‘Baby tiger’ Kim Do-young (20-KIA Tigers) grew up to be a ‘beast’.
He is not intimidated by the ‘former big leaguers’ who represent Korean baseball.
In the KBO this year, Kim is the only batter to have hit home runs against both Ryu Hyun-jin (37-Hanwha Eagles) and Kim Kwang-hyun (35-SSG Landers).
The ace-like hitter became the first KBO player to hit 10 home runs and 10 doubles in a month in April, and then completed the 20-homer, 20-double feat before the first half was over.
In the top of the fourth inning of Game 1 of the KBO’s home doubleheader against Hanwha on April 23 at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, South Korea, Kim came to bat with a 5-0 deficit and took advantage of Ryu Hyun-jin’s “main weapon,” a changeup, to hit a solo arch over the center field fence. It was his 20th home run of the season.
Kim, who already had 22 stolen bases, became the 57th member of the 20-20 Club in KBO history with 20 home runs.
He is only the fifth player in KBO history to achieve 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the first half of the season, joining Park Jae-hong in 1996 and 2000, Lee Byung-kyu in 1999 and Eric Thames in 2015.
At the age of 20 years, 8 months, and 21 days, Kim became the second-youngest player ever to reach the 20-homer, 20-double club, behind only Kim Jae-hyun, who joined the 20-20 club in 1994 at 18 years, 11 months, and 5 days.
The 20-homer, 20-double club is a point of pride for the former big leaguer Ryu Hyun-jin.
Kim Do-young, who faced Ryu for the first time that day, went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs to take advantage of the “best Korean pitcher of the 21st century.
Kim’s first professional hit came against Kim Kwang-hyun.
On April 9, 2022, Kim’s first day as a professional, he hit a fastball off Kim Kwang-hyun in Incheon, South Korea.
Kim, who was very strong against Kim Kwang-hyun last year, going 5-for-11 (.455 batting average), did not hit a home run, but on April 16 of this year against SSG, he took Kim Kwang-hyun’s “main weapon” slider for a solo arch in the middle of the wall.
Kim went 6-for-14 (.429 batting average) with one home run and one RBI against Kim Kwang-hyun.
As of the 24th, Kim is batting .341 with 20 home runs, 56 RBIs, 22 doubles, and a 1.010 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage).
He ranks sixth in batting average, tied for second in home runs, seventh in stolen bases, and second in OPS.
He has competition for the individual title, but he’s alone in the 30-homer, 30-steal race.
In the history of the KBO, six players have achieved the 30-homer, 30-steal mark a total of eight times.
Park Jae-hong became the first KBO player to hit 30 home runs and 30 doubles in 1996, and he repeated the feat in 1998 and 2000.
Kim’s role model, former LG Twins coach Lee Jong-beom, completed the feat in 1997, current Samsung Lions manager Lee Byung-kyu in 1999, and Donggang University coach Hong Hyun-woo in 1999.
Among foreign hitters, Jay Davis (1999) and Themz (2015) became members of the 30-30 club, with Themz becoming the first KBO player to hit 40 homers and 40 doubles in 2015.
If Kim doesn’t feel the pressure to steal bases, he could become the first KBO player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in nine years since Thames in 2015.
Kim could become the first Korean player since Park Jae-hong in 2000 to hit 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 24 years. 바카라사이트 순위