Kim Hye-Seong is a second baseman for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball League. As he plans to make the transition to the major leagues, he signed with Creative Artists Agency or CAA, the same agency that represents the Japanese superstar, Shohei Ohtani and his fellow countryman from South Korea, Son Heung-Min, the soccer star. You might have been familiar with the World Baseball Classic and the exhibition games against the Dodgers before the Dodgers opened their season against the San Diego Padres.
Kim Hye Seong should not be mistaken for singer Kim Hye-Seong. I know the same name. It should be noted that if they are talking about baseball, they most likely are referring to the baseball player.
As of the writing of this post, Kim Hye-Seong has a BA of .334, a .398 OBP, and a .506 SLG, appearing in 344 AB. He has scored 61 R, hit 57 RBIs, with 23 SB, and recorded 115 H. The most important stat for Kim Hye-Seong is his BA with runners on base (RISP), in which he nearly hit .400. You take that into account, Kim Hye-Seong will most likely not hit .334 in his rookie season. The KBO is equivalent to Double-A and Triple-A. To make it simple, let's add the distinction of AA+, a level more than Double-A, but a hair short of Triple-A.
His main weakness is his throwing, which is described as below average. One of the reasons is his preference for throwing a sidearm. You know what that means? Well, from some angles, when you throw with a side arm, it inevitably lands on dirt, causing an error in some instances. Sometimes, it causes him to have multiple lapses on the field and even damages his at-bats, as he presses his frustration on the field into his at-bats. In other words, when he does badly on the field, he does badly on the plate. But, when he is on, he is on.
What he lacks can be corrected with coaching; however, it may not be as easy as it seems because he was a side-arm pitcher until middle school. Correcting his side-arm throw might do more damage than good. He has quick feet and knows when to move as soon as the ball gets hit on the defensive end. Despite the struggles, most notably in 2021, when he had the most errors, he improved tremendously on defense, receiving the KBO Defensive Player of the Year Award. How about that?
Kim Hye-Seong is known for his speed on the bases, famous in the KBO for it. In 2023, he stole 46 bases with a 92% success rate. This has catapulted him to almost legendary status. He is a competitor and will try to shoulder everything for the team he plays for. He gives it 100% with great passion, a player anyone would love to have as a teammate.
Lee Jung Hoo
With the disappointment of seeing Lee Jung Hoo go down due to a torn labrum caused by him hitting the wall and going after a hard-hit ball. Baseball is like that. Anything can happen, especially when a player is as passionate about the game as Lee Jung Hoo. He was getting assimilated into the MLB game, slashing .262 before an injury hampered his season. Then, on the day he came back, he tore the labrum in his arm, which required surgery. His rookie season was lost.
It has been a tough two years for the outfielder from South Korea. Next year would be his true first season in MLB because we really cannot use 37 games as a good sample of where he stands in his career. He was assimilating into the MLB game. Before the MLB season began, I had mentioned that Lee Jung Hoo would take time to get used to the pitching style of MLB. And, it so appeared, he was on that transition, probably on his way to .285-.290 BA when the season ended. It would have been the more realistic projection of how good of a hitter Lee Jung Hoo is. He just has a lot of catching up to do on his return next year.
Ha-Seung Kim is the only active Korean player in MLB.
2024 has been a medium season for San Diego Padres' Ha-Seong Kim, batting below his season average in 2023 when he batted .260. In his defense, this season has been hampered by a wrist injury. He can still make it up as there is still half a season to play with his team 6.5 games below the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead.
What I am excited about is watching the match between Lee Jung Hoo and Kim Hye-Seong. That will definitely garner much attention everywhere.
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