It ended in disaster Tampa Bay's Kim Ha-sung was the No. 1 hitter with nine consecutive at-bats, frustrated with no hits, and failed the leadoff experiment. a disgraceful batting average of 0.188

Aug 13, 2025

It ended in disaster Tampa Bay's Kim Ha-sung was the No. 1 hitter with nine consecutive at-bats, frustrated with no hits, and failed the leadoff experiment. a disgraceful batting average of 0.188



'It was an experiment that only hurt the players and the team."

What intention did Tampa Bay Rays coach Kevin Cash put Kim Ha-sung (30) in the first batting order. Even though he had already experienced one failure, he insisted again and hit the card 'Kim Ha-sung leadoff'. The result was almost like a fire.

It was a catastrophe. Kim Ha-sung, who already has unstable batting balance, could not overcome the burden of leadoff, the spearhead of offense. He had no hits in nine consecutive at-bats for two days. He also struck out two. I couldn't hit the ball strong and was in a hurry to hit it, so I didn't have a good hit. As a result, he failed to help the team, and Kim Ha-sung's confidence fell further.




'No. 1 hitter Kim Ha-sung' seems not to be taken out again.

Kim Ha-sung started as the first shortstop in an away game against the Athletics at Suter Health Park in Sacramento, California on the morning of the 13th (Korea time) and had no hits in four at-bats. He struck out two. Kim Ha-sung also came out as the No. 1 hitter against Athletics the previous day, but he was silent with no hits in five times at bat. In the game, Tampa Bay's starting batters all had hits except Kim Ha-sung. Only Kim Ha-sung, the team's highest annual salary, did not contribute anything.

It ended in disaster Tampa Bay's Kim Ha-sung was the No. 1 hitter with nine consecutive at-bats, frustrated with no hits, and failed the leadoff experiment. a disgraceful batting average of 0.188
Nevertheless, Coach Cash also put Kim Ha-sung as the first. Kim Ha-sung has very little experience as the first hitter. Tampa Bay played for the first time in the game against the Athletics on the 12th. He also played No. 1 for his former team, the San Diego Padres, which is very rare. The last time I went out as No. 1 was on September 17, 2023. At that time, he was also an athlete.




Since then, he has never been in charge of No. 1 for nearly two years. Of course, it is a period that includes an 11-month gap for shoulder injuries, surgery, and rehabilitation. But basically, Kim Ha-sung didn't go well with the first batter.

The same was true of the Athletics on the day. Kim Ha-sung, who came out as the leadoff hitter in the top of the first inning, met the opponent's left-hander Jacob López and struck out helplessly. Kim Ha-sung, who came out as a leadoff hitter in the top of the third inning when he was trailing 0-1, then stepped down with a fly ball to left field.

It ended in disaster Tampa Bay's Kim Ha-sung was the No. 1 hitter with nine consecutive at-bats, frustrated with no hits, and failed the leadoff experiment. a disgraceful batting average of 0.188
After one out in the top of the sixth inning, trailing 0-5, he met Lopez again and struck out again in his third at-bat. This time, at the ball count of 1B2S, he misled the bat to the slider on his body for the fourth pitch. In the top of the ninth inning, he hit a grounder to third base in his last at-bat.




Tampa Bay's batters were also lethargic as leadoff Kim Ha-sung, who had to open the door to the attack, continued to remain silent. He had only four hits on the day and suffered a 0-6 Youngbong defeat.

Kim Ha-sung's performance is even more disastrous. His batting average dropped to 0.188 (12 hits in 64 at-bats). It is disgraceful that the government failed to maintain even the 20% mark. It is not at the level of Major League Baseball. Moreover, it is an incredible figure to be a player who receives the highest annual salary in the team. If it's early and mid-season, it's possible to go to the minor leagues.



Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.