Ha-seong Kim (born October 17, 1995) is a South Korean professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Kim was drafted 41st overall by the

Nexen Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Se ...

in the 2014 Korea Baseball Organization Draft. He made his KBO debut with the Heroes in May 2014 and won the Golden Glove Award in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In December 2020, Kim signed with the San Diego Padres.

Early life

Kim was born on October 17, 1995, in

Bucheon Bucheon () is a administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is located away from Seoul, of which it is a satellite town, satellite city. It is located between Incheon and Seoul. Bucheon is the second ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, the youngest of three children.

Amateur career

High school

Kim attended Yatap High School in

Seongnam Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. Seongnam is a satellite city of Seoul. It is largely a residential cit ...

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, and in 2013 led his high school to a runner-up finish in the National High school Baseball Tournament. In his final high school baseball season, Kim hit for a .375 batting average and recorded a .477 on base percentage along with 20 base steals.

Professional career

Nexen/Kiwoom Heroes

Kim was drafted by the

with the 29th overall of the third round in the 2014 Korea Baseball Organization Draft out of Yatap High school in

Kiwoom Heroes Kim Ha-Seong (2019) (cropped)

On May 18, He made his KBO debut against the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pro ...

. He hit a double on his first at-bat, and a triple on his second at-bat. On June 4, Kim hit his first career home run in a 20-3 loss against the

NC Dinos The NC Dinos ( ko, NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corpo ...

. In the 2014 postseason, he appeared once as a pinch runner against the

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Champ ...

. Batting .290 with 19 home runs and 73 RBIs, Kim was the starting shortstop at the 2015 KBO All-Star Game. He recorded his 10th stolen base on June 12, 2015 against the

Kt Wiz KT Wiz ( ko, KT 위즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Suwon Baseball Stadium in Suwon. History On 11 January 2013, the Korea Baseball Organization off ...

in a 12-8 loss. He recorded his 20th stolen base on September 21, 2015 in a win against the

. He hit his 19th home run on September 23, 2015 against the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

. He finished the season with 19 home runs and 22 stolen bases, just one home run short of a 20-20. Before the start of the 2016 season, Kim signed a one-year ₩160 million contract extension with the

. Kim played all 144 games in the 2016 regular season while batting .281 with 20 home runs and 84 RBIs to go along with 28 stolen bases. Kim was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his third year. Kim was the starting shortstop at the 2016 KBO All-Star Game. He recorded his 20th home run on September 20, 2016 against the

KIA Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

. This home run made him the third shortshop in KBO history to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the regular season. Kim won the

KBO League Golden Glove Award The KBO League Golden Glove Award is an award given out annually by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the best overall player at each position in the KBO League. It is also commonly known as the KBO Golden Gloves. The award was established i ...

in three consecutive years, from 2018 to 2020. After the 2020 season, on November 25, 2020, the Heroes announced it was allowing Kim to enter the

posting system The is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate ...

to play in

(MLB).

San Diego Padres

On December 31, 2020, Kim signed with the

of the MLB for a four-year, $28 million deal, including a mutual option for the 2025 season. Kim made his major-league debut on April 1, 2021. He pinch hit for

Emilio Pagán Emilio Enrique Pagán (born May 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. ...

, and struck out against Alex Young of the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

. Kim hit his first MLB home run in a 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas on April 10, 2021. On June 19, 2021, after the Padres lost

Fernando Tatis Jr. Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

due to injury, Kim hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Padres to a 7-5 victory against the Cincinnati Reds. Kim saw increased playing time at shortstop for the Padres after Tatis was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

in late July 2021. On August 1, 2021, Kim hit a home run and drove in an MLB-career high three runs in his first game filling in for Tatis at shortstop. Kim finished the 2021 season batting .202 with eight home runs, 34 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 117 games. On August 26, 2022, Kim had a career-high five RBIs in a game against the Kansas City Royals. Kim finished the 2022 season with a .251 batting average, 11 home runs, 59 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a .708 OPS in 150 games played. He mostly played as a shortstop in the season, filling in for Tatis Jr.

International career

Kim represented the

South Korea national baseball team The South Korean national baseball team ( ko, 대한민국 야구 국가대표팀) is the national baseball team of South Korea. It won the Baseball World Cup in 1982, and participated in the Summer Olympic Games of 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000. At ...

at the

2013 18U Baseball World Cup The 2013 18U Baseball World Cup was an international baseball competition held in Taichung and Yunlin (Douliu), Taiwan from August 30 to September 8, 2013. There were no games played on August 30 and August 31, due to rain. Medalists Teams Th ...

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship The Asia Professional Baseball Championship 2017 (APBC 2017), sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC; french: Confédération internationale de baseball et softball) is the world go ...

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

and

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

. In 2013 18U Baseball World Cup, Kim batted .433, going 13-for-30, driving in three RBIs and scoring 9 runs. South Korea finished 5th in the tournament. In 2019 WBSC Premier12, Kim was named the best shortstop.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

Kim Ha-seong
at Nexen Heroes Baseball Club {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Ha-seong 1995 births Living people Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2018 Asian Games KBO League shortstops Kiwoom Heroes players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from South Korea Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games People from Bucheon San Diego Padres players South Korean expatriate baseball players in the United States 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2023 World Baseball Classic players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players Sportspeople from Gyeonggi Province