San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim, 28, twisted his ankle while stealing a base. Luckily, it wasn’t serious, and he played the rest of the game. San Diego manager Bob Melvin was stunned.
Kim started at first base and went 1-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday (Nov. 16) at Levi’s Center Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA.
With his second straight game of silence, following a 4-for-4, three-strikeout performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 14, Kim has seen his season batting average drop from 2-for-6 to 2-for-6 (132-for-497) and his OPS drop from .771 to .764. In 12 games in September, he was 1-for-6 (8-for-50) with a .396 OPS.
Even though Kim was struggling at the plate, he was still active on the bases. In the sixth inning, after reaching first base on a straight grounder to Adrian Martinez, he stole second on the next pitch to Fernando Tatis Jr. A bent-leg slide allowed him to steal second, his 36th stolen base of the season.
But in the process, he nearly injured himself. Instead of his usual head-first slide, he used a leg-entry ventral slide, and his back foot broke in front of the base due to acceleration. It was my left foot. After lying on second base for a moment, Kim got to his feet, grimacing and limping. Coach Melvin and the team trainer rushed to second base to check on him.
Following the trainer’s instructions, Kim did a few in-place jumps. He then ran lightly toward center field and gave the “OK” sign. He played through the bottom of the ninth inning without being replaced. After the stolen base, he continued to harass the pitcher, Martinez, by extending his lead at second base. Martinez was so concerned about Kim that he took his foot off the plate and looked toward second base before throwing three pitches.
Kim made a spectacular catch in the eighth inning to show that his ankle was fine. In the top of the eighth, he backhanded a tricky grounder that slipped through Oakland’s Ryan Noda’s glove and threw to first base for the final out. In the bottom of the ninth inning, he settled down to get two more ground ball outs, helping San Diego to an 8-3 victory.
According to MLB.com, after the game, Melvin said, “Lately, I’ve been worried about him every time he takes the field. “I think he tweaked his ankle a little bit. Fortunately, it was fine, and he played the rest of the game. It looks good.”
Melvin gave Kim his first rest of the second half against the Dodgers on the 13th, saying, “Every time I go out on the field, I worry about something happening to him. He’s a small guy, but he plays hard with passion and determination.” Melvin was worried that Kim’s hustle would lead to injury. He wasn’t wrong.
Kim, whose trademark is his helmet coming off when he sprint, has suffered three major injuries this season, but he has shown a remarkable resilience.
On May 26 against the Washington Nationals, he was in pain after being hit in the left knee by his own foul ball, but only missed one game. Then on June 8 against the New York Mets, he injured his right big toe when he kicked a dugout bucket in his eagerness to get back to first base, but again, he only missed one game.토토사이트
On July 31 against the Texas Rangers, he suffered a sore right shoulder in a home run collision with the opposing catcher, but he was willing to start the next day as a designated hitter. At the time, Kim said, “There is not a single player who is 100 percent healthy. If you can play, you have to play every day,” he said.
Even though San Diego’s fall baseball season was nearly over, Kim stole a base on a wild pitch and played the rest of the inning without leaving the game. There are only 14 games left in the season for San Diego. With 17 home runs and 36 doubles, there’s still plenty more to come.