Season 10 already…double-digit home runs for the second year in a row
Five arches in 10 games: the ‘swarm’
Hoping to follow Shin-Soo Choo
Misses out on All-Star Game
For the second straight year, San Diego’s Ha Sung Kim, 28, of Major League Baseball (MLB), has hit double-digit home runs.
Kim batted first and second in the lineup against visiting Cincinnati on Wednesday, going 1-for-3 with a home run, one RBI, one run scored and a walk. His only hit of the day was his 10th home run of the season. His season batting average increased slightly from .257 to .258 (66-for-256).
In the top of the eighth inning, with his team trailing 2-0 and the bases loaded, Kim took a first-pitch fastball from Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott.
It was a 117-meter line drive home run. The home run knocked Abbott off the mound.
After hitting 11 homers last season, Kim reached the 10-homer plateau for the second straight year, and has continued his torrid pace of home run production, with five in his last 10 games.
After hitting 11 home runs in 150 games last year, Kim has reached the 10-homer mark in 80 games this year.
He is the fifth Korean player to hit double-digit home runs in back-to-back years in the big leagues, joining Choi Hee-seop (retired), Choo Shin-soo (SSG), Kang Jung-ho (retired), and Choi Ji-Man (Pittsburgh).
Kim, who also has 13 stolen bases this season, completed his second consecutive 10-homer, 10-steal season with this home run.
After going 10-10 in the first half of the year, if he continues to hit home runs and steal bases at his current pace, he could become the first Hotazun player since Shin-Soo Choo to join the iconic 20-20 Club.바카라
Despite his stellar offense, including a pair of big hits in the second and eighth innings, the team lost 3-4.
Kim was not named to the All-Star Game roster, which was announced by the MLB office later in the day. Three of the five National League infielders were selected by Atlanta, so Kim, who has split time between second base and shortstop this season, will not be able to play in the All-Star Game.