San Diego Padres infielder Ha-Sung Kim has become a trademark with his helmet coming off, but will we see less of that?
Before the Padres’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, on Monday (July 29), Kim did something important in the clubhouse. He wore a customized helmet brought in by a helmet manufacturer.
He tried on all three samples from the helmet manufacturer to see how they fit his head.
Kim’s hustle became iconic as he ran to get the helmet off. Photo via AFPBBNews = News1
It even made it onto the Padres’ official X. 메이저놀이터“Don’t let it come off your head, that’s the most important thing!” teammate Manny Machado wrote in passing.
Major League Baseball’s helmets are made for Western heads, and players from Asia, like Kim, often suffer from poorly fitting helmets. In the past, Shin-Soo Choo wore a lamb’s ear helmet to solve this problem.
After receiving the samples from the manufacturer, Kim will soon receive a special helmet customized to his head size.
Does this mean we won’t see his helmet come off while batting or running the bases?
“It will still come off,” Kim said. “Major League helmets are heavier than Korean helmets, not harder. Because they are heavier, they shake more when you run,” he said, explaining why his helmet often came off.
Helmet delivered to Kim by a helmet manufacturer. Photo (St. Louis, USA) = Correspondent Kim Jae-ho
The image of him running so hard that his helmet came off became a symbol of his hustle. The club even made a bobblehead of him with a removable helmet.
It’s become an iconic part of his persona, but we can’t let it stay that way. Player safety is at stake.
“It’s dangerous if your helmet comes off while dodging a pitch at the plate, or if your helmet comes off while stealing and you get hit in the head by a pitch or a ping-pong ball,” says Kim. I was once hit in the head with a pitch while stealing a base in Korea. Luckily, I was wearing a helmet. If I hadn’t been wearing a helmet, it would have been more than just an injury, it would have been a bigger risk,” he said, expressing concern about the frequent removal of helmets.
San Diego is currently riddled with injuries as the season winds down. Ji-Man Choi is out with a rib cage injury and rehabbing in Arizona, while Jake Cronenweth has his left hand in a cast after being hit by a sand dune. In the starting lineup, Joe Musgrove has been replaced by Darvish Yu with an elbow injury.
It’s important to reduce the risk of injury as much as possible. “Players don’t get hurt because they want to get hurt,” Kim said.
Meanwhile, San Diego announced its lineup against Adam Wainwright: Ha-Sung Kim (second base), Juan Soto (left field), Manny Machado (third base), Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field), Xander Bogaerts (shortstop), Garrett Cooper (first base), Matt Carpenter (designated hitter), Gary Sanchez (catcher), and Trent Grisham (center field).