Kim Ha-sung’s bWAR (Baseball Reference WAR) remained at 5.0 as San Diego had a break ahead of three consecutive home games against the Texas Rangers on the 28th . 토토사이트 The figure was cut 0.1 from 5.1 on the 26th. Nevertheless, it is tied for second place in the Major League (ML) overall after Shohei Otani (29, Los Angeles Angels) of 6.8, and tied for first place with Ronald Acuña Jr. (26, Atlanta Braves), the “0th MVP candidate” in the National League (NL). Although the MVP award is not made with WAR, the fact that it is equivalent to Acuña Jr. in terms of contribution shows how great Kim Ha-sung’s performance this season is.
Kim Ha-sung’s WAR was largely influenced by defense. Throughout all positions, DRS (a measure of how many runs a defender has blocked) is tied for fifth in the Major League overall and third in the NL with +12, while OAA (a measure of how many outcounts have been caught than the league average) is tied for 10th in the Major League and 5th in the NL. He is also expected to win the gold glove for the first time as an Asian infielder with even performance in various defensive indicators.
However, if the blow was not supported, he could never make the same contribution as the MVP candidate. Kim Ha-sung has a batting average of 0.273, 14 home runs, 37 RBIs, 54 runs, 19 steals, 0.365 on-base percentage, 0.445 slugging percentage, and 0.810 OPS in 98 games this season. Compared to last year’s 150 games with a batting average of 0.251, 11 home runs, 59 RBIs, 58 runs scored, 12 steals, 0.325 on-base percentage, 0.383 slugging percentage, and 0.708 OPS, it is also a remarkable opponent’s performance.
However, the batting speed was not much different from 86.7 miles per hour last year to 87 miles (about 140 kilometers) this year, and the Hard Hit ratio decreased from 32.4% to 30%. The swing rate (Whiff%) is also the same as last year and this year at 19%, making it difficult to say that the contact ability has improved. So what has changed.
The secret was to reduce the swing itself on the ball outside the strike zone. In the first year of his Major League debut in 2021, Kim Ha-sung lost a total of 21 points, with -7 points at the center of the strike zone (Heart), -7 points at the Shadow, -6 points at Chase, and -1 points at Waste. However, there was a pioneer in distinguishing between inside and outside the strike zone, so the total value of the score was -12 points by taking nine points.
Last year, his batting performance rose as he improved his response to the ball entering outside the strike zone. Compared to a 23% swing in 2021, the ratio decreased by 4%p to 19% last year. On the contrary, the percentage of watching the ball coming out of the way rose from 77% to 81%, and began to filter out more balls than the league’s average batters (76%). As a result, the value of scoring from outside increased significantly from +12 in 2021 to +26 in 2022, and the percentage of walks increased from 7.4% to 8.8%. Thanks to this, the total score value turned positive to +4.
This year, there has been a rapid development as the scope of selecting the ball has been narrowed from the strike zone “outside” to the “boundary.” The biggest difference between Kim Ha-sung in 2022 and Kim Ha-sung in 2023 is the swing ratio at the “boundary” that is either a strike or slightly off the mark. In 2022, Kim Ha-sung showed a 46% swing ratio at the strike zone boundary, less than the league average (54%). This year, instead of reducing the swing by 9%p to 37%, the number of “takes” that do not swing increased from 54% to 63% (494 out of 783 pitches). Therefore, the value of scoring at the strike zone boundary rose to -9 points in 2021, -7 points in 2022, and -3 points in 2023, raising expectations for scoring.
In addition, the take ratio of “Chase” out of the strike zone was 86% (278 out of 325 pitches) and “Waist” was 98% (92 out of 94 pitches), making few bats. If the two are combined, 88% of the balls (370 out of 419 pitches) were selected without swinging. Thanks to this, the total value of scoring this year has also risen to +5.
As a result, he became a tricky batter with no place to throw for pitchers with poor control. There is no way for a pitcher because he does not hit if he leaves the strike zone even a little bit.
The results at-bat also show how difficult pitchers feel when dealing with Kim Ha-sung. According to Major League Baseball statistics analyst John Anderson, Kim Ha-sung has not struck out for 32 at-bats until the 28th. This is the longest record among all Major League hitters. In addition, according to the baseball reference, the number of pitches per at-bat is 4.38, and Kim Ha-sung is the batter who makes pitchers throw the second most balls in the Major League.
Persistence at bat is the virtue of the first batter. Earlier this season, San Diego’s leadoff was taken by Fernando Tatis Jr. (24), but Kim Ha-sung took it from mid-June.
When he came out as the top hitter, Kim Ha-sung is 100% meeting the team’s expectations with a batting average of 0.295 with eight home runs, 14 RBIs and 25 runs and eight steals, a on-base percentage of 0.397, a slugging percentage of 0.545, OPS 0.942, and wRC+ (adjusted scoring productivity). San Diego’s local media San Diego Union-Tribune praised Kim Ha-sung’s performance, saying, “Tatis Jr. can also play as a leadoff only when Kim Ha-sung is resting.”