Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers), who has been blowing up the KBO League with his exceptional batting talent, has had the misfortune of reaching the 30-error plateau after a series of errors on defense.
Kim started at third base in the final game of the season (Game 16) against the Doosan Bears of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, on April 19 and went 1-for-4 with one run scored, one run batted in, and one walk.
His performance at the plate was spectacular. From his first at-bat, he wowed the Kia fans who filled the third-base bleachers with a huge swing. He led off the first inning with a walk, and on a 0B-1S pitch, he took a two-pitch 128-kilometer slider from Doosan starter Choi Seung-yong for a three-run homer over the center field fence. “I thought the pitch went over,” Choi said after the game.
After Park Chan-ho drew a walk and stole second to put runners on second and third, Kim Sun-bin calmly hit a grounder to second base that Kim Do-young took advantage of to score the go-ahead run.
With the run, Kim reached the 135-run plateau, tying the KBO record for most runs scored in a single season. It was a moment that equaled Nexen Heroes’ Seo Gun-chang’s all-time single-season record of 135 points in 2014.
After hitting back-to-back infield singles in the third and fifth innings,
Kim drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh inning. Then, in the top of the ninth inning, with runners on first and second, he hit a fly ball to right field to end the game.
Kim, who is three home runs and one stolen base away from becoming the first Korean player to reach 40 (home runs)-40 (stolen bases), 토토사이트 received enthusiastic support from the KIA fans. Every time he stepped into the batter’s box, a huge cheer erupted from the third base, and every time he hit a ball, the fans screamed as if he had hit a home run.
But the defense didn’t look like the superstar you’d expect from a baseball regular-season MVP. The first error came in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on first and third and two outs, Lee Yoo-chan hit a ball high over the mound, and as the shortstop, third baseman, and first baseman gathered around, third baseman Kim Do-young and first baseman Byun Woo-hyuk delayed the catch, causing the ball to fall to the ground. Kim stuck out his glove, but the catch was not made and was recorded as an error. Kang Seung-ho scored from third base.
The defense in the sixth inning was also disappointing.
With the bases loaded, Heo Kyung-min’s grounder to second base was dropped behind the plate, allowing Jeong Soo-bin to score. The ball hit his glove and slowed down dramatically, allowing the speedy Soo-bin to steal third and quickly reach home. Kim reached the 30-error plateau for the season.
Kim leads the 2024 season in errors by a wide margin. With two more on the day, he widened his lead over second-place Park Seung-wook of the Lotte Giants (21) to nine.
Kim also holds the honor of having the most errors in a single season since 2001. Kim Joo-won of the NC Dinos in 2023 (29) and Kim Hye-sung of the Kiwoom Heroes in 2021 (29) were the previous record holders, but Kim quickly surpassed them.