11 players participated in the 2023 Fan Fest held at Petco Park in San Diego on the 5th (Korean time). they are all main Starting pitchers Darvish Yu, Joe Musgrove, Nick Martinez, closer Josh Hader, infielders Kim Ha-sung, Jake Cronenworth, Manny Machado, newly acquired Xander Bogatz, outfielders Trent Grisham, Juan Soto, suspended Fernando Tatis Jr. am.

The fact that Kim Ha-seong is included in the 11 members of the fanfest shows how important he is in the team. If it was the 2022 Fanfest, would the club have called Kim Ha-seong? In 2021, his first year with the team, it is the season for Sun to die. Last year’s dazzling performance in the offense and defense served as an opportunity to rapidly emerge as a ‘Fan Favorite Player’.

At the press conference, many questions were poured into Kim Ha-seong. Due to the recruitment of shortstop Bo Gatz, he had to change his position to second baseman, and since he was playing for the WBC Korean national team, there were many questions. A Japanese reporter asked how he felt about facing his colleague Darvish at the WBC. Ha-seong Kim said, “When Darvish threw, I always defended from behind, but it is an honor for me to compete in the tournament and face off. I will do my best to harass Darvish.” When asked if he was ready to face the opponent, he replied, “It is not that baseball prepares, and if you raise your pace in the best physical condition during the game on the day, you will get good results.”

Regarding the Japanese team’s power, “I think it is a very good power. I’m looking forward to it and it will be fun to play against good players. I think it will be a good match,” predicting the Korea-Japan match.

Sports Seoul, which was the only Korean media to cover the San Diego 2023 Fan Fest, took time aside from a joint press conference with reporters to ask Ha-seong Kim and domestic fans what they were curious about.

-How do you feel about participating in the fanfest?
When he was in Korea, he said that he was going to the US sometime, so he said that it would be nice if he could participate in the fanfest, so he said he would gladly go. It was fun being in front of the fans during the off-season. But I didn’t expect so many fans to come. I was surprised.

-Currently, you are training at LA Batting Cage and outdoor training at Loyola High School. What is the process and what is the current pace?
You can think of it as a final check while preparing for this season. There is also a WBC tournament, so I build my body accordingly and my pace is a bit fast. We are preparing hard.

-With the signing of Zander Bogatz in the offseason, the position was changed from natural position shortstop to second baseman.
It is true that shortstop is a natural position. But he came to San Diego and played every infield position. The second baseman has an advantage because he has a short throwing distance. However, the keystone combination double play is different from the shortstop, so there will be new areas to learn through the spring training training process.

Did you talk with the head coach about the position change?
I had a brief chat with the general manager (AJ Preller). He said he would make many appearances as a second baseman. I saw the director earlier and he said let’s talk. He’s ready for any position, he said. Actually, over the past two years, I’ve played a variety of infield positions, so I don’t think there’s a big problem whether you’re a second baseman or a third baseman. I am confident in both offense and defense.

– Due to the change in position, the situation has become similar to the first year as a member.
Coming to this team has always been competitive and intense. It seems that my role is to survive in it.

-I don’t know if you’re satisfied with last season, but you made great progress in offense and defense compared to the first year. If you are looking for a cause.
Not satisfied. This year is the third season. I think this year is the start of a really good season. The first year was also difficult. Last year, I took advantage of good opportunities, had experience, and worked hard to get better results. I think this year will be better. It is also the reason why I am focusing on training more than ever.

-Among the position players in the team, the replacement player’s contribution to victory is second only to Manny Machado. This is the reason why fans of the coaching staff like Kim Ha-sung. Are you satisfied with this? He believes that he achieved such results because he worked hard and was desperate. We need to do better this year. In fact, there was no season that I was satisfied with while playing baseball. Our goal is to do our best to do better.

– Last year’s batting average, RBIs, home runs, stolen bases, etc. all of your records improved. However, you must have realized that OPS, which is important here, needs to be improved.
In the end, it’s a score. I think this year will be better than last year. OPS is also to increase long hits, but I believe that it will improve if I prepare well because of my experience last year.

– The shift will be abolished this year. The base has also grown. It affects both the second base defensive attack and the stolen base.
For me, the abolition of the shift and the increased bass both help. The batting ball is mainly toward the center, and hits are made in the middle left. There were many hit balls that the second baseman crossed over to second base and caught. The stolen base is about to play more actively than last year. Stealing is always a short distance away, but it is true that the bigger the base is, the better it is. Whether or not to green light is also a point to discuss with the coach and coaching staff. 바카라사이트

-I trained with Kiwoom junior Lee Jung-hoo during the offseason. My juniors went down the same path. If I could give advice to Lee Jung-hoo from the side.
What I felt while training this winter was that I had grown much more than when I was with the previous team. I became a surprisingly better hitter. I hope that a player like Jung Hu will become an opportunity to spread Korean baseball abroad. he is always cheering You can’t listen to all the advice you give. I just need to reduce the trial and error I went through in the first year. I want to say that you can do enough with a positive mind rather than difficult and difficult parts.

– You have to pursue two rabbits, such as participating in the WBC tournament and playing a role in San Diego, but what is your future schedule?
After training in LA, he will be flying to Peoria, Arizona on the 13th. He does not join the national team right away, but trains with the team and plays in a few exhibition games. He plans to join the national team when it returns to Korea.