This is why the '3:2 blockbuster trade' was announced! He proved his presence again, and even a single at-bat as a pinch-hitter was enough.

*This content was translated by AI.

Although the team lost, there was one hit that delighted Doosan Bears fans in the late innings.

On the 17th, Doosan lost 3-7 to the KIA Tigers in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game held at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

With this loss, Doosan finished with 5 wins, 1 tie, and 11 losses, failing to move out of 9th place in the league. Doosan will now attempt a comeback on the 18th at 5 p.m. against KIA, starting with left-handed pitcher Choi Seung-yong.

On this day, Doosan, trailing 0-5, scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to create momentum for a comeback. Then came the bottom of the 8th inning.

Leadoff hitter Son Ah-seop reached base due to a fielding error by the opposing shortstop. Subsequent batter Kang Seung-ho struck out on three pitches. When Lee Yu-chan came to bat, pinch-hitter Kim In-tae appeared and grounded out to second base. During this time, first baseman Son Ah-seop advanced to second base.

The next batter was Jo Su-haeng, who was batting ninth that day. At this point, Doosan called for another pinch-hitting substitution. It was the introduction of left-handed hitter Kim Min-seok.

The KIA pitcher was Jo Sang-woo. Kim Min-seok took the first pitch for a ball, then fouled the second pitch. The third pitch was a ball. He fouled off the fourth pitch, creating a 2-2 count. The fifth pitch was again a ball, resulting in a full count. The sixth pitch was fouled. Then came the seventh pitch. Kim Min-seok connected solidly with Jo Sang-woo's low slider, driving the ball down the right-field line and landing just inside the foul line.

At that moment, Son Ah-seop, the runner on second base, circled third base and easily scored. Simultaneously, Kim Min-seok touched first base and sprinted toward second base. During the base-running play, his helmet was even knocked off, but he successfully reached second base with a bold slide. There was a brief collision at second base, but fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

This single at-bat was enough to turn around Doosan fans who were about to leave the stadium, because the difference between a three-run deficit and a two-run deficit is significant. Although subsequent batter Park Chan-ho flew out to center field, failing to close the gap, and Doosan eventually surrendered two runs in the 9th inning, completely losing the ability to chase, Kim Min-seok's pinch-hitting performance was undeniably impressive.

Kim Min-seok changed his uniform from Lotte to Doosan via a trade during the off-season in November 2024. At that time, Doosan traded pitchers Jung Cheol-won and infielder Jeon Min-jae to Lotte in exchange for Kim Min-seok, pitcher Choi Woo-in, and Choi Jae-hyun, a 2:3 trade. With the acquisition of a key prospect, it was evaluated as a blockbuster trade.

And this season, Kim Min-seok has consistently played in left field, one of Doosan's competitive positions, receiving opportunities. In 13 games this season, he has recorded a batting average of 0.333 (13 hits in 39 at-bats), 1 home run, 1 double, 1 triple, 8 RBIs, 7 runs scored, 6 walks, 8 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.513, an on-base percentage of 0.413, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.926, a batting average with runners in scoring position of 0.556, and a pinch-hitting batting average of 1.000.

Kim Min-seok currently sits tied for second on the team in batting average, behind Park Jun-soon (0.379) and alongside Jo Su-haeng (0.333). Will Kim Min-seok receive ample opportunities this season to fully showcase his skills? Expectations among Doosan fans are rising.

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*This content was translated by AI.