Korean slugger Lee Seung-yeop was surprised, as was Yang Eui-ji, a nine-time Golden Glove winner. Two batters representing Korean baseball complimented Doosan’s main backup catcher Kim Ki-yeon’s burning bat.
It was symbolic to use Yang Eui-ji as the fourth batter catcher and Kim Ki-yeon as the eighth designated hitter at the match against LG Electronics at Jamsil Stadium on Sunday. It was possible because he trusted Kim Ki-yeon’s batting sense.
“Kim Ki-yeon was not usually the designated hitter, but he had as many as 15 hits last week. Nine hits in three consecutive games are unbelievable, but 15 hits in five games is an enormous record. It is a waste to have such a player on the bench. I had a hit in good scenes yesterday as well, and the last time I played at bat was good because it was a good hit. I think it would be helpful for my team to join the lineup rather than putting it on the bench,” coach Lee Seung-yeop said in a briefing ahead of the game on Wednesday.
In the game on the 7th, Kim Ki-yeon started as a catcher, and Yang Eui-ji, who was designated as a designated hitter, wore a mask from the 8th inning. Kim Ki-yeon did not have a hit on the day, but he drew a sacrifice bunt in the 4th inning when he was leading 3-1 and a walk in the 7th inning when it was 4-2.
“[Kim Ki-yeon] is doing so well. I’ve never had 15 hits in a week while playing baseball,” Yang said after the game on Sunday. “It’s amazing. I’m so glad you guys are doing well. It’s good for me if we do well together and the team is doing well. I think the more I do that, the longer I can play baseball,” Yang said with a big smile. 안전놀이터
Kim Ki-yeon posted a batting average of 0.586 in seven games from May 30 to May 7. During the period, she ranks first in overall batting average in the league. The number of innings pitched in defense has increased to the main level. Yang Eui-ji played in 479 ⅓ innings and Kim Ki-yeon in 418 ⅔ innings. None of Doosan’s other catchers has exceeded 100 innings.
LG, which sent Kim Ki-yeon through the second draft, deserves compliments. Park Dong-won, LG’s main catcher, is ranking first in 673 innings as of Tuesday. Heo Do-hwan pitched 181 ⅔ innings as the next player after Park. Kim Bum-suk 45 ⅓ innings, Kim Seong-woo 16 innings and Jeon Jun-ho 5 innings.
In fact, LG also started the last season with a plan to appoint Kim Ki-yeon as its next backup catcher. However, Kim Ki-yeon failed to play in the first team game for more than three months after the game against NC Dinos on June 2 last year. He returned to the top team only in September when his entry was expanded, and played in seven more games through October. He entered this season as the backup catcher after Park Dong-won, but ended up playing in only 28 games, and had to wait and see the team win without making the entry for the Korean Series. To put it bluntly, it could be seen that he was overlooked by the top team coaching staff.
Eventually, Kim was excluded from the second draft protection list. Doosan, which needed a backup catcher, drafted Kim in the first round in the second draft last year, and passed the draft without using the right to select Kim after the second round. Kim will move to the fourth place after Kiwoom Choi Joo-hwan (former SSG), Hanwha Lee Sang-kyu (former LG), and Samsung Choi Sung-hoon (former LG).
He played in only five exhibition games this year and was listed in the opening entry, but it was canceled in less than a week. However, he has never moved down to the Futures team since re-registration on April 6. While Yang Eui-ji has limited his ability to play as a catcher due to various injuries, Kim Ki-yeon is filling the spot well. Rather than just holding on well, coach Lee Seung-yeop and Yang Eui-ji did surprisingly well.
