KIA Tigers infielder Kim Do-young hit his 33rd homer of this season, contributing to his team’s victory. He even set a meaningful record.
In Game 14 of this season against the SSG Landers of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 28th, Kim started as the third batter and third baseman, and led his team to a 7-3 victory by scoring one hit (one home run), two RBIs, one walk, and two runs from three times at bat. He also surpassed Roger Bernadina (118 points) in 2017 and broke the Tigers franchise record for most runs scored in a single season.
Having had hits in six consecutive games before the game, Kim vigorously swung his bat from his first at-bat. At the bottom of the first inning, when the two teams were tying 0-0, he hit a fastball of 141 km/h on two pitches by SSG starting pitcher Song Young-jin, and fired a two-run shot to cross the left fence. It was the first time in six days since the game against the Lotte Giants in Gwangju on Sunday. Kim’s 33rd homer of this season.
Kim has set a new record for the most home runs in a single season as the youngest player in the KBO league at the age of 20 years, 10 months, and 26 days. The previous record was held by Lee Seung-yeop (21 years, 1 month) in 1997.
After walking with a walk in the bottom of the second inning, Kim grounded out to the third base in the top of the fourth inning, and got on base with a pitch ball in the bottom of the sixth inning. Afterwards, he advanced to the third base due to a stolen base and wild pitch from the opponent team, before scoring a run, displaying his presence. In his fourth at-bat, he retired with a fly ball to the second base, comforting himself with multiple outs.
After the game, Kim Do-young said, “I think I got a little bit of a hit now. People around me told me that I think I got a little bit of a hit, so I’m sure I’m getting better little by little,” adding, “I think it was important to figure out Song Young-jin (the opponent’s starter) before entering the game. Thinking more about how Song Young-jin was and playing at the batter’s box led to a good result.”
Regarding the record of the youngest single-season home run, he explained, “I knew it, but I forgot about it, but I knew it because the club’s public relations team told me about the record. Since I played 30-30, I thought I was just comfortably getting on base at bat without being conscious of it, but I got a good result.”
Kim did not forget to mention his club record. “Rather than breaking the Tigers’ record, I want to clear the league’s record, and I want to play baseball hard without getting hurt so that such records don’t come out often. It’s fun to break records, but I don’t think he thinks too much about them,” he said.
Kim has only six RBIs left until his 100th RBI in this season. “I think I am more conscious of 100 RBIs than playing 30-30. I know why RBIs are important, so I think I try to be more careful when I get an RBI opportunity and try to bring more runners in,” Kim said. “Since I have been playing No. 1 since I was an amateur player, I thought that I would come home when I got on base. Above all, I think I play base to score when I am on the floor. I always value scoring.” 메이저사이트
He added, “If I score and RBI together, I feel as good as hitting a home run, and I’m proud that I did what I had to do on that day. I think RBI feels better than scoring. Of course, it’s thrilling to score an important score, but since I’m the third hitter in my current position, I think RBI is more important than scoring.”
Kim Do-young also said, “I still want to fill 40 neatly, but I don’t have any consciousness. As I always say, I want to steal bases in important situations.” He did not hide his ambition to steal 40 bases.
Along with its victory, Kia also achieved a meaningful record of 1 million spectators at home. With 13,155 spectators entering the stadium, it became the second time since the opening of Gwangju-KIA Champions Field in 2014 and the first time in seven years since 2017. It has advanced the record by 11 games from 70 games in 2017 (against the Gwangju KT Wiz on Sept. 23).
Kia also has 24,615 players left in the club’s record of 1024,830 spectators set in 2017, and is likely to break the record of most sold out in home games if the current trend continues. Kia has sold out 21 times since the opening of the season (including when it was in a no-show arena).
“I think (the audience record) is more meaningful as I am doing well this year,” Kim Do-young said. “It is meaningful that the record came out like this in such a season, and I think we should play baseball so that people who always come to see baseball can think that we came well (to the baseball stadium).”
