What if I end up being branded as a free agent? Tampa Bay's Kim Ha-sung's batting average has collapsed to even 20%, so he is not awkward at all

Aug 10, 2025

Even the break was useless. Another poor performance came out to the point where the title of `the highest annual salary in the team' was overshadowed.

Tampa Bay Rays Kim Ha-sung (30)'s recent performance is not 'awesome' at all. In the end, even the batting average fell to the 10% level. It is a disgraceful disgrace. A player earning 13 million dollars (about 18.1 billion won) in annual salary is unbelievably out of balance.

Kim Ha-sung started as the seventh shortstop in an away game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington on the morning of the 10th (Korea time). It is the first start in three days since the away game against the Los Angeles Angels on the 7th. Kim Ha-sung was forward-deployed as the fifth batter in the game against the Los Angeles Angels, but he was hitless in four at-bats and did not contribute to the team at all.

After that, Kim Ha-sung took a two-day break. The Tampa Bay club did not give a special explanation as to why Kim Ha-sung did not play against Seattle on the 9th. However, it was interpreted as an intention to give Kim Ha-sung, who has not shown a good batting sense since his return and continues to suffer minor injuries, a chance to reorganize by giving him a rest.

However, the three-day break did not make any positive changes to Kim Ha-sung's stagnant batting sense. On this day, he also had no hits and one walk in three at-bats. He has been hitless and silent for nine consecutive at-bats since the game against the Los Angeles Angels on the 5th. As a result, the season's batting average has also fallen to the .100 level. He fell from the previous 0.204 to 0.192 (10 hits in 52 times at bat).

Even the Maginot Line of Pride collapsed. As the team's highest annual salary, it is not only disgraceful but also fatal to not maintain a batting average of 20%. The value of the FA market will inevitably plunge in the future. If Kim Ha-sung fails to build an image of a rebound on his own in the rest of the season, it will be difficult to avoid the disgraceful evaluation of 'eat and run FA'.

Kim Ha-sung, who came to the plate for the first time after two outs in the top of the second inning, only grounded out in front of second base against Seattle right-handed starter Logan Evans. In the top of the fifth inning, he came to the batter's box at first base with no outs and struck out three pitches. It was a pity that the first pitch became 'foul home run'. Since then, he has been left with two consecutive swings and misses, leaving disappointment.

In the top of the seventh inning, he came out as a leadoff hitter and only made a foul fly to the first base against the opponent's right-hander bullpen Eduardo Bisardo. Whether it was a fastball or a breaking ball, he was not able to properly respond to any pitch thrown by the opposing pitcher. In the end, Kim Ha-sung's batting average fell to the 10% level. At least, he got a walk in his last at-bat in the top of the ninth inning and succeeded in getting on base for the first time on the day. In Kim Ha-sung's silence, Tampa Bay lost 4-7.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.