Kia Tigers’ “genius hitter” Kim Do-young (21) has surpassed Yang Joon-hyuk (55). The next target is Hong Hyun-woo (52).
In the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League SSG Landers held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on Sunday, Kim started the game as the third batter and third baseman, and recorded one hit, one homer, two RBIs, two runs and one stolen base from three times at bat. KIA led by Kim Do-young’s performance won its second consecutive game by beating SSG 7-6.
He hit a home run from his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning. With one out and runners on the first base, he hit a 140-km/h fastball at the second pitch by SSG starter Song Young-jin, and hit a 125-meter first two-run shot over the left fence. It was his 33rd home run for this season.
With this home run, Kim Do-young broke the record of the youngest home run (32) recorded by the current Doosan Bears coach Lee Seung-yeop (21 years and 1 month) when he was the Samsung Lions in 1997.
The Tigers also have a record in history. Kim Do-young, who tied for sixth with Yang Joon-hyuk in 1999 and Preston Tucker in 2020 before the game, tied for fourth with his 33rd homerun (Choi Hee-seop in 2009 and Lee Beom-ho in 2016).
Now, Hong Hyun-woo (34 homers in 1999), Kim Sang-hyun (36 homers in 2009), and Tracy Sanders (40 homers in 1999) are the only players left in the Tigers’ history to have more homers than Kim Do-young in a single season. With Kia having played 123 games, Kim has continued his pace of 38.6 homers based on 144 games. It seems a bit far away from Kim Do-young, who is good at hitting 40 homers, is not just impossible.
On the day, Kim also set the Tigers’ record of No. 1. He added two more points to score 119 points in the season, surpassing Roger Bernadina (118 points) in 2017 to rank No. 1 in the number of points scored in a season for the Tigers.
In another batting record category, Kim is aiming for the Tigers’ best ever. Currently, Kim has the highest slugging percentage in the league at 0.639. He is tied with Kim Sang-hyun (0.639), the 2009 season MVP who recorded the highest slugging percentage in a season in the Tigers’ history.
If Kim maintains his slugging percentage or increases his slugging percentage, he will rank No. 1 in the Tigers’ history. Kim is ranking first with his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.058 for the season, beating Kim Bong-yeon (1.041), who was ranked first in 1982. Chances are high that he will also set a new record in this category. 먹튀검증
Kim Do-young, who has just been in his first full-time season as a professional in his third year, is setting a new record that will remain in the history of the KBO League and Tigers. He, who received attention as the “second Lee Jong-beom” when he joined the team, is moving toward the “first Kim Do-young” just three years after his debut.
