By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) — The Kia Tigers’ superstar Kim Do-yeong fell two home runs shy of what would have been only the second 40-40 season in South Korean baseball Monday.
Kim batted 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, but did not homer in the Tigers’ 10-5 win over the NC Dinos in their final Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul.
Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers is greeted by teammates after scoring a run against the NC Dinos during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 30, 2024. (Yonhap)
He finished his third KBO season with 38 home runs and 40 stolen bases. Kim, who turns 21 on Wednesday, was trying to become the first player to put up at least 40 homers and 40 steals in a season since former Dinos slugger Eric Thames opened the 40-40 club in 2015. Thames had 47 homers and 40 steals then, and went on to win the regular-season MVP award.
Kim is a strong MVP candidate this year, after helping the Tigers post the best regular-season record and earn a direct ticket to the Korean Series.
Along with those gaudy homer and steal totals, Kim set a KBO single-season record with 143 runs scored. He finished third with a .347 batting average, second with 38 homers and tied for sixth with 109 RBIs.
He topped the KBO with a 1.067 on-base plus slugging, thanks to his league-leading .647 slugging percentage and a .420 on-base percentage, the third-highest mark.
Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers celebrates after hitting an RBI single against the NC Dinos during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 30, 2024. (Yonhap)
Kim set several other records this year.
In April, he recorded 10 homers and 14 steals to become the first KBO player to reach double figures in those two categories in a single month. He is also the youngest player to tally at least 30 homers, 30 steals and 100 runs.
Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers hits a flyball against the NC Dinos during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 30, 2024. (Yonhap)
In June, he became the fifth player to go 20-20 before the All-Star break. A month later, he became the first player to complete a natural cycle in four plate appearances, hitting a single, a double, a triple and a home run in order without being retired.
On Monday, he became the third player to finish a season with at least a .300 batting average, 30 homers, 30 steals, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored.
Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers (R) is greeted by teammate Park Chan-ho after flying out against the NC Dinos during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 30, 2024. (Yonhap)
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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