“He was the best all-around player on the San Diego Padres”
Kim Ha-seong, 28, who had his best season in his third year in the big leagues, received rave reviews.
MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, praised Kim as the player who showed the most improvement while evaluating San Diego’s 2023 season on June 6 (KST).
“He was a five-win difference maker (in terms of WAR). Given the superstars in San Diego’s lineup, his performance should have been the catalyst for a strong offense.” In other words, while Kim exceeded expectations, the Padres would have been better off if star players like Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Xander Bogaerts had played up to their names.
The outlet continued, “Kim was arguably San Diego’s most versatile player. He played second base, shortstop, and third base, and was a plus defensively.” “He handled the leadoff spot well for four months, finishing the season with a .260/0.351/0.398 slash line despite a late-season slump.”
In his third year in the majors, Kim hit .260 (140-for-538) with 17 home runs, 60 RBI, 84 runs scored, 38 doubles and a .749 OPS in 152 games this season, setting career highs in most metrics. While he fell just short of becoming the first Asian-American major leaguer to reach the 20-homer, 40-RBI milestone, he did his part as a leadoff hitter, finishing fifth in the NL in stolen bases, tied for 12th in walks (75) and 24th in on-base percentage (.351).
Meanwhile, the media said of San Diego, “They didn’t live up to the lofty expectations. They didn’t live up to expectations at all.” The Padres did not make it to fall ball this season, finishing third in the NL West with an 82-80 record (.506 winning percentage). They came on strong after September, posting the best winning percentage in the majors (20-7, .741), but fell two games short of the postseason.
The media outlet noted that San Diego has learned from this season’s failures that it “needs more than just a collection of stars. It cited “winning close games” as an area of improvement, and argued that bolstering the bullpen should be a priority.온라인바카라
Despite the disappointing results of failing to reach the postseason this season, San Diego decided to keep general manager A.J. Preller and manager Bob Melvin. “With Melvin and Preller set to continue in their respective roles, San Diego will likely have a very similar roster for the 2024 season. While the time for free agent signings and trades is approaching, the core roster will remain intact.”