(Exports News Suwon and Yoo Joon-sang) The KIA Tigers proved themselves why they desperately found the name “Kim Do-young” for more than 메이저놀이터 two months. Kim Do-young became the team’s third consecutive victory with her multi-hit performance.
KIA won 6-2 in Game 5 of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 7th and made 33 wins, 1 draw and 38 losses (0.465) of the season. The eighth-ranked KIA, which won three consecutive games, completely erased the gap with the seventh-ranked KT.
On the mound, Kim Jae-yeol, who took the mound as the second pitcher, pitched two runs in four innings, while there were three players who played multi-hits in the batters. Socrates Brito, Park Chan-ho, and Kim Do-young contributed greatly to the team’s victory with two hits.
Kim Do-young, who set up a table setter with Choi Won-joon, recorded two hits and two RBIs in five at-bats. In the top of the eighth inning, he succeeded in stealing after a surprise bunt with one out, and stepped home when Choi Hyung-woo hit a left-handed hit at second base with two outs. At the top of the ninth inning, he secured the victory with a two-run double that hit the right fence directly at the first and third bases with two outs. Half of the team’s six points were scored by Kim Do-young.
KIA manager Kim Jong-kook also praised Kim Do-young, saying, “It was good to connect Choi Hyung-woo’s valuable winning RBI and Choi Won-joon’s additional RBI to Kim Do-young’s wedge RBI whenever the team needed it.”
After the game, Kim Do-young said, “I think I recovered while resting. There was a time when it didn’t work out, but I’m satisfied with reducing the period. “Through last year’s experience, I was able to get out of the slump quickly by thinking about it,” he said adding, “I had a decisive opportunity before, but I missed it, so I was grinding my teeth behind the scenes.” Still, I think I solved it because the decisive moment came just in time,” he said.
As for the surprise bunt scene, “I saw a flow or something. “I caught a good hit, and I thought about it because it didn’t hit me at the batter’s box, but I felt like the third baseman was a little behind me, so I think I tried (a surprise bunt) right away,” he looked back.
Kim Do-young, who joined KIA as the first designation last year, played in 103 games in his first year of debut, batting average of 53 at-bats, 0.237 with three home runs and 19 RBIs, OPS of 0.674. Hope to receive more than 100 games as a rookie
Kim Do-young said, “I should have done it because I was a rookie last year, but I think I fell deeply because I was only thinking about doing well. “I don’t care about the annual leave now, and I think I’ll get good results by continuing to take good parts in the second half of last year,” he said.
This season, “injury” has been a drag from the beginning. Kim Do-young was diagnosed with a left metatarsal fracture in the process of playing the opening two consecutive games against the SSG Landers from April 1 to 2, and was away for more than two months. Kim Do-young, who quickly boosted his sense of practice, has been swinging a hard blow with a batting average of 0.370 with two home runs and six RBIs in 46 at-bats and 17 hits in 10 games since his return, but he still feels a lot lacking in himself.
Kim Do-young said, “You shouldn’t be greedy because if you look at the process for no reason, you can’t care about the process,” adding, “I received mental counseling again today, but I only care about the results, and only bad results come out.” He said, “I think I thought so today because he always cared about the process and said the result was next.”
In the meantime, the player Kim Do-young mentioned was Choi Hyung-woo. Kim Do-young said, “(Choi) Hyung-woo said in an interview, “There is nothing to change even if Doyoung comes,” and I think I understood how he felt. I think I did it because I didn’t want to burden you. When I saw an interview with (Choi) Hyung-woo, I thought, “I can ease the burden,” he smiled.
Not only head coach Kim Jong-kook but also the entire team has been waiting for Kim Do-young’s return to revitalize the infield. Kim Do-young, who wants to live up to expectations, said, “Honestly, I was always thinking about going up when I got back to Sung-beom and the team was complete,” adding, “Since I became a complete team, my performance has been good so far, so I think I have only really got to go up.”
