After returning to shortstop, the batting speed dropped sharply, and Kim Ha-sung's hellish summer...I lost 19.1% of OPS.
Aug 06, 2024
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Kim Ha-sung had no hits in the last five consecutive games until the game against the Colorado Rockies on the 5th (Korea time), and his batting average fell to 0.223. The batting average, which had been raised to 230 in the second half of the year, has fallen to near the Mendoza Line due to the recent silence of no hits in 16 at-bats.
During this period, he entered the batter's box 19 times and recorded only two walks and one sacrifice bunt, while the remaining 16 at-bats were all out, including four strikeouts.
The indicator that indirectly shows the trend of a batter's physical strength is the speed of hitting. Kim Ha-sung's average batting speed this year is 88.0 miles. Compared to the overall average of 88.9 miles in both leagues, there is no significant difference.
We only considered the second half of the year, which began on the 20th of last month. Kim Ha-sung's average batting speed of 37 hits into the fair area in the second half was 83.6 miles, 4.4 miles slower than his season average. However, the average batting speed of all hitters in the second half of the year increased to 89.0 miles.
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We looked into Kim Ha-sung's average batting speed during the same period last year, when he hit a career high in batting. From last season's opener to Aug. 5, his average batting speed was 86.9 miles. And from July 20 to August 5 last year, the same period as this year, the average batting speed was 85.1 miles. Although it slowed down, the difference was only 1.8 miles. Compared to the 4.4 miles slow down during the same period this year, it can be seen that the drop in physical strength in the middle of the summer this season has been much greater than last year.
What's the reason.
I think I'll have to find some of that in defense. Kim Ha-sung is playing full-time shortstop this season. He played shortstop in all 111 games he played so far. Last year, he basically played second base, so the burden of physical strength was relatively small. The shortstop is difficult because the defense width to cover is larger than other infielders in front, back, left and right, the throwing distance to first base is longer, and he has to handle much more hits than other fielders.
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In the end, the San Diego club returned Kim Ha-sung to shortstop to maximize the team's power and persuaded him to move Bogaerts to second base. It was what Kim Ha-sung, who usually said, `I prefer the shortstop the most, but other positions are also okay.'
However, this season, Kim Ha-sung's contribution to the team in offense and defense is falling from last year. As of the 5th, Kim Ha-sung's OPS was 0.678, down 19.1% from 0.838 at the same time last year. In addition, unlike last year, there are few mention of Kim Ha-sung as a Gold Glove candidate this year. The defensive WAR provided by the Baseball Reference is 0.8, which is not included in the NL'top 10'. Last year, Kim Ha-sung's defensive WAR was seventh in the NL with 2.1.
Kim Ha-sung was hot last summer. He hit a batting average of 0.329 from July 1 to August 16. This year, it's upside down. Since July, the batting average has plummeted to 0.202. It is not wrong to say that it is simply because the physical burden has increased by changing the position to shortstop.
jhno@sportschosun.com
