There's no secret sauce to the type of defense Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim has played while plugging the $340 million gap created by wrist-rehabbing star Fernando Tatis Jr.
At Yatap High School in the Seoul suburb of Seongnam, Korea, it boiled down to old-fashioned hard work. Dust off the glove. Trot out to the infield. Let the repetitions pile up like late-fall firewood.
"When I was in high school, I can't count how many ground balls I took," Kim said through interpreter Leo Bae. "It was like unlimited fungoes."
Kim has grown into far more than a dependable option around the diamond, making 35 starts at shortstop and six others to spell ironman Manny Machado at third base. He's become a comfortable security blanket, trusted to make any play in any situation, regardless of the level of situational heat.
All those ground balls, all those years ago, transformed critical big-league-level mechanics into muscle memory. Thoughts on how to handle any given ground-ball moment have now been honed to almost imperceptible reaction.
In his second season in a new country, working in a new league, with new teammates and language hurdles, the skill finally is infused with confidence.
Comfort level? He's found it. Trust? He has it.
"We saw it as soon as he got here," Machado said. "Offensively, you're always going to make adjustments and take a bit of adjustment time, but I think we all knew he was Gold Glove-caliber. He was a gold-glover in Korea. We knew what he could do defensively.
"Seeing him every single day and seeing what he does, it's been pretty impressive. None of those plays surprise me, because I've seen him do it and I know he can do it. It comes so easily for him. I think he's a tremendous defender. I think he's one of the best in the league."
Glove-work praise from Machado, a two-time Gold-Glover and NL MVP candidate this season, ranks about as high as it gets.
Machado asked whether someone had seen a recent play that left him awed, when Kim nearly converted an impossibly awful hop. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth cherry-picked his own highlight of his teammate, when Kim hustled to cover third in Pittsburgh as Machado chased a pop fly down the line.
A throw from left fielder Jurickson Profar met Kim, on the run, for an improbable tag and critical out.
"That was a huge out there," Cronenworth said. "You've seen him make some incredible plays you don't really see other guys make. Super fundamental, really good feet and his instincts are awesome. Obviously, a super good arm, too."
Padres manager Bob Melvin was asked what has surprised him about Kim's defensive versatility and polish.
"Nothing," he said. "Everything I looked at coming in here would suggest that's the defender he is. His defensive metrics last year, especially what we looked at him in Oakland, was fantastic.
"He's not surprising me at all, what he's doing defensively."
Clearing the cobwebs after diving into baseball's highest level with communication challenges came surprisingly fast.
Machado credited the game's great intangible and separator.
"I think overall, his knowledge of the game," said Machado, when asked to pinpoint a strength. "I think he's always two steps ahead. As a shortstop, you've got to be that way. He's been keeping this infield afloat by doing that. He's just an intelligent player. He knows the game. He knows where to be at the right time.
"He's always looking over at me and being like, hey, if I get a ball right here, we're going to try to get this guy out if he tries to advance. The baseball IQ is impressive."
Cronenworth acknowledged the uniqueness of Kim's transition.
"Obviously, it was a little tough last year, just trying to get the right dialogue," he said. "Different things mean different stuff when he was in Korea to now. It's been great so far this year."
Melvin, in his first season, said it's easy to see the confidence with which Kim is now playing.
"Just talking to the people that were (here last year), he seems way more comfortable here now," Melvin said. "It's strictly about baseball for him. He's getting a better opportunity this year. I don't think he has to worry about trying to fit in.
"I don't think he has to worry about figuring out where he is, where he's going to live, where he's going to eat and all those kinds of things that kind of factor into your day."
Kim credited fielding coaches Bobby Dickerson, a member of last season's staff, and Matt Williams.
"Bobby was huge for me to play big-league defense," said Kim, 26. "He definitely helped me get used to this field, as fast as anybody can. He helped me to go to another level. And Matt, he gives me confidence and puts me in great environments so I can go do my thing.
"And I have Manny, Jake, (first baseman Eric) Hosmer around me, so we're confident we're going to make all the plays."
No secret sauce necessary.
