Padres News: Ha-Seong Kim Perfect At Bat In First Game Back From WBC

Key Friars infielder back with the squad !

Little by little, the World Baseball Classic is coming to an end and participating players are starting to rejoin the San Diego Padres in Peoria. We've seen Xander Bogaerts touch down already, Manny Machado and Juan Soto will be making their way back after playing for the Dominican Republic, and fan-favorite Ha-Seong Kim actually took part in his first game back from suiting up for South Korea.

Fans watched in awe as Kim looked very dominant at bat through most of his WBC exhibitions. Most notably, Kim and South Korea obliterated China 22-2 in a match that the 27-year-old connect on a grand slam in the fifth inning.

It appears Kim has brought that energy into Spring Training as he was perfect every time he stepped up to bat against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.

A terrific return to Cactus League action for Ha-Seong Kim against the Rockies.

Kim is 3-for-3 today. 2 singles. 1 double. 1 RBI.

— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) March 16, 2023

"A terrace return to Catcus League action for Ha-Seong Kim against the Rockies."

"Kim is 3-for-3 today. 2 Singles. 1 Double. 1 RBI."

(Provided by Sammy Levitt)

Ha-Seong Kim proved that he was a key part of the Friars' last season, especially when he stepped up multiple times to play the shortstop position while Fernando Tatis Jr. was out the entire year.

Kim has become a fan favorite in his time with San Diego due to his hustle plays and open personality. The crowd regularly breaks into chants of his name when he is in Petco Park.

Ha-Seong Kim chants are deafening #padres pic.twitter.com/KlZY1WhG44

— Allison Edmonds (@aedmondstv) October 19, 2022

Kim did suffer an early loss with South Korea in the WBC and that is why he's back so early. Perhaps he will play with an even bigger chip on his shoulder following the tournament failures.