Kim Do-young vs. Austin Gwangju Showdown: 'Home Run Crown Guarantee = 20 Home Runs' — Who Will Hit First and Make History?

*This content was translated by AI.

A head-to-head battle for the top spot in home runs is unfolding.

KIA Tigers' Kim Do-young (23) and LG Twins' Austin (33) will face off in their team's midweek three-game series at GwangjuKia Champions Field from the 16th to the 18th.

Both players currently share the league lead with 19 home runs this season. In particular, who reaches the 20th-home run milestone first could become a turning point for the season's trajectory.

Securing the "first 20 home runs" in the home run race carries significant meaning. From 2020 through last year, the first batter to hit 20 home runs in each of those six seasons went on to win the home run title that year. Starting with Rohas (then KT Wiz) in 2020, followed by Choi Jeong (SSG Landers) in 2021, Park Byung-ho (then KT) in 2022, Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha Eagles) in 2023, Davison (NC Dinos) in 2024, and Diaz (Samsung Lions) in 2025, the 20th-home run mark has served as a "guarantee" for the home run crown.

However, in 2023 alone, Noh Si-hwan achieved 20 home runs in the minimum number of team games (81), while Choi Jeong did so in just 77 of his own games. The most recent season where the first to 20 home runs and the final home run champion were different was 2019, when Choi Jeong hit 20 home runs but Park Byung-ho won the title.

If either Austin or Kim Do-young wins the home run title this season, it will set a new milestone for both their teams and themselves.

Austin's team, LG, has never produced a home run champion in its history, including its predecessor MBC Cheongryong, up until last year. The RBI title was also first won by Austin in 2024. If Austin secures the home run title, LG will experience its first such triumph in 45 years. Kim Do-young's KIA is also anticipating its first home run champion since Kim Sang-hyun in 2009 — a wait of 17 years.

Even focusing solely on the 20th-home run mark, there are notable records at stake. If Austin adds just one more home run, he will achieve 20 home runs for four consecutive seasons. This would be the 29th such feat in KBO League history and the fifth by a foreign player. Only Woods (formerly of Doosan Bears), Romac (formerly of SSG, both with five consecutive seasons), Davis (formerly of Hanwha), and Rohas (formerly of KT) have accomplished this. Additionally, Austin would become the first LG player to reach 20 home runs in four straight seasons.

Kim Do-young is also eagerly awaiting his 20th home run. In 2024, when he hit 38 home runs, he drew his 20th home run arc of the season off Ryu Hyun-jin in a Gwangju Hanwha game on June 23. At that time, it was his 76th game with the team and his 74th personal game.

This season, his pace is even faster. Kim Do-young, who has appeared in all 66 of his team's games so far, would set new records in both team and personal game counts if he reaches 20 home runs within the next seven games. It remains to be seen whether he can fire off the celebratory shots in front of home fans this week.

Just as intense as the home run duel between the two batters is the competition between their teams. KIA is currently engaged in a fierce battle for mid-table positioning against Doosan and Hanwha, while LG, though leading, aims to pull further ahead of the chasing pack from KT and Samsung. In particular, this season KIA trails LG in head-to-head records with a 2-6 disadvantage, raising interest in whether they can turn the tide.

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*This content was translated by AI.