Kim Ha-sung, the “first infielder of all time,” and Kim Ha-sung, “MVP Ohtani is a monster.”
“Otani is called a monster. It’s a really difficult environment for an Asian player to play in the major leagues, but he’s the MVP and he’s a great player there.”
Kim Ha-sung (San Diego Padres) visited Bucheon Buk Elementary School and Bucheon Middle School in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 18th. The purpose of Kim Ha-sung was to meet his juniors at his alma mater, where he dreamed of becoming a major leaguer when he was young, to encourage them and deliver sponsored goods. He has consistently supported his alma mater, but this is the first time he has held an in-person event. Kim Ha-sung told his success story in front of his juniors 12 years older than him and 20 years older, and sincerely cheered for another major leaguer in his alma mater.
The player whose juniors asked Kim Ha-sung the most was Major League Baseball pitcher Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels). Ohtani is known not only as Japan’s representative super style, but also as the Major League’s monster, where only monsters gather. I had no choice but to do so because I had a top-ranked performance in the Major League by pitching and batting at the same time.
Ohtani was once again in the spotlight when he was selected as the American League MVP on the 17th. Ohtani swept all 30 first-place votes and scored 420 points overall. He recorded two unanimous MVP winners for the first time ever. Ohtani easily defeated his competitors when he won MVP award for the first time in 2021, dominating the No. 1 vote.
Ohtani batted in 135 games this year, batting .304 (151 for 497), OPS 1.066, 44 home runs, 95 RBIs and 102 runs. He ranked first overall in the big league in three categories: slugging percentage (0.654), OPS, and wRC+ (180). wRC+ is a control of scoring output. He won first place in the home run category in the American League.
On the mound, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA with 167 strikeouts in 132 innings in 23 starts. The hit rate was only 0.184. If I hadn’t put my gloves down mid-season due to elbow pain, I could have expected a better result 토토사이트
Ohtani also played a major role in Japan’s victory at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March. Since March, he has proved why he is a monster by throwing fast balls over 100 miles per hour (about 160.9 kilometers). He pitched in three games (two starts) with two wins, one save, nine ⅔ innings, 11 strikeouts and a 1.86 ERA. As a batter, he appeared in seven games and recorded a batting average of 0.435 (10 hits in 23 at-bats) with one home run and two home runs. He played very well with eight RBIs. Japanese baseball fans who visited the Tokyo Dome, where the Asia Round was held, cheered whenever Ohtani moved, and cheered enthusiastically during practice training.
When Kim Ha-seong received a lot of questions about Otani during a question and answer session with his juniors, he smiled and replied, “Ohtani is really your biggest concern.” He continued, “Ohtani is called a monster. It is a really difficult environment for Asian players to play in the major leagues, but he is the MVP and a very good player. He is the kind of player that all major leaguers respect even though they are the same player.”
Some juniors were curious about what it felt like to face pitcher Ohtani at the plate. Ha-seong Kim said, “They are the same major league players. Don’t you get scared when you meet players from the same elementary school? I am the same. Of course, Ohtani is a good player.”
Ha-seong Kim then asked a junior, “Pitcher Ohtani, can you hit?” When the junior replied, “I can’t hit it now,” Ha-seong Kim advised, “You can’t do that. In fact, you can’t hit Ohtani’s ball easily. That’s possible. But no matter who gets on the mound, you have to have confidence.”
Of course, I had a lot of questions about Kim Ha-seong, the first Korean and first Asian infielder to win a Gold Glove. Ha-seong Kim was recognized as a top infielder in the Major League when he won the National League Utility Category Gold Glove on the 6th. In the National League MVP voting on the 17th, he received five 10th place votes and tied for 14th place with San Diego teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. Kim Ha-seong was the third Korean player to receive MVP votes, following Choo Shin-soo (current SSG Landers) and Ryu Hyun-jin (FA).
When asked how he felt about receiving the Gold Glove as a junior from Bucheon Middle School, Kim Ha-seong said, “It was good. Rather than saying it was good to receive the award, there is a prejudice in the major leagues that Asian infielders are not allowed. I think it was an award that helped my brother change his mind to some extent.” . So, I think this is an award that has been able to instill in Asian players, not only Korean players, but also Asian players such as Japan and Taiwan, the thought, ‘If Kim Ha-sung can do it, I can do it too.’” he expressed his pride, saying.
Ha-seong Kim hoped that more juniors would follow in the footsteps of him and Ohtani, who are taking the lead in breaking the prejudice against Asian players in the major leagues. Ha-seong Kim said to a junior who dreamed of becoming a major leaguer, “You need to be good at setting goals. If you dream big and set realistic goals and set them one by one and achieve them, before you know it, you will become a major league player like your brother at some point. If you have that dream and work hard, “I hope so,” he said, patting his shoulders.