Column: Ha-Seong Kim! Player is living up to the chant
fans chant his name as he bats — “Ha-Seong-Kim! Ha-Seong-Kim!” — it feels less like they’re providing moral support.As a result, the Padres have weathered theof Fernando Tatis Jr. better than could’ve been expected. When Tatis Jr., rejoins them early next season, it won’t be surprising if he reports to center field. Kim has made a good case to stay at shortstop, where he’s steadier than Tatis.
For example, in Saturday’s game at Kansas City, where his promotion into the leadoff spot coincided with the offense’s mini-surge, he fouled off an outside knuckle-curveball. Then he fouled off a two-strike fastball near his shins. Defying that attempt to speed up his bat, he served an outside slider for a single to right field.A year ago, when he faced hotter pitches than he typically saw across seven seasons in South Korea, he batted .231 with a meager .
Defensively, where Hall of Famer Alan Trammell said the mental workload left him exhausted after most games, the 5-foot-9, 168-pound Kim has maintained his reliable form across 95 starts. He has saved seven runs above MLB’s 2022 average, per The Fielding Bible. The Padres’ belief in Kim influenced their decision to include their top shortstop prospect, CJ Abrams, in the recent trade that brought All-Star right-fielder Juan Soto and first-baseman Josh Bell.At shortstop, he blends sound actions with a flair for acrobatic plays. He doesn’t seem to get bored.Kim dropped a sacrifice bunt Saturday that, despite its deft placement, likely prompted a thumbs down from analytics experts.
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