Kim Do-young (20, KIA Tigers), who tasted the hot taste of professional baseball as a newbie last year, said that his self-esteem fell, but gradually improved over time.
He must have been so, he announced the birth of a star by hitting 2 home runs and 19 hits with a batting average of 0.432 in the demonstration game, but in the regular league, when the lid was opened, he suffered a sudden drop, so his stomach was charred.
Kim Do-young finished the 2022 season with a batting average of 0.237, 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
His results fell far short of his expectations. Of course, he didn’t even have a built-in seat.
Kim Do-young, who met with reporters on the 18th (Korean time) at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA, where KIA’s spring camp was set up, explained that he regained his self-esteem by casting the mantra “I am different from others” and “I am born”. did.
Kim Do-yeong struggled with a batting average of 0.220 in the first half of last year, but rebounded to a batting average of 0.283 in the second half after he had adjusted to some degree.
In the 36 games in the second half after the All-Star Game, Kim Do-young was reborn.
KIA coach Kim Jong-guk declared the strengthening of the depth of the infield and without hesitation picked Kim Do-young, a second-year player, as the key player in the batting line and defense this year.
It is expected that if Kim Do-young takes on the starting third baseman or shortstop, it will lead to a synergistic effect throughout the team as it will be reorganized into a competitive system with Park Chan-ho (shortstop) and Ryu Ji-hyeok (third baseman).
It feels like Kim Do-young’s status has risen even more than last year, when he stayed with grades that didn’t fit the modifier ‘large newcomer’.
Kim Do-young, who heard about director Kim’s expectations through the media, smiled shyly, saying, “I thought (the director) ‘you still expect me’ and ‘you haven’t given up’.”
He then added, “I think baseball will be fun this year,” as if he gained great confidence from the experience of hitting the floor in the second half of last year.
Last year, Kim Do-young was unable to participate in the spring camp held in Korea due to a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), but this year, he will have his first winter training in a proper professional.
Kim Do-young said, “Every day of training is fun and very happy.”
I don’t have enough training time안전놀이터 because I have to watch both the third baseman and shortstop defense. In KIA’s off-duty training, Kim Do-young keeps the ground until the end every day, to the extent that he missed only two times as of this day.
Kim Do-young said, “Senior Kim Seon-bin and Ryu Ji-hyeok teach me how to throw well.”
Hitting coach Lee Beom-ho, a former third baseman, spares no advice on Kim Do-young’s hitting and defense.
Coach Lee orders Kim Do-yeong to “hit naturally as long as the left shoulder opens when you hit with strength,” and also tells him how to defend bunts in defense.
In particular, Kim Do-young expressed confidence that his hitting will be better than last year.
Kim Do-young, who said, “I am confident enough to hit farther than anyone else, to the extent that senior Choi Hyung-woo told me, ‘What kind of power do you have? He predicted a hot bat.
Kim Do-young’s goal this year is to secure a place at either third base or shortstop. Then, he predicted that his batting performance would naturally rise.
Uncharacteristically for a young player these days, Doyoung Kim said that after his training is over, he enjoys taking a bath and ‘bruising himself’. He also said that he quit electronic entertainment along with joining his professional club.
He also eats breakfast every day, starting at 6:30 during spring camp. Even in the regular league, which focuses on night games, he eats breakfast, and his posture as a professional player is 100 points.