All of the villages called KIA raised Kim Do-young... Three Years, Now, KS Confirms Fruition

All of the villages called KIA raised Kim Do-young... Three Years, Now, KS Confirms Fruition

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Kim Do-young (21) was recognized as the best player in the KBO League this year. He not only showed outstanding performance but also outstanding popularity. It has been a long time since a player's performance in the league has been highlighted so intensively. It was the pride of KIA and the treasure of the KBO League.

In 141 games of the regular season this year, Kim had a batting average of 0.347, 38 homers, 109 RBIs, 40 steals, 143 points, and 1.067 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He became the youngest and youngest player ever to achieve 30 homers and 30 steals, and sought to join the KBO League for the second time until the end of the season. Rather, Kim's other balanced record was even overlooked due to his 40-40 challenge.

However, this stellar record has contained the frustration and learning of the past two years. Kim, who received KIA's first-round pick in 2022 after the "Choice of the Century" that Moon and Kim weighed, played in 103 games in his rookie season and only posted a batting average of 0.237. While his outstanding potential was acknowledged, the wall of the first team was also quite high. He was not a steady main player like he is now.

Ahead of the 2023 season, he was considered the most advanced fielder, but the injury has hampered his performance. He injured his foot right after the opening of the season and was out for a long time. He showed a certain level of improvement by posting a batting average of 0.303, but played in only 84 games. He can look back calmly now, but it was quite a challenge for Kim at the time.

KIA manager Lee Bum-ho, who has watched all of this process, not only "high praise" Kim Do-young's performance this year, but also says it is not a big deal on his own. Kim Do-young himself tried a lot, but the driving force of the rapid growth was that the entire team created a platform for Kim Do-young to grow.

Manager Lee said, "Kim Do-young was able to grow up because he was one of nine." KIA's batting lineup was not at a bad level in 2022, and they competed for the top of the league in 2023. Kim Do-young's weight was not that big. Rather, it helped Kim Do-young's psychological stability and growth. It was because he did not have to take responsibility for everything. Sometimes he could play comfortably by trusting his seniors. Manager Lee recalled, "Even if Kim Do-young wasn't good, it wasn't that obvious. I could have excluded him when he was in a bad situation."

Coach Lee believes that Kim Do-young's two years as a whole team served as an opportunity for good growth, and that the player's efforts and talents met and exploded. "I was able to achieve good results this year by gaining experience and learning while getting hurt," coach Lee said. "It's the opposite to keep good prospects in the second division. Then the player becomes a second-tier player. It's not about making and writing everything, but about breaking out one by one," he said, praising Kim Do-young for taking such a step calmly and successfully.

After growing up in the team for two years, Kim has become the mainstay of leading the team's batting lineup this year. Apart from that, other players also showed good performances, so she was able to achieve good results without any special obsession to "do everything." Having grown to become the best player in the league, Kim is now preparing for her first postseason. She has shown good performance from practice games and has shown off her good condition. Expectations can also grow. Attention is also focusing on how Kim will perform in big games.

He was strong this year against Samsung, which has become a partner of the Korean Series. In 16 games with Samsung this year, his batting average was not that high at 0.305, but he garnered 14 walks and five of his 18 hits were homers while striking out 11. Only the batting average fell, but the on-base plus home run ratio were high. In seven games held in Daegu, he displayed a batting average of 0.345 and three homers. This is why we can pin our hope on Kim Do-young's bat. 메이저사이트

KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said, "This time, the Korean Series can be divided in slugging power. That is why we are paying attention to Kim Do-young, who has a high ratio of double or more as well as homeruns. And if the KIA lineup can play evenly as it has done over the past three years and relieve the burden on Kim Do-young, it is perfect.