"I played a lot of claw machines." Kim Do-young endures a nightmare 2025, sends a message to his returning best friend "(An) Hyun-min... what comes next is important"

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Do-young (23, KIA Tigers) welcomed the return of his close friend An Hyun-min (23, KT Wiz), who suffered from the same injury, and offered words of encouragement.

Ahead of the the 17th game against the Gwangju LG Twins, Kim Do-young told StarNews, "I actually contacted him yesterday (16th). Even if it wasn't yesterday, I've had many conversations with (An) Hyun-min over the past while. I mostly shared stories about how I was able to help last year. He's a friend who takes great care of his body, so I'm not too worried."

An Hyun-min returned to the first division on the 16th in a game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil, exactly two months after his injury. He had injured his right hamstring while running the bases in a game against the NC Dinos in Changwon on April 15. Although a four-week rehabilitation was initially expected, treatment alone took a month, delaying his return.

During those two months, An Hyun-min found great strength in his peer and friend Kim Do-young. Kim Do-young also suffered hamstring injuries three times last year, playing in only 30 games with 122 plate appearances before ending his season early in early August.

In an interview with reporters on the 16th, An Hyun-min said about Kim Do-young, "I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to player Kim Do-young. I think it's not easy to recall memories from a season that didn't go well last year and share personal experiences."

He continued, "He recalled those memories and offered advice on how to do better. Because of that, I relied on him a lot. During rehabilitation, I watched (Kim) Do-young's games frequently. I'm glad to see Do-young now showing normal performance."

Since the injured hamstring is a high-risk area for recurrence, both KT and An Hyun-min did not rush his return, focusing instead on full recovery. During that time, An Hyun-min made significant changes, including losing 5 kilograms.

An Hyun-min said, "I heard that dieting helps lower the probability of recurrence. That was one of my goals, and I also wanted to become a faster and stronger player next year. So I think I used this injury as an opportunity to start preparing earlier than usual for the off-season."

Changes in his diet were noticeable. An Hyun-min smiled, saying, "It wasn't easy to diet while exercising. The only thing I could do during periods when I needed rest was to control my food, but it turned out to be more fun than I expected."

He added, "I reduced portions and changed the types of food. I tried to avoid instant foods as much as possible and didn't eat hamburgers even once. I aimed to eat fish and duck meat, which are good for reducing inflammation, rather than oily foods. I also stopped drinking caffeine during rehabilitation since it wasn't necessary, and I avoided liquid fructose."

This was also based on advice from Kim Do-young. Regarding An Hyun-min's diet, Kim Do-young replied, "I didn't give direct advice, but I emphasized many times how important the initial injury period is. I told him that reducing the probability of recurrence is crucial, and I think (An) Hyun-min understood that."

Since he had walked this path himself, he hoped his friend would not suffer the same pain. Kim Do-young said, "I did everything I could last year to reduce the probability of another injury. I felt like I should try everything possible." He then smiled and added, "In my case, I played a lot of claw machines to refresh myself. It happened to be when claw machines were very popular. I liked the feeling of winning, so I think I played every day during breaks until my return."

Having spent a nightmare year unable to play baseball, Kim Do-young's goal for the 2026 season is solely to play full-time. A fierce competition for the home run title against Austin Dean (33, LG) was not his top priority.

Kim Do-young stated firmly, "I have no desire for the home run title this year. I only want to focus on not getting injured until the end of the season. My only goal is to play a full-time season no matter what."

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*This content was translated by AI.