Now he has two homers in two games. KIA Tigers’ Kim Do-young will challenge 40-40 once again for the first time as a Korean player.
Kim Do-young is scheduled to play in a game against the Lotte Giants of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Sunday. He announced Yoon Young-chul (7-4, 4.14 ERA) for KIA and Charlie Barnes (9-6, 3.16 ERA) for Lotte.
Kim had a disappointing day in the match against the Hanwha Eagles on Sunday. He was tied to Hanwha starters Ryan Weiss (no hits in three at-bats) and Han Seung-hyuk (no hits in one at-bats), and had no hits in four at-bats in total. He alternately recorded ground balls, balls on the ground and balls, failing to sustain his batting performance in recent months. With key batter Kim Do-young silent, Kia also lost to Hanwha 0-8.
With Kia having finished 142 games, Kim maintained 38 homers to 40 steals, and still has two homers to go until 40 to 40. He has remained silent for three consecutive games since the game against the Samsung Lions on Sunday with one homer to one steal. He has not been in a bad condition, as he had multiple hits on Monday and Saturday except for the game against the Hanwha Eagles. However, due to a slight deviation in the timing of pitches heading to the outfield, his performance did not come to fruition.
Leaving the disappointment behind, Kim will now play in the last two games of the regular season. KIA will have its final match with the NC Dinos after having a showdown with the Lotte Giants in Busan on Saturday. Kim had a batting average of 0.386 (22 hits in 57 at-bats) with three homers and eight RBIs against the Lotte Giants, and a batting average of 0.434 (23 hits in 53 at-bats) with four homers and 14 RBIs against the NC Dinosaurs of 1.266.
However, the variables are Lotte’s starting pitcher and Sajik’s fence. Barnes, who was expected to be the starting pitcher on Friday, is one of Kim Do-young’s natural enemies. Kim had three hits, one homer, one walk, and six RBIs in 18 times at bat from 2022 to this year.
As the best hitter in the league this year, Kim also slowed down by posting one hit, one homer and three strikeouts from eight times at bat against Barnes. On top of that, the fact that he has to pass the 6-meter-high “Sajik Monster” in Korea also poses a negative condition for Kim, who is aiming for a home run.
Still, what is positive is that Kim has found a clue to his goal in his most recent showdown with Barnes. On June 22, Kim preheated himself to strike out swinging in the first inning against Barnes, before winning by decision by walking in the fourth inning, stealing a base and hitting a home run in the sixth inning.
At bat in the sixth inning, Kim overcame an 0-for-7 deficit after a close game of full count. He strongly pushed Barnes’ changeup, and hit his 32nd homer for this season over the right fence. If he recovers his good memories, good results can follow this time as well.
This season, Kim has a batting average of 0.347 (186 hits in 536 at-bats) with 38 home runs, 107 RBIs and an OPS of 1.070 in 139 games. He has been listed in top 8 in all eight categories of hitting the KBO League awards, including two wins in scoring and slugging percentage (0.651), solidifying his status as “zero MVP.”
Kim Do-young now wants to conquer the 40-40 mark and leave another legend. Attention is focusing on each of Kim Do-young’s at-bats in the remaining two games. 스포츠토토
