“I just decide to live and die.”

Kim Ha-seong challenged the major leagues through the posting system prior to the 2021 season, and signed a contract for up to 39 million dollars (approximately 48 billion won) in 4+1 years stepped on the league stage. In his first year in the major leagues, Ha-seong Kim had difficulty adapting to the pitchers’ fast balls and the new league, and struggled with 8 home runs and a batting average of 0.202 OPS of 0.622 in 117 games.

However, Ha-seong Kim’s appearance last year was different. After Fernando Tatis Jr. left the line due to injury and discipline, Kim Ha-seong hit the ground as the main shortstop, recording 130 hits, 11 homers, and a batting average of 0.251 OPS of 0.708 in 150 games. And in defense, he has grown so much that he was even nominated for the Gold Glove Award for shortstop in the National League.

2023 will be a very busy year for Kim Ha-sung. As San Diego recruited Xander Bogarts, Kim Ha-seong should move to second base and prepare for the season. In addition, he was also named to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) team, which will start in Tokyo in March. It is a situation where both rabbits are aiming for both international competitions and regular season results.

Ha-seong Kim, who spent a lot of time building his body while staying in Korea all winter, will embark on a trip to the United States on the 27th and start quenching himself in earnest. Ha-seong Kim will be training individually in Los Angeles for the time being, and he will join the team when spring camp starts in San Diego. However, he will not join the WBC camp. However, he explains that there will be no problem in getting along with the national team.

The Korean national team will hold a practice game in Osaka in early March, starting with the first game against Australia on the 9th, and digest the WBC schedule in earnest. Kim Ha-seong, who recently had an interview with ‘My Daily’, said, “I think I will join the WBC national team in Korea after building up my body at the San Diego camp and playing an exhibition game.” There will be no problems,” he expressed confidence.

The memory of the WBC is not very good for Kim Ha-seong. This is because he had the bitter taste of being eliminated from the preliminary round in 2017. That’s why the resolution to face this competition is even more different. He said, “It was my first national team. I was the youngest at the time, so it was really sad. But among all sports in the world, I think baseball is the only sport where the last player can win first place. Baseball is something I really don’t know.” 메이저놀이터

Ha-seong Kim continued, “If we were young at WBC in 2017, now it seems to be in the middle. It’s been 4 years since I’ve been playing in a national team uniform, and I feel a lot of responsibility. Our minimum goal is to go to the United States (semifinals). He emphasized, “I will unite with my older brothers and juniors who played together in the KBO League so that I can achieve good results.”

Of course, it is good to achieve great results in the WBC, but for Ha-seong Kim, the first step is to solidify his position. Ha-seong Kim said, “There is a high probability of playing as a second baseman, but the team said, ‘First, prepare as a shortstop.’ It doesn’t matter whether you are a shortstop or second baseman.” I’m just doing my best to live,” he said.

The preparation process in Korea during the offseason was smooth. Now, all that remains is to strengthen what I have prepared and show off my skills on the pitch. Ha-seong Kim said, “I have to do better than last year at least.”