“I almost cried” October 2nd that last year’s KIA super rookie couldn’t forget 

“I almost cried. I could barely stop the tears.”

Kim Do-yeong (20), who was much loved by KIA fans as a super rookie last year, recalled the Daejeon Hanwha match on October 2, held on her birthday, as the most unforgettable scene.

In the game where KIA won 10-2 against Hanwha, Kim Do-young appeared on the ground only in the bottom of the 9th inning, less than 15 minutes. He came in in place of shortstop Park Chan-ho, and even that was a common regular season game in which he had to be content with adding one more game because the ball did not come to him. However, at this time, the fans’ happy birthday song heard from the third base crowd made the super rookie cry.

On the 18th (Korean time), Kim Do-young finished the KIA spring camp training at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA and said, “It was the day we had a match against Hanwha in Daejeon. I almost cried, so I barely blocked it. I think it was a day when I was really thankful to the fans as it made me think a lot.”

In the 2022 rookie draft, when the first nomination system was last implemented two years ago, KIA nominated Kim Do-young, a senior at Dongsung High School in Gwangju. He received explosive attention with a batting average of 40.00% in the demonstration game along with the flashy modifier Lee Jong-beom, but he gradually disappeared from the ground after a sluggish batting average of 0.179 in April.

Kim Do-young wants to repay 200% for that expectation and the love he received from fans last year. Regarding his impression of becoming coach Kim Jong-guk’s key player, he said, “I saw it as an article. I thought that the coach had not yet given up on me, so I felt that I had to do better.” He overcame his low self-esteem by saying, “It’s different, I was born with it.”

Kim Do-young himself has high expectations for this season. He established his batting form to some extent in the second half of last year and achieved a batting average of 0.283. In this spring camp, he found stability in both shortstop and third base defense with the teachings of senior infielders.

Kim Do-young said, “I thought it was difficult to hit (last year), but I also thought that it would be worth trying if I did well. So, this year seems to be a year in which I have expectations for myself and feel that I will do well. Opportunities come easily안전놀이터. It’s not, so I’m working hard to seize that opportunity.”

I had big dreams. While sparingly saying that this year’s goal is to “establish a place in the first team as soon as possible,” when asked which batting average or home run he is aiming for, he said, “I’m the greedy type, so honestly, I want to catch both rabbits. They say it’s very difficult to aim for everything, but I still want to try once.”

Kim Do-young wants to repay 200% for that expectation and the love he received from fans last year. Regarding his impression of becoming coach Kim Jong-guk’s key player, he said, “I saw it as an article. I thought that the coach had not yet given up on me, so I felt that I had to do better.” He overcame his low self-esteem by saying, “It’s different, I was born with it.”

Kim Do-young himself has high expectations for this season. He established his batting form to some extent in the second half of last year and achieved a batting average of 0.283. In this spring camp, he found stability in both shortstop and third base defense with the teachings of senior infielders.

Kim Do-young said, “I thought it was difficult to hit (last year), but I also thought that it would be worth trying if I did well. So, this year seems to be a year in which I have expectations for myself and feel that I will do well. Opportunities come easily. It’s not, so I’m working hard to seize that opportunity.”

I had big dreams. While sparingly saying that this year’s goal is to “establish a place in the first team as soon as possible,” when asked which batting average or home run he is aiming for, he said, “I’m the greedy type, so honestly, I want to catch both rabbits. They say it’s very difficult to aim for everything, but I still want to try once.”

However, Kim Do-young, who got rid of the super rookie label, is attracting attention again this season. KIA officials pointed out Kim Do-young as one of the most prominent players in this Arizona spring camp. KIA coach Kim Jong-guk picked Kim Do-young as the key player for the 2023 season.