Padres News: Ha-Seong Kim Has Sights Set on Gold Glove Award

This would be huge for him!

The San Diego Padres are finishing off their most recent series against the Chicago Cubs and things haven't necessarily been ideal for them. Injuries, disappointing losses, and inconsistent hitting have all been their biggest issues and the attitude within the clubhouse has been dropping.

There has been a ton of controversy surrounding the lineup as a whole as there are certain days where the hitters at the bottom of the lineup are able to make up for the other stars not necessarily showing up. The likes of Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Juan Soto early in the year have been inconsistent.

And this is where guys like Trent Grisham, Rougned Odor, and Ha-Seong Kim have been relied on. Odor has been electric as of late as he is batting .314 over his last ten games to go with 11 hits, 14 RBI's, and three home runs. 

But Kim has also been huge for the squad and not just at the plate.

HA 👏 SEONG 👏 KIM 👏 #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/BHLgPAAyfX

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 2, 2023

Kim has been doing everything he can these past couple of weeks to lead the Padres' defense while Machado was out with a hairline fracture and Bogaerts was playing through some serious wrist pain. 

And Machado loves what he has seen from Kim during this time period and has always been high on his potential.

“It’s a learning experience for him. He’s coming from a different culture, different country, you know, something that’s completely different than what he’s been used to,” said Machado. “He embraced it, he took it in and he kept working on it. And to this day, he puts emphasis on it, and that’s why it’s showing. He cares about trying to be the best, and he learned it from a couple of us, but at the end of the day, it came from him. That’s what he wanted.”

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

"I love you!" - Ha Seong Kim@Padres | #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/53WeSnZvSa

— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) April 4, 2023

The 27-year-old infielder has been a fan favorite for multiple seasons now and there are few players that Petco Park cheers louder for whenever he steps up to the plate.

Kim also is aiming for a huge honor this year... a Gold Glove Award.

“At first, I never thought about being a Gold Glover here,” said Kim. “But now, going into my third year, I started to kind of realize I can maybe get an award. It’s just go out there, just play hard and do my job. Maybe the reward will come.”

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

He has all the tools to be able to get it done!