KIA Tigers' "Genius Boy" Kim Do-young has led the team to win the regular season for the first time in seven years since 2017 along with achieving a career high this season. Kim Do-young has even expressed his ambitious goal of ending this year with a Korean Series victory and establishing the KIA Tigers dynasty next year.
KIA lost 0-2 at Munhak SSG Landers on Sept. 17. However, on the same day, the runner-up Samsung Lions lost to the Doosan Bears, confirming KIA's regular-season win. KIA has secured its seventh regular-season win ever, except for the previous and latter leagues and the two biggest leagues.
The main driving force behind KIA's win in the regular season is its overwhelming firepower. Kia has even been compared with the 2017 team's batters, who won the title seven years ago this season. KIA's batting average for this season is 31.17, which is close to the 2017's WAR of 31.48. According to the team's wRC+ (adjusted scoring ability), the team's batting average for the 2024 season (115.8) is even higher than the team's batting average for the 2017 season (113.7).
The same applies to other indicators. Compared to 2017, KIA's batting average (0.302-2024 0.301) and the on-base percentage (0.370-2024) and the team's slugging percentage (0.469-2024 in 2017) are all remarkably similar.
The biggest difference, of course, is whether Kim has played or not. No other team has performed as crazy as Kim in the 2017 lineup. Kim, who has 37 homers and 39 steals this season, is spending the Monster season challenging himself with 40 homers and 40 steals in his first season as a native player.
Kia is also the only team that scored 800 points (818 points) in this season. At the center of the team's scoring position is Kim Do-young. With 134 points in this season, Kim is on the verge of breaking the KBO league's all-time record of 135 points in 2014.
"Honestly, it doesn't feel real. I can't believe it. I've never seen them so happy and overwhelmed," Kim said after the regular season's victory ceremony. "It was amazing," Kim said. "I wanted to win, but the game went well. Everyone was so happy as if they hit a home run. (Park) Chan-ho said even before the game ended, "I feel like I'm about to cry. I should cry together." "I felt that winning was really difficult," he said with a smile.
Kim Do-young continued to feel calm despite her age and years of experience in winning her first championship.
"There were so many difficult moments this season," Kim Do-young said. "On the contrary, I felt more stressed and pressured when I was No. 1 than No. 5. I felt again that the weight of No. 1 was really heavy and difficult. Still, it was good to win an important showdown in the middle of the season and maintain the No. 1 position. It was a strong season for the strong team. It was thanks to veteran seniors who solved it when it was important. When (Choi) Hyung-woo was absent, the sweep win against LG in August was the most memorable. I was very grateful to him, too, but as a result, I was able to take a step closer to winning the championship," he nodded.
Kim Do-young now wants to seal the league MVP award with a challenge of 40 home runs and 40 steals for the rest of the season.
"I have to obey the coach's wishes, but personally, I want to play until the last game of the season," Kim said. Recently, the coach also told me that I can confidently hit the ball in the three-ball count. I think I can play the rest of the at-bat with a more comfortable mind. Winning the championship has not changed anything. Of course, it's not a chance that comes often, so it's true that I want to win the MVP award in the league."
Along with winning the Korean Series, Kim Do-young did not hide his ambitious goal of setting up the Tigers dynasty from next season.
먹튀검증 "When I was watching the fall baseball game two years ago, I realized that it was a great stage where it was difficult to have a single hit," Kim said. "I even wanted to run as a pinch runner. I even imagined a Korean Series, but if I win the regular season and fail to win the Korean Series, it means nothing to me. I will prepare well according to my routine," Kim said. "I am playing the full-time season with a good record this year without getting hurt. On top of that, my team won the title and the success of the KBO league has doubled my joy. I will continue to be No. 1. As long as I am here, I want to build the dynasty of the KIA Tigers."