I’m going to show you a not-so-random clip. It’s from earlier this season on June 3, when the Atlanta Braves were playing the Toronto Blue Jays at home. Ha-Seong Kim as at the plate and he got a four-seamer on the upper-inside of the corner from Patrick Corbin that he blooped into left field for an RBI single.
The reason why I’m showing this clip is because this was actually a very important and very rare positive moment in Ha-Seong Kim’s nightmare of a season — this was Kim’s most recent hit.
Well,
it was Kim’s most recent hit until things changed dramatically on August 26. That’s when Kim was called upon for pinch-hitting duty in the bottom of the ninth of a tied ballgame with two outs against Tanner Scott and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The AB started about as well as it possibly could’ve for Kim, as Scott quickly fell behind 3-0 on three uncompetitive pitches. Naturally, Scott immediately found the strike zone for the next two pitches and just like that, Kim was in a battle. Kim proceeded to foul off three more pitches before taking a 97-mph heater on the bottom of the zone and guiding it into left field, allowing Lane Thomas to score from second and complete the most improbable moment of the season for Atlanta. Unbelievable.
The fact that Kim was able to put his most disastrous season to date in the back of his mind in order to come up with this huge hit was amazing in its own right. The fact that it came against the Dodgers in order to win the series (and clinch the season series as well, which may end up being huge down the stretch) was awesome as well. The fact that it came on a night when Sean Murphy (who came into this game with a wRC+ of -18) also went 3-for-4 with a double and a homer? Well, this is just the thing that makes you either show up at the ballpark every day as a fan or tune in to watch it on TV every night, because this game will always have a surprise waiting for you around each and every corner.
Naturally, Ha-Seong Kim was very grateful for his teammates’ support during this time and it’s always been mentioned that even though he’s struggled to get playing time due to his struggles in general, he’s stayed professional and tried his best to stay ready whenever the moment calls for it. Walt Weiss discussed the moment in Wednesday night’s post game press conference and he also explained his reasoning behind going to Kim in that situation.
“I’m so happy for Kim, he’s never pouted and he’s been working his ass off,” exclaimed Weiss. “He gets a moment like that and it’s just poetic justice for that to happen. I’m really happy for him and it’s an amazing win.”
Concerning the move, Weiss stated that he had Dominic Smith as an option but went with Kim because “Scott is just vicious on lefties. With Kim, obviously this year has been a difficult year for him but he’s always hit lefties in his career. He’s been taking a million swings every day trying to get through this. It’s just great to see guys rewarded for hard work and perseverance. It’s great when the game rewards guys like that.”
“He’s been a great teammate, the guys love him, he’s never pouted and never complained,” continued Weiss. “If he doesn’t get hurt this winter, he’s probably our everyday shortstop and some roles change for other guys. You never know what’s going to happen in this game — [Mauricio Dubón]‘s been one of our best players but all the guys felt great for Kim because they know what he’s been through.”
Indeed, every time that I’ve personally been at the ballpark and on hand to observe batting practice, Ha-Seong Kim has been in the cage working and I’m sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the effort that he’s been putting in to work through this hot mess of a season. Granted, his numbers are still awful and the shortstop situation still isn’t exactly sunshine and roses at the moment but at the same time, this is the type of moment that everybody’s been waiting for Kim to have and it’s amazing that this particular point in time was when the moment came.
I’m not going to go crazy or anything and suggest that Kim get the start tomorrow or anything like that (his wRC+ went up from -29 to -23. Phew.) but also, the guy deserves a shout-out for finally coming through in a big moment for the Braves. He’d clearly been preparing for the moment and he finally got an opportunity to rise to the occasion in a situation where Walt Weiss could’ve easily gone elsewhere for a solution in that ninth inning. Instead, the manager showed faith in the guy who was having a nightmare season and it turned into a dream ending on this particular night for Kim and the Atlanta Braves.
