enter the top 10 in batting average, which even Choo Shin-do could not do.
Unlike when Choo Shin-soo played, there are not many hitters who are 30% in the major leagues now because it is an era of pitchers. There are only 9 players in total, 4 in NL and 5 in AL. In 2010, there were a total of 23 .30 hitters with 11 in the NL and 12 in the AL. In an environment where batters are more difficult than in the past, Kim Ha-seong’s bat is blowing fire.