"There were a lot of swings and misses, and the fact that things didn't go as I had hoped is the most disappointing."
Kim Hye-seong (Los Angeles Dodgers) of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) South Korea team, who had been swinging a hot bat in spring training with an average in the .400s, was silent in an exhibition game against Japan's Hanshin Tigers.
On the 2nd at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan, Kim Hye-seong started at second base and batted seventh in the exhibition game against Hanshin, finishing with three at-bats, no hits, three strikeouts and one walk.
With Korea leading 2-0 in the first inning and two outs with runners on second and third, Kim Hye-seong came to the plate for his first at-bat and struck out swinging on a breaking pitch from Hanshin starter Saiki Hiroto. He struck out looking in the fourth. After a walk to reach in the sixth with two outs, he was retired again in the eighth with two outs in his fourth at-bat, striking out swinging on another breaking pitch.
The game ended in a 3-3 draw.
According to Japanese sports outlet Sponichi Annex, Kim Hye-seong said after the game, "I'm very disappointed that I couldn't hit the way I wanted. I need to show a different side in the remaining qualifiers and main tournament."
He added, "There were a lot of swings and misses, and the fact that things didn't go as I had hoped is the most disappointing."
In his big league debut season last year, Kim Hye-seong hit .280 (161 at-bats, 45 hits) with three home runs, 17 RBIs, 19 runs, 13 stolen bases and an OPS of .699, helping the Dodgers win the World Series.
In this year's spring training, he continued his red-hot hitting by going 6-for-13 in four games (.462) with one home run, five RBIs, three runs and two stolen bases.
Major League Baseball's official website MLB.com on Feb. 27 said Kim Hye-seong "was sufficiently impressive in his second big league spring camp despite limited preparation time." It added that "with Kim Hye-seong absent for about two weeks, the Dodgers will continue the competition for the second base position."
It also said, "Kim Hye-seong's ability to play multiple positions could be a major advantage this season," adding, "If he proves he can also handle outfield defense, he could gain an edge in the opening roster competition."
But on this day he had a hard time timing against the Japanese pitching staff.
Sponichi Annex pointed out, "Kim Hye-seong, who had maintained good hitting in spring training, struggled against Japanese pitchers in this game and left issues to work on."
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