“It won’t be easy.”
KIA Tigers’ Kim Do-young (21) has reserved 30-30. He hit his 29th homer in the match against Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on Thursday, and if he adds one more homer, he will become the youngest player to achieve 30-30 in the long-awaited game. What I am really curious about is 40-40 games. With Kim Do-young’s skills and athletic abilities, I think he will be able to achieve 40-40 games someday, if not this year.
When I asked coach Lee Bum-ho ahead of the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 4th, he came back with an extremely realistic answer. “Wouldn’t it not be easy?” In fact, I thought the answer would be that 40-40 would not have to challenge themselves too much because this season is not just a 30-30 game, but a season where they are trying to reach the 30-30-30 game, the youngest, 30-30 game, and even the youngest, 30-30-300 game with 100 RBIs.
That was totally unexpected. “40-40 is a rare record, so if you have a chance, it will be a great history for you and Korean baseball,” Lee said. “If you can try it, I think it’s better to try it.”
In other words, if a student who is greedy to do 40-40 after 30-30 does not overdo it, he has no intention of preventing the challenge. And the reason is very realistic. Lee Bum-ho believes that 40-40 is a milestone that cannot be easily achieved no matter how much Kim Do-young is the next Lee Jong-beom.
“I don’t think I’m stealing on purpose right now. I think I’m saving it physically. The key will be a home run, but I think I’ll get more and more checks. I think I’ll be able to move at the level of chin-ups. I think I’ll be able to reach around 35 to 40,” Lee said.
In fact, Kim hit one homer per 13.93 batting average this season. Assuming that he will add four more for each of the remaining 39 games, he will add 11.2 homers. With just 40 homers, Lee Bum-ho said this is the “max.” The reality is that if he loses pace here, he will not fall fast.
Even Kim Do-young admitted that he has lost a little bit of physical condition compared to the beginning of the season. Manager Lee Bum-ho also diagnosed that he has lost physical strength. It is the first time in three years since his debut that he has played full-time. It would be strange if he does not lose physical strength. He is a monster, but in fact, Kim Do-young is also a human being. In addition, manager Lee Bum-ho said, “I am sure pitchers will check him more.”
If this happens, chances are high that his performance will drop, and in the end, 40 to 40 means that he will not likely fail. Of course, coach Lee Bum-ho did not directly say anything negative considering the morale of his precious disciples. However, 40 to 40 is not an easy record to achieve from a cold perspective.
Furthermore, head coach Lee Bum-ho said, “Even if Kim Do-young has more experience and shows more profitable baseball in the future, I can’t guarantee that he will succeed 40-40.” He said, “The check will get worse and worse. He is an easy stealer, and I think he will hit about 30 home runs, but 40-40 is a great record.”
Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon always says, “Baseball is difficult.” No matter how hard a slugger is, there is a season that is suddenly sluggish. Even if Choi Hyung-woo, a senior member of the team, did that in 2021-2022, and Na Sung-beom also improved this year, he has been in the worst pace in recent years. Even in history, there was a season when the KBO’s best hitters Lee Seung-yeop and Lee Jong-beom were doing well.
Still, coach Lee Bum-ho supports and supports Kim Do-young’s challenge. “You have to help the coaching staff in every aspect including physical fitness. That way, players can display good condition in the game. When the challenge starts to a certain extent, I will prepare to do well.”
From this perspective, Eric Thames (2015 season, 47 homers and 40 steals), the only player in the history of the KBO league, was truly great. Thames succeeded in at least 30-30 games in 2015, and then 40-40 games in 140 games of the season 스포츠토토. There is no rule that says Kim Do-young can play 40-40 games faster than Thames this year. Above all, 21-year-old age and youth are the weapons.
