The New York Post, a U.S. media outlet, had a time to select the best player in each category of the 2023 season on the 29th (Korea Standard Time). The media picked Shohei Ohtani (29) of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the unanimous MVP award for “Player of the Year,” Gerrit Cole (33) of the New York Yankees, who won the first Cy Young Award, and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Jr., who achieved 40 home runs and 70 steals, as the “Player of the Year.”
In addition, the New York Post, which selected the best defenders, relievers, coaches, and executives, selected players who showed the best versatility except for Ohtani, who was named as pitcher and batter, and the main character was Mookie Betts of the Dodgers. Winning the 2018 American League MVP as an outfielder, he played in various positions this year. The media reported that Betts was as good as shortstop and as good as right fielder at second base.
The media then took out Kim Ha-sung’s name after Betts. There was no specific explanation, but Kim Ha-sung also made the 2023 season his year by showing as stable as Betts in all different positions. He showed his ability to match Betts, who was the second MVP of the National League this year.
In Korea, Kim Ha-sung, who played mostly as a shortstop, has played various defense roles since he entered the Major League in 2021. In his first season, he played 260 innings in 35 games as a shortstop, 165 ⅔ in 23 games as a third baseman, and 148 innings in 21 games as a second baseman, respectively. In the following year, Fernando Tatis Jr., 24, played 1,092 innings in 131 games as a shortstop who was out due to injury, and in the meantime, he also played in 24 games as a third baseman.
Again this year, Kim played in all infield positions except for the first baseman. After moving to second base through recruitment of veteran shortstop Xander Bogaerts (31), Kim appeared in 106 games (98 starts) and played 856 ⅔ innings. Although he was unfamiliar with the position, he adapted as if he had continued playing. Although he failed to win the prize in the second baseman category, he won the gold glove prize in the utility category. He also displayed outstanding defense capability in third baseman (32 games, 253 ⅓ innings) and shortstop (20 games, 153 ⅓ innings). 토토사이트
MLB.com said, “Kim Ha-sung was the sample of the San Diego infielders this season. He usually played second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop, but he scored 10 points at the second base and three points each at the third baseman and shortstop in the Defensive Run Saved (a measure of how many goals a defensive player blocked). The DRS 10 points at the second base was the highest after National League co-leaders Nico Horner (Chicago Cubs) and Toulin (Milbourne, 12 points each).”
Kim Ha-sung, who is in his third year in the Major League this year, has shown progress every year. In 117 games in his first big league season in 2021, he mainly played as a backup infielder, batting .202 with eight homers, 34 RBIs, 27 runs scored, and six steals, with an OPS of 0.622. However, he began to play in earnest the following year. In 2022, due to Tatis’ wrist injury and detection of banned substances, he played as a main shortstop and recorded a batting average of 0.251 with 11 homers, 59 RBIs and 12 steals, with an OPS of 0.708 with 150 games. For the first time, he achieved double-digit homers and steals, and his overall batting productivity rose above the league average.
This year, Kim surprised everyone by showing an upgraded version. As a second baseman, he posted a batting average of 0.260 with 17 homers, 60 RBIs, 84 runs scored with 140 hits and 38 steals, with an OPS of 0.749 in 152 games. He posted a WAR (contributing to victory compared to substitute players) of Baseball Reference, a baseball statistics site, to rank eighth overall in the National League. In July, he posted a batting average of 0.337, five homers and an OPS of 0.999, which boosted his performance. Naturally, he achieved career high in most of his records. Amid such performances, he won the National League’s Gold Glove in the utility category, was nominated for the Silver Slugger, and became the third Korean to be voted MVP (14th in the National League).