Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres), the first Korean to win a Major League Baseball (MLB) Gold Glove, showed off the best defense among National League second basemen.

Kim beat out Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Tommy Edmon (St. Louis Cardinals) to win the National League Utility Award at the MLB Gold Glove Awards on Saturday (June 6).

Kim is the first Korean big leaguer to win the Gold Glove, which is awarded to the best player at each major league position, since Chan Ho Park became the first Korean to play in the majors in 1994. Kim, who entered the major leagues in 2021, won the gold glove in his third season.

In particular, Kim played outstanding infield defense this year. He played second base, shortstop, and third base, making him one of the best utility defenders in the major leagues. The utility category was added to the award last year to recognize “all-around defenders” who excel at multiple positions.

MLB.com wrote, “Entering the season, there were no questions about Kim’s defense. He was an elite defender no matter where he played. The only question about him was, ‘Where will he play today?

Kim was also a finalist for the second baseman award, but lost out to Nico Horner (Chicago Cubs).

The Gold Glove winners are determined by a vote of six coaching staffs, including managers from all 30 major league clubs (75%) and defensive metrics provided by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) (25%).

Based solely on defensive metrics, Kim had the edge over Horner. In SABR’s position-specific defensive metrics, Kim posted a 9.0 rating, narrowly beating out Horner (8.7) and Stott (8.6).

He also ranked ninth among all positions in the National League. This means that Kim’s defense is among the best in the majors. 토토사이트

However, Kim did not win the second baseman award, as he lost out to Horner in the coaching staff vote, which carries more weight.