Kim Ha-seong (infielder), who is playing for the San Diego Padres, finished the first half with a batting average of .258 (71 hits in 275 at-bats), 10 homers, 31 RBIs, and 44 runs with an OPS of 0.760.
His ability to respond quickly to the ball, which was pointed out as a weakness, has also noticeably improved. Looking at his fastball wOBA, it was .301 in 2021, the first year of his debut, but it rose to .332 last year and improved to .352 this year. His batting average on fastballs over 95 miles (153 km) also increased each year. Ha-seong Kim was 10,500 in 2021, and 105 as last year, but this year, he made a leap forward beyond 300. Ahead of this season, Choi Won-je, coach of The Ballpark, who predicted, “It will definitely be better than last year,” came true.
In a phone interview with OSEN on the 13th, coach Choi Won-je, who is in charge of Ha-seong Kim’s personal hitting coach, said, “The perfection of hitting has improved compared to last year. Through two years of experience and training routines, I have established my own hitting and bad habits. It has decreased a lot,” he said.
He continued, “Eventually, as my ability to cope with fast balls improved, the overall batting index improved. I learned not only the technical changes but also the fast balls that came out of the pitching machine at around 100 mph by watching closely. Above all, the amount of spin, not a regular baseball, It was a big help to use a high special ball.”
In order to improve Kim Ha-sung’s ability to respond quickly to the ball, coach Choi Won-je analyzed all of the videos of batting that had been hit with a bum hit against a fastball of 95 mph or more until last year. Based on this result, we prepared supplementary points and steadily digested training to effectively respond to fast balls. He said, “In the end, I didn’t fix the swing, but taught me how to move correctly.”
Kim Ha-seong, who suffered from physical exhaustion for the past two years, also changed his weight training. He focused on maintaining the weight at which안전놀이터he could be in the best condition throughout the season and has been seeing the effects so far.
Ha-seong Kim hit a double-digit home run in the first half. It would be good to expect his first 20 home runs in his debut. Coach Won-je Choi said, “Ha-seong Kim is always a hard-working player, but he is working even harder this year. When he does well, there is always a slump, but when he feels good at hitting, he doesn’t overlook even the smallest details. If you don’t forget that and digest well in the second half, good results will come out.”
Kim Ha-seong is sweating hard at coach Choi Won-je’s academy in Los Angeles during the All-Star break. He said, “As expected, he is a professional. You can take a break, but the attitude of working hard to maintain the training routine is cool. Kim Ha-seong always considers himself lacking and constantly tries. He is the reason why he has no choice but to be good at baseball.”
He added, “It’s no different in the offseason. There are probably many people who want to meet in Korea, but I only focused on training. The amount of training was considerable, but he didn’t show that it was difficult, and the harder he got, the stronger he got.”
Coach Wonje Choi predicted the second half of Ha-seong Kim and said, “As you play a season, both your batting posture and cycle change little by little. The key is how well you maintain it, but it is important to keep your own training routine. I know how important it is. Above all, preventing injuries is the most important thing. If you get hurt, it’s no use.”
Until last year, he ran to San Diego only when Kim Ha-sung’s sense of hitting showed a downward trend to make up for his shortcomings, but from this year he has been taking care of Kim Ha-sung regularly. Coach Won-je Choi explains that it also has the effect of preventing the feeling of hitting from falling.