KIA Tigers infielder Kim Do-young, who made 2024 his year, wore the Korean Series championship ring for the first time since his professional debut.
KIA, led by head coach Lee Bum-ho, defeated the Samsung Lions 7-5 in Game 5 of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Korean Series (KS, best-of-seven series) at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 28th and achieved its 12th Korean Series title with 4 wins and 1 loss in the series.
Starting as the third batter and third baseman, Kim had one hit, one RBI, two walks and one run from three times at bat. Including the game on the day, Kim had four hits in 17 times at bat with a batting average of 0.235; one homer, five RBIs, one stolen base, and five walks.
“I feel twice as good as I did when I confirmed my regular season title,” Kim said after the game. “I feel like I have the whole world,” Kim said. “I think I put all my energy into the idea that I have to win today (28th) because I thought the momentum of Samsung hitters and pitchers was not bad.”
“I think there were many twists and turns. Now in my third year as a pro, some of my older brothers have not won a championship in more than 10 years, so I think I focused more on not hurting my team. I don’t think it was hard for me. I feel like everything that was hard for me just now has gone,” he said. “I didn’t show good performance in hitting, but I still feel good because I showed stable performance in defense. I thought I shouldn’t damage (the team) anymore, and even if I can’t hit, I decided to play defense in the Korean Series. I focused on defense for a short period of time.”
Kim Do-young, who showed outstanding hitting ability and fast feet with 38 home runs and 40 steals during the regular season this year, was satisfied with recording one stolen base in this series. There was a reason. “I knew there were good hitters behind me rather than stealing, and I also knew how important veteran seniors were in short-term games. I didn’t try to steal many bases because I thought I shouldn’t just run recklessly,” he explained.
The most important moment of the game was a showdown between Kim Do-young and Kim Yoon-soo, with two outs, in the bottom of the fifth inning when KIA was being dragged 3-5. Kim Do-young, who was at the disadvantage of ball count due to his first ball, second ball strike and third ball swing, continued his game calmly and selected nine balls from the full count.
When Kim Yun-su threw wildly, the gap between the two teams disappeared as second baseman Park Chan-ho joined the home ground following third baseman Kim Tae-gun. It was the moment when the tide of the game completely changed. KIA added one point each at the bottom of the sixth and eighth innings, and beat Samsung to win the game by two points.
“I thought it was the right time to win,” Kim said. “I think (that moment) was the best mindset at bat in this series. I think I just focused on what I should do. I thought I should not get a strikeout from a rookie, and I thought I could do it enough,” Kim said. “When I became a unfavorable ball count, I swung at the bat thinking, ‘This time, I decided to keep what I had to keep.”
Kim Do-young, who has drawn attention as a special talent since his days at Dongseong High School in Gwangju, joined KIA with the first nomination in 2022. He had 53 hits in 224 at-bats in 2022 with a batting average of 0.237 with three home runs and 19 RBIs with an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.674, and 103 hits in 340 at-bats in 84 games in 2023 with a batting average of 0.303 with seven home runs and 47 RBIs with an OPS of 0.824, and entered his third year this year. 토토사이트
Since the opening of the regular season, he has suffered ups and downs such as staying at a batting average of .100 for a month in March, but he has raised his pace since April and finished the season with a batting average of .347 with 38 home runs, 109 RBIs, 143 runs, and 40 steals OPS 1.067.
There have been technological advances, but psychological stability has also been a great help.
It was Lee Bum-ho who gave Kim strength. “I felt just as comfortable as when I was a coach,” Kim said. “Since you were the coach, I just did my best to my heart’s content. That’s why I’m always grateful to the coach,” Kim said. “When I wasn’t sure about myself last year, the coach gave me confidence that ‘you are the main player’ was the most helpful thing. I think those words made me who I am this year.”
Having enjoyed the joy of winning the Korean Series for the first time since her debut as a pro, Kim did not hide her ambition to win the second consecutive title. Furthermore, she expressed confidence in building the Tigers’ dynasty.
Kim Do-young said, “I think I will be able to make a dynasty. Some players were injured, but I think I was able to maintain my ranking because each player did his or her job well enough. When one player was absent, a player came out to fill the gap. Also, I think the teamwork of the team was good. Regardless of pitchers and fielders, I think we were a “one team” because we matched well. I really want to win next year as well.”
Kim Do-young, who ended the season successfully, will now join the national baseball team to participate in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12. “I will go with good energy and play my play that I couldn’t do at last year’s international competition to my heart’s content, and come back with a successful ending,” he said.
