Riding on the success of winning his first Golden Glove award, Ha-Seong Kim is now a famous face in the sports world. The former KBO player joined the San Diego Padres in their appearance at the first-ever MLB Series in South Korea. With an impressive 15-11 finish over the LA Dodgers at the finale in Seoul, Kim has become a home country hero. And not just fans, but even his teammates have only good things to say about the 28-year-old player.

When former first baseman for the Padres, Eric Hosmer, started discussing Ha-Seong Kim on the latest episode of his podcast ‘Diggin’ Deep’, he showered praise on the South Korean. Hosmer was having a chat with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar when the topic of Kim’s “coolness” came up. Now that Ha-Seong Kim is in his walk year with the Padres, he might be looking to shift to another squad. But despite the uncertainty of his fate, Hosmer and his podcast guests’ conversation shows how they love to have the infielder as their teammate.

Hosmer has previously shared how Kim used to de-stress during his rookie year with the Padres by crushing cigarettes. As the first South Korean to win the Golden Glove, Ha-Seong Kim has come a long way since those early days. According to Eric Hosmer, he is quite the superstar in San Diego now. To prove this, the ex-Red Sox man said, “Kim’s one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever played with in my life. This dude is an absolute rockstar. Everyone loves him.”

Then, Hosmer’s guest Justin Su’a joined in with his own story on HSK, adding, “We went to play there, and when they said “Kim”, the fans went crazy.” As a South Korean who shifted to the US after his KBO team Nexen Heroes allowed him to join MLB, Kim is not conversant in English. Even during his post-game interviews, he takes help from a translator. However, as for Eric Hosmer, the language barrier has never been a hurdle in his friendship with Kim.

Eric Hosmer spills the beans on his friendship with Ha-Seong Kim

Just after entering MLB with the Padres in 2021, Kim spent a year playing side-by-side with Eric Hosmer. Then, Hosmer left for the Boston Red Sox in the following year. But no matter how short the length of their interaction was, the Florida native believes it made them close friends. As an English speaker by birth, Eric admitted to having trouble communicating with Ha-Seong Kim but he also said that never stood in the way of their friendship.

Speaking on how baseball brought them together, Eric Hosmer said, “[That’s] the beauty of baseball. Kim doesn’t speak any of my languages and I don’t speak any of his languages. And me and him, I felt like, I was like, that’s one of my best friends.” Well, Hosmer is no longer with the Padres and Kim might leave the team as well to make friends at other potential squads that will lap up the Golden Glove winner.

At this moment, the San Diego Padres are not in a favorable position to make the National League play-offs unless they make a giant trade. As the deadline of July 30 is coming closer, HSK might soon be the one to leave the Padres despite his huge popularity amongst the team’s fans. With the comeback of Xander Bogaerts (who has recovered from his shoulder fracture), the infield is crowded now unless the San Diego team lets go of Kim.

Which team do you predict the South Korean might go to, in case the Padres trade him? Share your guesses in the comments section.