KIA’s next-generation shortstop Kim Do-young (20), who was given the opportunity to play shortstop due to Park Chan-ho’s sudden finger injury, will return to third base for now. KIA, who has suffered consecutive losses, will refine its defensive formation and batting order before playing against Doosan in Gwangju on the 18th.
KIA announced the starting lineup ahead of the game against Doosan scheduled to be held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 18th. What is special is Kim Do-young’s ‘return to the Won University’. He returns to a familiar position: starting second and third baseman.
Kim Do-young, who suffered a foot injury in this year’s opening series and underwent long-term rehabilitation, showed a performance worthy of being evaluated as a talent representing the KBO league after his return. He was very active in attack as well as base running, adding strength to KIA’s batting lineup. However, there has been a recent change in location. This was due to a sudden injury to Park Chan-ho, who was the starting shortstop and leadoff in the second half of the season.
Chan-ho Park damaged the ligament of his left fourth finger while sliding headfirst to first base after hitting a grounder to shortstop in the 5th inning against Samsung in Daegu on the 12th. Since his hand is wearing a glove, there are no major problems with his defense and base running, so he remains in the first-team entry, but his batting is so loud that he has not yet been able to start for protection reasons. There were also predictions that it would take around three weeks for him to be able to hit normally following his injury. His full-time return is expected to take place sometime in late September or early October.
Accordingly, the player selected as his replacement was Kim Do-young. Kim Do-young, who was evaluated as a shortstop with outstanding talent in high school, became a professional player and stood at third base next to Park Chan-ho, the steadfast starting shortstop. However, with Chan-ho Park missing, KIA, which was in dire need of an alternative, believed in the talent of Kim Do-young, who had recently been on the rise in both offense and defense. Kim Do-young played as a shortstop in three consecutive games, from the Lotte game on the 13th to the Doosan game on the 17th. He also pulled one in the batting order and he stood at number one.안전놀이터
Coincidentally, he did not perform well after moving to the number 1 shortstop position. In the three games he played as the No. 1 shortstop, he went 0-for-12 with 1 walk. His overall batting quality also deteriorated. It was difficult to make a significant evaluation in the shortstop defense as he did not receive many balls, but there were concerns that he might be feeling pressured. His batting average this season, which was just under .300, also dropped to 0.287.
First of all, KIA coach Kim Jong-guk believes that the batting order does not have a significant impact on batting. Regarding this issue ahead of the Gwangju Doosan match on the 18th, Coach Kim laughed and said, “I would understand if you were the 4th hitter,” and then added, “A lot of strength is being put into the mechanics themselves these days rather than the batting order. After Daegu (against Samsung), I will try to hit a lot with my upper body. He pointed out the problem by saying, “I talked to the hitting coach. The upper body should be a little more concise, but the lower body should be used mainly and the swing should be accompanied by the lower body. I did a lot of upper body swings.”
Regardless of the burden of the batting order or the tendency of batting forward and backward, Kim Do-young’s hitting mechanism was collapsing even before he moved to shortstop. Regarding defense, he said, “There weren’t many batted balls. It’s hard to say anything in particular,” and only pointed out, “Because I prepared a lot as a third baseman, the batting quality will be different and the movement will be slightly different.”
Coach Kim said, “Kim Do-young will play third base for the time being,” and predicted that the shortstop position will be used according to the situation. On the 18th, Kim Gyu-seong will be the starting shortstop. Manager Kim explained, “Kim Gyu-sung has a lot of experience as a shortstop,” and “Park Chan-ho is in the second half, so he will operate according to the situation.”
The decision to send Kim Do-young to third base also appears to have taken into account the fact that problems have recently been revealed in the third base defense. After Park Chan-ho’s injury, KIA sent Kim Do-young to shortstop and Choi Jeong-yong and Byun Woo-hyuk as starting third basemen, but unfortunately both players committed errors. Just as Kim Do-young does not have much experience playing shortstop this year,
Accordingly, KIA has Choi Won-jun (center fielder) – Kim Do-young (third baseman) – Na Seong-beom (right fielder) – Choi Hyeong-woo (designated hitter) – Kim Seon-bin (second baseman) – Socrates (left fielder) – Byun Woo-hyuk (first baseman) – Han Jun-su (catcher) – Kim Gyu-seong (Shortstop) The batting order was organized in that order. Hwang Dong-ha will be the starting pitcher.
Manager Kim plans to have Hwang Dong-ha pitch only 4 innings, as he did in his previous appearance, and then mobilize the bullpen according to the situation. However, regarding Lim Ki-young, a key bullpen player who was at Deungnamhae Hospital around 1:00 PM on this day, he said, “He said he was doing it, but I think it will be difficult for him to play. He must have been paying a lot of attention and worrying about that (childbirth). I think it will not be easy today. “I think he will come out late and warm up, but I think Kiyoung should rest if possible,” he said, expressing his intention to refrain from competing.
Meanwhile, Mario Sanchez, who underwent rehabilitation after an elbow injury, had no particular problems after live pitching on the 17th, so he will play against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 21st as scheduled.