The home run parade of the KIA Tigers’ “Gwangju Monster” Kim Do-young (21) will be closed. Kim pushed Ryan Weiss’ fastball to lead the team to a two-run shot in the final against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on Sunday, and had no chance to play in five games for eight days until the match against the Gwangju Samsung Lions on Sunday.안전놀이터
During the period, Kim added two more stolen bases, recording 29 homers and 32 RBIs. His batting average in the last 10 games has also slowed to 0.257. However, he is not a player who should worry about 30-30 anyways. Coach Lee Bum-ho once said, “40-40 is not an easy record to achieve even for Kim. However, it is natural for Kim to run towards 40-40 this year.
What makes Lee Bum-ho proud of Kim Do-young is that he is not greedy for home runs. Notably, he attempted headfirst sliding for the first time at the match against Samsung Electronics in Gwangju on Sunday for the first time since the Asian Baseball Championship finals against Japan on Nov. 19 last year. When his team was losing 7-8, he showed his commitment to help his team by saying that he would somehow survive on the second base with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Kim Do-young was injured eight months ago and failed to properly train throughout the spring camp in Canberra, Australia, in February due to a ruptured medial ligament and a sclerotia fracture. He teed on the last turn, but at that time, he never dreamed of playing in the opening game against the Kiwoom Heroes on March 23. Eventually, he went to the opening game with a superhuman speed of rehabilitation, but Kim Do-young learned a lesson that he should never headfirst slide to first base.
Even though Kim Do-young was fined 10 million won, he showed his desire to win. In the end, it seems that he does not actually pay the 10 million won fine, but it was also a symbolic event that revealed that Lee has a significant loyalty to the team. In fact, he makes a lot of mistakes, but Kim Do-young is also a player who knows his defense issues and puts a lot of effort into it. People around him encourage that time will eventually compensate for the sweat that Kim Do-young shed.
Coach Lee Bum-ho also knows Kim Do-young’s true feelings. “I told him so. Gochukga is his home, and Jamsilga is his home,” he said ahead of the match against Samsung Electronics in Gwangju on Sunday. “Don’t worry too much about it. If such a record (30-30) is held, it will not be easy to hit the ball. If he makes a decision at once when he throws a real ball, he can hit a home run. I will do it someday.”
KIA will hold six consecutive away games in Seoul this week. It will have three consecutive games against the Kiwoom Heroes from July 13 to 15, and three consecutive games against the LG Twins from July 16 to 18. As head coach Lee Bum-ho said, Kia is also home to both Gocheok and Jamsil. The team is the strongest in the league in mobilizing spectators in the Seoul metropolitan area. No matter where they go, KIA players can enjoy their schedule like home games. For Kim Do-young, even though Gocheok Dome and Jamsil are big stadiums, it’s not like they haven’t hit a home run. 30-30 is a matter of time. He is the batter who should be running towards 40-40 level.
Manager Lee Bum-ho said, “From our standpoint, DOYOUNG enhances our condition quickly, and if we play better now, we will create a good situation for our team to win. He is not greedy either. He is a young friend, but he is very grateful. He deserves greed for a better ball than a walk, but he doesn’t touch his own ball and runs on base. Looking at him like this, I think he has grown a lot. He plays hard for the team.”