Published by
The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
In a season full of befuddling questions for the Padres, Ha-Seong Kim has grown into a rare and trustworthy answer. The second baseman whose batting helmet and sunglasses routinely fly about as if caught in a Texas twister, quietly has become one of the most valuable players in baseball. Doubt it? The metric that measures winning contributions compared to an average major leaguer, called WAR, says so. Screams it, in fact. He’s No. 3 in the game — No. 3 — trailing some guy named Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna Jr. The next three names chasing his 5.09 total: Gerrit Cole, Mookie Betts and Corey S…