Could Ha-Sung Kim, 28, have been an All-Star if the San Diego Padres had performed better?
San Diego has only had two players named to the All-Star team: closer Josh Hader and outfielder Juan Soto. Starting pitchers are voted on by fans, but pitchers and honorable mentions are voted on by the players and recommended by the commissioner. San Diego, which did not receive a single fan vote, was happy to have two All-Stars.
Given the star-studded makeup of the San Diego team, two All-Stars seems like a lot. San Diego head coach Bob Melvin was equally disappointed. In a post on the official San Diego team blog on April 4, Melvin said that “more players could have been All-Stars”.
“Fernando Tatis Jr. did a great job without missing the first 20 games (due to a PED suspension). Michael Waka’s record shows how well he did. Ha Sung Kim and Blake Snell were fantastic,” he said, adding that he was disappointed that they didn’t make the All-Star team.
Tatis is batting .881 with 16 homers, 44 RBIs, 14 doubles and an OPS of .881 in 65 games (273-for-78), while Kim is batting .757 with 10 homers, 31 RBIs, 13 doubles and an OPS of .757 in 81 games (261-for-67). A strong defensive contributor at second base, Kim’s 3.9 bWAR ranks fifth in the majors in that category.
On the mound, Waka is 8-2 with a 2.84 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 15 games (85⅔ innings), while Snell is 5-7 with a 3.03 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 17 games (92 innings). Together, they rank fifth and sixth in the National League in ERA.
“There are a lot of players who deserve to be All-Stars,” Melvin said, “but I think it has to do with team standing. You can see that with the Atlanta Braves and how much of a player he’s become. The same goes for the Texas Rangers.”카지노사이트
Atlanta, which is 57-27 and leads the majors in overall winning percentage (.679), had a team-high eight players named All-Stars (Ronald Acuña Jr., Sean Murphy, Orlando Arcia, Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, Matt Olson, A.J. Albies, and Austin Riley). Texas, which is in first place in the American League West (50-35, .588 winning percentage), is not far behind with six All-Stars (Jonah Heim, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Young, Nathan Eovaldi, and Adolis Garcia).
San Diego, meanwhile, is 39-46 (.459 winning percentage) and in fourth place in the National League West. The Padres were a strong World Series contender before the season, but their underwhelming performance has made fall baseball a long shot. The impact of the team’s poor performance was reflected in the fan and player voting for the All-Star Game.
“Every year we talk about players who deserve to be on the All-Star team,” Melvin said. “Every year, we talk about players who deserve to be on the All-Star team. This year was no different.”