Coach Roberts, have you seen this far? Kim Hye-sung, who turned into his fourth home run long hitter of the season, is sure to change his batting form
Apr 21, 2025
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Kim Hye-sung (26, Oklahoma City), who is focusing on establishing a new batting form in the minor league Triple-A, hit another home run in five games. It is already the fourth season, ranking second in the team and tied for 11th in the home run category of the Percy Pirate.
It is surprising that Kim Hye-sung, who was a typical 'tick hitter' during the KBO League, ranked second in home runs in the team even though he was a minor league (Triple A) at the beginning of the season. This is evidence that the guidelines for the full revision of the hitting form, which LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts ordered at the Major League Spring Camp in February, were correct.
In addition, it means that Kim Hye-sung has also made tremendous efforts to adapt to the new batting form. It is never easy to make an effect through a full revision of the hitting form in just over two months. It's impossible without effort for a man.
Kim Hye-sung, a member of the Oklahoma City Comets of the minor league (Triple A) under the Los Angeles Dodgers, started as the first shortstop in the first game of a doubleheader against the Tacoma Rainiers (under the Seattle Mariners) at Chikas Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, USA, on the 21st (Korea time), and led his team's 8-4 victory with two hits, three RBIs, one run and one strikeout in four at-bats, including a three-run home run.
Due to the rainy weather the previous day, the game was postponed, so he played two consecutive games against Tacoma, seven innings each. Kim Hye-sung hit hard from the first game.
Kim Hye-sung, who met Tacoma veteran right-hander Michael Marriott at his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, stepped down with a fly ball to center field after three pitches. However, he made an infield hit in his second at-bat with no outs and runners on first base in the bottom of the second inning, creating a chance for first and second bases with no outs. Then came the wild pitch, and the runners advanced one base at a time. Kim Hye-sung also went to second base.
However, after Alex Freeland's sacrifice fly homered the third baseman, two consecutive batters failed to score.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, he came out as the leadoff hitter and struck out. However, he hit a wedge home run in his fourth at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and runners on the second and third bases. Kim Hye-sung, who faced Will Klain, a pitcher who changed at his at-bat, swung and missed on an 87-mile slider at the first pitch. However, Klain threw a slower 85.6-mile slider on the same course on the second pitch.
Kim Hye-sung is not going to miss this careless pitch. Just in time, he also increased his slugging power through correcting his batting form and strengthening his muscle strength training. The ball that was properly caught in the sweet spot went well over the right fence. It was an ideal hit with a 95-mile batting speed and a 32 degree firing angle.
Thanks to Kim Hye-sung's home run, Oklahoma widened the gap to 8-4 and allowed no runs in the remaining two innings to clinch the first game of the doubleheader.
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In the second game, Kim Hye-sung recorded one hit, one RBI, one run and two steals from four times at bat. It was a good performance, but the fact that he struck out two is a bit disappointing.
Kim Hye-sung hit from his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning. Kim Hye-sung, who faced Logan Evans, the opponent's right-hander, watched the first strike, but did not miss the second sweeper (84.7 miles) coming to the center. He pushed the ball to the right and threw a hit to the right.
Kim Hye-sung, who settled at first base, immediately succeeded in stealing second base. It was his fifth stolen base of the season. However, each of the three subsequent batters stepped down with a strikeout, a strikeout, and a groundout to the third base, failing to take advantage of the scoring opportunity created by Kim Hye-sung.
Kim Hye-sung hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning. Kim Hye-sung, who came to the batter's box for the second time with one out and third base, hit Evans' 5 pitches with a ball count of 2B2S, but only grounded out to the pitcher. However, in the meantime, third baseman Esteury Lewis came home and made it 1-0.
Kim Hye-sung, who scored the first RBI, struck out consecutive times at bat in the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings. He then went out as a leadoff runner on second base in the bottom of the eighth inning with overtime, and succeeded in a surprise third base steal during Hunter Peducia's at-bat. Drew Pomerantz went to four pitches on purpose to become a first and third base with one out, and while Michael Chavis, who followed, hit a left-handed hit, Kim Hye-sung homered to end the game.
Kim Hye-sung's walk-off score gave Oklahoma a 4-3 victory, completing all doubleheaders.
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In particular, home run productivity has increased significantly. Four in 19 games, or 0.21 per game. The figure is an overwhelming improvement compared to the KBO league days. Kim Hye-sung has only hit 37 home runs in 953 KBO league games. The production rate per game was only 0.04. Although there is less data, it can be seen that home run productivity has increased more than five times compared to the KBO League days.
There was a reason why the Dodgers coaching staff, including Roberts, ordered Kim Hye-sung to modify his batting form. Kim Hye-sung expected a different change from the KBO League, and he is growing up sufficiently meeting those expectations. His defense and steal ability are still top-class in the league. If this is maintained, the Major League call-up will only be a matter of time.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
