“I’m curious to see how far I can go”
Kim Do-young of the KIA Tigers started at third base and batted second in the 11th game of the season between his team and the Doosan Bears of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, on June 6 and went 2-for-5 with a double (one home run), two RBIs and one run scored.
He showed off his “talent” in the most important game of the series to improve his chances of making the postseason. Kim started the game in the top of the first inning with the bases loaded and the score tied at 0-0, lining a two-pitch 120-kilometer curveball from Doosan’s “native ace” Kwak Bin into the left field seats. It was a good start to the game, though it didn’t quite translate into runs.
Kim Do-young’s bat came alive in the third inning. With a 3-0 lead and runners on first and third in the top of the third inning, Kim faced Kwak Bin once again, this time pulling a 146-kilometer fastball up and away from the plate. The ball left the bat and headed for the fence.
Kim’s pitch reached a whopping 173.8 mph and traveled 125.4 meters before crashing into the stands behind the left field fence for a two-run home run. After hitting Kwak Bin’s ball, Kim Do-young also put on a “performance” by throwing her bat over her head with both hands as if she knew it was a home run. Kim was unable to produce any additional hits afterward, but it didn’t have much of an impact on KIA’s nine-game winning streak, their longest since 2013 and first in 3730 days.
The pitch that led to Kwak Bin’s home run was the one he was aiming for, a pitch that was high on the body strike. “In both the first and second at-bats, as well as in the last game, I was thinking that Yang Ji-san was using a lot of inside pitches, but the timing was right,” Kim said. “It was a ball that was supposed to curve, but I think it was a home run because it was completely hit.”
Kim has been on a roll lately. In the 10 games leading up to the game, he had 11 hits, one home run, five RBIs, 17 runs scored, and a .306 batting average. This has helped Kia go on a nice winning streak during that time. “I feel like my batting cycle has improved a little bit,” Kim said with a smile, adding, “Even if I don’t hit, there are seniors behind me, so I feel like I’m going to hit, so hitting comfortably has led to good results.”
“Honestly, I think the only thing that has changed from this time last year is my record. Even at this time last year, I thought I had adjusted (to the professional league). By the end of the first half, I had a good idea of what I needed to do at the plate,” he said. “I think I’ve been through a lot last year, and that’s why I’m playing well this year.”
The win was Kia’s ninth consecutive victory in a decade. In 2013, Kim was in elementary school. “I started playing baseball when I was in the fourth grade, and I honestly didn’t like baseball back then. I didn’t watch much professional baseball at the time. I started watching baseball in middle and high school,” he laughs wryly.토토사이트
Kim, who enjoyed playing baseball more than watching it in his youth, has since grown up and become one of the “main players” in the nine-game winning streak. “As a KIA fan, I am so honored to have won nine straight games in 10 years. I feel like I’ve been playing a lot and it’s helped, so I’m feeling good these days.”
Kim’s goals for the rest of the season are to interview Suhun on the podium at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field and to stand on the highest platform. “I want to be Suhoon once in Gwangju, and I want to be on the podium of Champions Field once. I think we need to maintain what we have now, and I want to go to the top once because I think our team has the power to go to the top. I wonder how far we will go,” he said, clenching his fists.