I spent $1 trillion, and the probability of PS is 44%… San Diego, the worst city for the money, and only Kim Ha Sung plays baseball.

We’re approaching the halfway point of the season, and San Diego is struggling with a subpar record. In the words of a team that can’t win, they’re out of fall baseball. It’s becoming a season where teams spend over 1 trillion won and can’t even find a home game.

The Padres suffered an upset loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates of the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 30 (KST), falling from 4-0 to 4-5. The loss snapped a five-game losing streak for San Diego, which is now 37-44 on the season with a .457 winning percentage.

Kim went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and one run scored on the day, driving in two of the team’s four runs. He opened the scoring in the second inning with a sacrifice fly to left field to put runners on first and third. He followed with a solo shot to left field (his ninth of the season) in the top of the fourth to make it 3-0. However, the bullpen struggled and the Dodgers fell to 4-5.

San Diego’s performance pales in comparison to the ambition they showed last winter when they invested heavily. In free agency, the Padres acquired Zander Bogaerts (11 years, $280 million) and signed Manny Machado (11 years, $350 million), Darvish Yu (6 years, $180 million), and Jake Cronenweth (7 years, $80 million) to extensions.

It wasn’t just the big contracts. Robert Suarez (5 years, $46 million), Nick Martinez (3 years, $26 million), Michael Wacha (1+3 years, $26 million), and Seth Lugo (2 years, $15 million) are just a few of the mid-level pitchers who can help bolster the starting rotation and bullpen. They also added veteran hitters in the outfield, including Matt Carpenter (two years, $12 million) and Nelson Cruz (one year, $1 million). That’s $944 million, or $1.241 trillion.

However, they are slipping further and further away from a fall baseball berth. They’re in fourth place in the National League West, 11 games behind first-place Arizona and eight games behind the third-place Los Angeles Dodgers. The gap to the Dodgers is the same as the gap to a wild-card spot.

It’s still too early to tell, but fall baseball is looking increasingly unlikely. FiveThirtyEight, an American political and sports statistics company, gives San Diego a 44% chance of making the postseason. They have a 10 percent chance of winning a district title and a 4 percent chance of reaching the World Series. It’s true that fall baseball hopes are fading.

San Diego’s biggest problem right now is that their main players, their big-money stars, aren’t performing. There’s no synergy between them at all. Juan Soto is the most productive player on the team with a .913 OPS with 14 doubles, 14 home runs, and 41 RBIs. Fernando Tatis Jr. is hitting .275 with 15 homers, 36 RBIs, and an .858 OPS after being a late addition due to a PED suspension.

Xander Bogaerts is hitting .735 with eight homers and 28 RBIs, Manny Machado is hitting .690 with nine homers and 33 RBIs, and Cronenweth is hitting .656 with seven homers and 26 RBIs. In addition to their individual harmonization, the team as a whole is a force to be reckoned with in the scoring column. Their batting average with runners in scoring position is last in the league at 2.7 (139 for 670). Their OPS with runners in scoring position is .655, the second lowest in the league.토토사이트

In the midst of all this, Kim’s performance stands out. Not just on this day, but over the course of the season, he’s been an integral part of San Diego’s offense. In 77 games, he’s batting 25-for-58 with 64 doubles, nine home runs, 30 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and a .755 OPS. He’s the third most productive player on the team behind Soto and Tatis. He’s even outperforming higher-paid players like Bogaerts and Machado.

While Ha-Sung Kim is showing his true colors in his third year, the fact that Bogaerts and Machado are performing worse is something San Diego didn’t expect. Ideally, Bogaerts and Machado would showcase their superstar value, and Kim would be a nice addition to the lineup, but Kim seems to be standing out more.

Kim’s presence and dazzling play hasn’t been matched by his teammates. At this rate, San Diego’s hopes for fall baseball this year will be dashed.