San Diego’Petage’ Shoulder Injury, Opportunity to Ha-Sung Kim

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Major League Baseball (MLB) San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., 22, was injured. It is expected that Ha-seong Kim (26) will have more opportunities to participate.

On the 6th (Korean time), Tatis started the match against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA as a second batter shortstop. Tatis fell out complaining of shoulder pain after striking out in the second at-bat at the end of the 3rd inning.

Tatis couldn’t get up for a while and returned to Dougout with the support of coach Jace Tingler and trainer. The San Diego club has revealed that it is a dislocated left shoulder and is expected to undergo a reexamination.

Tatis, who debuted in the big leagues in 2019, played 143 games until last year, batting 0.301, 39 home runs, and 27 steals. In addition, it recently signed a 14-year contract with San Diego of $340 million (approximately 381 billion won). Although it is the longest contract in MLB’s history, the average annual amount did not meet expectations. It was because of the shoulder pain he had been wearing since the minor league days. Tatis had also been absent due to shoulder pain during a demonstration game.

Ha-sung Kim, Padres in San Diego. [AP=연합뉴스]

The injuries of the iconic player Tatis are a big loss for the team. But it’s a great opportunity for backup infielder Kim Ha-seong. In fact, in the game that day, Kim Ha-seong was immediately put into shortstop instead of Tatis. In the game that day, Kim Ha-seong was only 3 at-bats without hitting, including two in-field balls. The batting average for the season was 0.222 (2 hits in 9 at-bats). For the time being, it is expected that Ha-seong Kim will be able to seize the opportunity to play the starting position until Tatis recovers.

Meanwhile, in the match that day, San Francisco won 3-2. Samsung’s Darin Ruff hit the first home run in the second season, and Mike Yastrmsky in the seventh, facing 2-2, hit a solo home run in the final.

Reporter Kim Hyo-kyung [email protected]