{"id":29090,"date":"2025-02-27T03:42:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T03:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29090"},"modified":"2025-02-27T03:42:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T03:42:32","slug":"shocking-dodgers-kim-hye-seong-struggles-with-hitless-performance-in-spring-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29090","title":{"rendered":"SHOCKING: Dodgers’ Kim Hye-seong Struggles with Hitless Performance in Spring Training!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Kim Hye-seong is now batting below .100 in his first spring training in the majors after another hitless day at the plate.<\/p>\n

Kim went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix on Wednesday (local time) after getting the start at second base and batting sixth. The Dodgers won 9-3.<\/p>\n

In five spring training games in Arizona, Kim is 1-for-12 (.083) with two walks and five strikeouts. The lone hit was an infield single, and Kim has hit only one ball harder than 95 mph, the threshold for “hard-hit” contact in Major League Baseball’s Statcast analytics system.<\/p>\n

\n
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\"Kim<\/span><\/div>
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Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers takes a swing against the Milwaukee Brewers during a Major League Baseball spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix on Feb. 26, 2025, in this Imagn Images photo via Reuters. (Yonhap)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Kim signed a three-year deal worth US$12.5 million with the Dodgers in January, with an option for two more years that would give him a chance to make up to $22 million total.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers soon traded away their starting second baseman from 2024, Gavin Lux, to seemingly clear the path for Kim, who has mostly been a second baseman during eight years in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).<\/p>\n

Kim had a lifetime .304 batting average in the KBO and led all players with 211 steals in the 2018-2024 period. He also won the first two editions of the KBO Fielding Award at second base in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

However, Kim has never been a power hitter, evidenced by his 37 home runs in 953 KBO games. The Dodgers have praised Kim’s bat-to-ball skills, but the South Korean player has looked overmatched so far in spring training, even against pitchers with little or no major league experience.<\/p>\n

Kim is also undergoing a swing change with the help of the Dodgers staff, and manager Dave Roberts has been effusive about Kim’s buy-in. On the field, Kim has been moved around the diamond and has even made an appearance at center field, a position he never played in the KBO.<\/p>\n

Roberts told reporters earlier in the week that Kim was “in a competition to earn a job with us.”<\/p>\n

“So I would say that’s still all in play, and we don’t need to make a decision right now,” he added.<\/p>\n

\n
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\"This<\/span><\/div>
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This Associated Press photo from Feb. 22, 2025, shows San Francisco Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo before a Major League Baseball spring training game against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. (Yonhap)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Also in Arizona on Wednesday, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants went 0-for-2 and scored a run from the leadoff spot against the Chicago Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale. Lee was also hit by a pitch.<\/p>\n

The South Korean center fielder missed a big chunk of his rookie campaign last year after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in May. The Giants have designs on Lee as their No. 3 hitter in 2025 after he spent the majority of his abbreviated 2024 season at the top of the lineup.<\/p>\n

Against the Cubs, Lee was hit by a pitch from starter Shota Imanaga to lead off the bottom of the third and advanced to third on a single by Willy Adames. Lee then came home on a wild pitch by Imanaga.<\/p>\n

The teams ended in a 4-4 tie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Kim Hye-seong is now batting below .100 in his first spring training in the majors after another hitless day at the plate. Kim… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nSHOCKING: Dodgers' Kim Hye-seong Struggles with Hitless Performance in Spring Training! - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29090\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SHOCKING: Dodgers' Kim Hye-seong Struggles with Hitless Performance in Spring Training! - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Kim Hye-seong is now batting below .100 in his first spring training in the majors after another hitless day at the plate. 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