Kim Do Young, Weiss → Barnes → Heart? Why do you keep meeting foreign Aces..."Native first 40-40." I don't allow it easily
Kim Do Young, Weiss → Barnes → Heart? Why do you keep meeting foreign Aces..."Native first 40-40." I don't allow it easily
Blog Article
KIA Tigers infielder Kim Do-young will continue his challenge of 40 homers and 40 steals for the first time in Korea in the remaining games of the regular season. With only two homers to go, chances are high that Kim will face off against foreign starting aces in the remaining three games. With such an atmosphere in which Kim would not easily allow a milestone, will Kim overcome such difficulties to reach the top of 40 homers and 40 steals for this season.
Kim Do-young started against the Gwangju Samsung Lions in the "2024 Shinhan Sol Bank KBO League" held on the 23rd and hit his 38th home run of the season as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first inning. Kim Do-young, who succeeded in stealing 40 for the season, now has only two home runs left at the 40-40 steal mark of the season.스포츠토토
The only player who achieved 40 home runs and 40 steals in this season in the KBO League was Eric Thames, a foreign hitter with the NC Dinos in 2015. At the time, Thames achieved a milestone with his 40th stolen base of this season and held a ceremony to select the second base. In a recent interview, Kim Do-young also expressed his hope to recreate the ceremony to select the base like Thames.
However, as Kim achieved 40 steals in the season first, it will be difficult to reenact the ceremony to select the base. Now, Kim plans to refrain from trying to steal bases in order to prevent injury in the remaining games.
KIA manager Lee Bum-ho met with reporters on the 24th and said, "(Kim Do-young) is a person who runs out instinctively if the opponent doesn't check him, but I try not to steal as much as possible. I was saving the words, "Don't steal (the steal). Otherwise, I would have done up to 60," adding, "This is the first full-time season, and there are next year and the year after next. As I have a lot of work to do in the future, I will try to go with a little bit of restraint."
"Since he stands out in other areas, it can be good for the team as well if he puts strength on the offensive side while arranging his physical strength. You may have seen him running base yesterday (23rd), but it doesn't make much difference whether Doyoung is at first base or second base. He said, "I'm an easy (home) player," adding, "I'm going to prepare for the Korean Series without trying to steal a base as I have to prepare for an injury."
Kim Do-young also played leadoff in the match against Gwangju Samsung on the 24th and the Gwangju Lotte Giants on the 25th, aiming for a home run. However, the home run that Kim Do-young and KIA fans desperately wanted did not come out for two consecutive days. Kim Do-young soothed his regret for not making a home run by playing multi-hit games for two consecutive days.
Now, Kim has only three games to play. KIA will hold two consecutive away games against Daejeon Hanwha Eagles on Sunday, Sajik Lotte on Sunday, and conclude the regular season with the game against Gwangju NC Dinosaurs on Sunday. Ideally, the team would hit its 39th homer of the season during an away game and then its 40th homer of the season in the final game of the regular season, completing a milestone.
However, the starting pitchers that Kim Do-young is expected to meet are not easy. First, Kim Do-young will face Ryan Weiss in the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 27th. Weiss, who shines the most in Hanwha's starting lineup in the second half of the year, pitched well against KIA on the 4th with three hits, eight strikeouts, and one run in 7.2 innings. Of course, Kim Do-young has enough room to look forward to as he remembers hitting a home run against Weiss.
Afterwards, he will meet Charlie Barnes in the starting rotation at the match against Lotte in Sajik on Saturday. Kim had one hit and three strikeouts from eight times at bat this season, but that one hit was a home run. There is also a possibility that he could target Lotte's bullpen, which has lost some strength recently.
Finally, there is a possibility that he will meet NC ace Kyle Hart in the final home game. Hart, who started on the 25th, can play in the match against Gwangju KIA on the 30th if he chooses to take the final mound after a four-day break. If so, NC can end the season by raising Eric Jokish in the final regular season game (against Changwon Lotte) on October 1.
If this scenario goes accordingly, Kim Do-young will have the bad luck of meeting all the foreign ace pitchers in the remaining three games. However, if this crisis is overcome, Kim Do-young's record of 40 home runs and 40 steals in the season could shine even more. Attention is focusing on whether Kim Do-young will be able to succeed in 40 home runs and 40 steals in the first season in Korea with two more home runs without missing this golden opportunity.