July 24, 2023 09:31
Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has set a new career high for home runs in a single season in Major League Baseball.
He hit his 12th homer of the season in an away game against the Detroit Tigers last Saturday.
In the top of the seventh inning with his team leading 10-3, Kim, the leadoff hitter, drove a solo homer over the left fence. It came five games after his previous homer during an away game against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 16.
Kim, who is in his third year in MLB, hit eight homers in 117 games in his debut season and 11 homers in 150 games last year. This season he has already posted 12 homers after playing in 94 of the 99 games the Padres have played so far. This is raising hopes of him achieving some 20 homers this season, as the Padres have 63 games left.
Among former and current Korean major leaguers, Choo Shin-soo, who is currently playing for the SSG Landers, holds the record for the most homers with 24 in 2019 when he played for the Texas Rangers, followed by Kang Jung-ho, who posted 21 homers while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016.
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