This season, Major League Baseball has been experiencing a “two-hitter” phenomenon. The height of the mound is higher than the power of the bat. It’s easy to see why when you look at the most basic hitting metrics. As of October 10, there are only 10 players in the major leagues with a batting average above .300.

The National League and American League have five each. With triple-digit hitters so rare, Ha Sung “Awesome Kim” Kim (28, San Diego Padres) is batting .288. He’s been on fire since the middle of the season and is now just below the .300 mark.

He is currently ninth in the National League in batting average. He has the highest batting average in San Diego. He creates opportunities at the top of the order and takes care of business when he has to. He hits well, runs well, and fouls off pitches well. Not to mention his defense. Second base, third base, and shortstop all play net defense.

He’s completely shed the halfling stigma. After hitting just .202 in his rookie season in 2021, he hit just .251 last year. This season, he’s batting .251, but he’s outperformed in every offensive metric. His home runs (15), walks (56), stolen bases (27), slugging percentage (.384), on-base percentage (.451), and OPS (.835) are all career highs.

The symbolism of a triple-digit batting average doesn’t need a long explanation. It’s the grade-A standard of batting average that we look for when evaluating a good hitter. It’s even more valuable in a situation like the one we’ve seen this season, where the two-hitter is so obvious. If Kim, who has already stolen 27 bases, were to win the title, he would be labeled a “hotshot”.바카라사이트

The bat has definitely caught fire, which is encouraging. In his last seven games, Kim has a .385 batting average. Looking at a broader 15-game stretch, his batting average has risen to .415 with 47 games left in the season. It will be interesting to see if he can conquer the triple-digit batting average plateau now that his offense is clicking.