Doosan Bears catcher Kim Ki-yeon is establishing himself as the second catcher in the KBO. “I think he’ll play more as a designated hitter,” said Yang Ji-jee, the starting catcher.
Doosan and LG played the ‘Jamsil Rivalry Game’ at Jamsil Stadium on March 3. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yup named Kim Ki-yeon as the catcher in the starting lineup. In the three-game series against LG in April, Yang wore a catcher’s mask for all three games, but on this day, he was the designated hitter.
Lee said before the game, “Will-ji went out for three games in a row (against Samsung). In fact, he can’t go out for six games in a row, so last time (Kim) Yoo-sung showed a better performance, so I naturally rested him, and Ki Yeon-i is also in good shape, not in a bad condition, so I thought about a lot of things while utilizing Ki Yeon-i’s strengths and sent him out.”
On April 26 against Hanwha in Daejeon, Ki-yeon formed a battery with Kim Yoo-seong and helped the second-year pitcher win his first professional start. 안전놀이터 He was reunited with starter Kim Yoo-seong.
“He’s doing a great job right now,” Lee said.
For us, we don’t have (Jang) Seung-hyun right now, so Ki-yeon has come in and is doing a good job defensively, has good communication with the pitchers, and is doing a good job at the plate, so we’re happy with his utilization right now,” Lee said.
Kim was selected by LG in the fourth round (34th overall) of the second round of the 2016 Korean Professional Baseball Draft. He appeared in two games in 2018, 12 games in 2022, and 28 games in 2023. Early last year, LG manager Yoon Kyung-yup gave Kim a chance by using him as the second catcher, but he failed to capitalize on the opportunity and was pushed aside by veteran Heo Do-hwan.
In the second round of the draft last November, Doosan, looking to add a backup catcher, selected Kim in the first round. It paid LG 400 million won for the first-rounder.
Kim was called up to the first team in early April when Jang Seung-hyun was sidelined with a calf contusion, and Kim seized the opportunity. Kim Ki-yeon wore the catcher’s mask when Yang Ji-ji needed to be rested with a nagging injury. He started at catcher for four consecutive games from April 24-27 when Yang suffered a wrist contusion. In those four games, Kim also contributed offensively, batting 4-for-15 (6 RBI) with two doubles and three runs scored.
Kim didn’t get much going at the plate in the third game against LG, going 0-for-4, but she did a good job of reading the pitchers.
The game was a total team effort from starter Kim Yoo-seong to the bullpen. Starting in the fourth inning, Park Chi-guk (⅔ scoreless innings), Lee Byung-heon (1 1/3 scoreless innings), Kim Kang-ryul (1 scoreless inning), Choi Ji-kang (1 scoreless inning), and Hong Gun-hee (1 scoreless inning) followed.
Yang Ji, who played as the designated hitter and hit a two-run single in the third inning, was full of praise for Kim. After the game, Yang praised his teammates, saying, “I think we were able to get a really valuable victory today because we played well with Yoo Seong, the other pitchers, and Kihyun.”
In particular, he praised Kim Ki-yeon, who played catcher, saying, “He’s doing so well right now that I have nothing but praise for him. 온라인카지노사이트 I was able to focus on hitting a little more comfortably, and I think the percentage of designated hitters will increase,” he said with a smile, adding, ‘Kihyun is doing well, hitting the ball well and leading off a lot, so I feel very good.’