Now he’s joined the ranks of Asia’s baseball prodigies. It’s one of the most epic acts in Korean major league history.

Kim “Awesome Kim” Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres) has finally tied the record of baseball genius Ichiro Suzuki (50).

Kim batted first and played third base in the Padres’ 2023 Major League Baseball home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park in San Diego, California, U.S., on Aug. 8.

San Diego’s starting lineup was Kim Ha-seong (3B), Fernando Tatis Jr. (R), Juan Soto (LF), Manny Machado (designated hitter), Zander Bogaerts (shortstop), Jake Cronenworth (2B), Ji-Man Choi (1B), Luis Camposano (catcher), Trent Grisham (center field), and starting pitcher Seth Lugo.

The Dodgers countered with starter Tony Gonsolos and a starting lineup of Mookie Betts (second base), Freddie Freeman (first base), Will Smith (catcher), Max Muncy (designated hitter), David Peralta (left field), Jason Heyward (right field), Kike Hernandez (third base), James Outman (center field), and Miguel Rojas (shortstop).

Prior to this game, Kim had reached base in 14 consecutive games. He started with a 4-for-4 performance with a home run and two RBIs against the Detroit Tigers on the 23rd of last month, then went 2-for-2 with a walk in Detroit on the 24th, 3-for-3 with a multi-homer game and two RBIs against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the 25th, 5-for-2 in Pittsburgh on the 26th, and 3-for-1 with 11 RBIs and one run in Pittsburgh on the 27th.

He then extended his multi-hit streak by going 2-for-1 with a home run and two RBIs against the Texas Rangers on the 29th, 4-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs against Texas on the 30th, and 1-for-1 with a home run and one RBI against Texas on the 31st. He continued his hot streak by going 4-for-1 with a home run and one RBI against the Colorado Rockies on the 1st, 5-for-2 with a home run and one RBI against Colorado on the 2nd, and 3-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs against Colorado on the 3rd.

His multi-RBI performance didn’t stop against the Dodgers. He went 4-for-4 with a double and a walk against the Dodgers on May 5, 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run against the Dodgers on May 6, and 3-for-4 with a double and a walk against the Dodgers on May 7.

These performances helped him finish the season with a .287 batting average, .384 on-base percentage, .455 slugging percentage, and .839 OPS with 15 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 24 doubles.

The game was Kim’s 15th consecutive multi-hit game. This is tied for the most in Asian history. The previous record holder was Ichiro. Ichiro had 15 consecutive games with multiple hits from June 4, 2007 against Texas to June 20, 2007 against Pittsburgh while playing for the Seattle Mariners.

Arguably the greatest Asian major leaguer of all time, Ichiro joined Seattle in 2001 and exploded for 242 hits with eight home runs, 69 RBIs and 56 stolen bases, winning the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year honors. In 2004, Ichiro set the all-time major league record for most hits in a single season with 262 to go along with a .372 batting average, and he led the American League in hits for five straight years from 2006 to 2010. In 2007, when Ichiro had 15 multi-hit games, he batted .351 with six home runs, 68 RBIs and 37 stolen bases.

In 2,653 career major league games, Ichiro batted .311 with 117 home runs, 780 RBIs, and 509 stolen bases, most notably amassing a staggering 3089 hits. Ichiro, who hit 1278 home runs in Nippon Professional Baseball, has a legendary 4367 career hits in the United States. He is a strong candidate for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in the future.

In the top of the first inning, Kim led off with a walk and a 2B 1S count against Gonsolin, but a four-pitch 92 mph (148 km/h) fastball was hit into a fly out to center field.

San Diego’s offense came alive in the bottom of the third when leadoff hitter Ji-Man Choi drew a walk and scored on Camposano’s two-run homer to center field. Grisham followed with a single up the middle to keep the momentum going, and Kim lined an 88-mph (142-kilometer) slider from Gonsolin to left field to put the tying run on base. Tatis Jr. followed with an RBI double to center field, scoring both Grisham and Ha-Sung Kim to give San Diego a 4-0 lead. Machado added a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 5-0.

However, the Dodgers collapsed in the top of the fourth inning, scoring eight runs, and Kim came to bat again in the bottom of the fifth with the team trailing 5-8. After choosing the first pitch, Kim showed off his high-sensitivity bat by lining a two-pitch 88-mph slider high up the middle of the plate. The multi-hit game was complete before the fifth inning was over, giving Kim his 15th consecutive multi-RBI game and matching Ichiro’s record.

Kim’s hustle didn’t translate into runs. Tatis Jr. put the icing on the cake with an infield single to third, second and first. San Diego’s defense gave up five runs in the top of the sixth inning, and while Camposano’s RBI single to right in the bottom of the sixth brought in one run, it wasn’t enough to make up for the 6-13 deficit.

Kim came up to bat again in the bottom of the seventh with one out. The leadoff hitter, Grisham, struck out, leaving the bases loaded. D

Meanwhile, Ji-Man Choi, who started in the seventh spot in the lineup for San Diego, went 2-for-3 with a walk, a hit, a strikeout, and a run scored. Choi’s batting average dropped to .185 on the season. His only hit came in the third inning when he led off with a walk and scored on Camposano’s two-run homer to center. He flied out to third base in the fourth inning and flied out to right field in the sixth inning with runners on first and second. In the bottom of the ninth, he was replaced by pinch-hitter Matthew Bateson and didn’t get another at-bat.온라인카지노

San Diego starter Lugo struggled against the Dodgers’ potent offense, allowing eight runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. The loss was his sixth of the season and raised his season ERA to 4.19. Scott Barlow, whom San Diego acquired from the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline to bolster its bullpen, was also unable to prevent his ERA from jumping to 6.64 as he was tagged for five runs on four hits in one inning. On the other hand, Dodgers starter Gonsolin was able to get the win thanks to the firepower of his team’s bats, despite struggling with six runs on nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts in six innings. His seventh win of the season.

The loss dropped San Diego to 55-58, another half-game out of a .500 record, while the Dodgers improved to 65-46 and sole possession of first place in the National League West. San Diego remains in fourth place in the division.