'Big Break' KIA's Kim Do-young: "He's doing much better than I did in my second year," directly praising the '20-year-old player' as amazing

*This content was translated by AI.

"He's doing much better than I did in my second year."

These words came directly from Kim Do-young (23), a superstar of Korean baseball. The player he acknowledged is none other than Park Jae-hyun (20), a KIA outfielder in his second professional season, who is three years younger than Kim Do-young.

On the 19th, KIA secured a 6-3 victory over Hanwha in an away regular-season game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark.

With this win, KIA surged to four consecutive victories, recording 58 wins, 48 losses, and 2 ties. The team maintained sole possession of fourth place in the league standings, trailing third-place LG Twins by one game.

Park Jae-hyun started as the leadoff hitter and right fielder, contributing to the team's victory with two hits, two RBIs, and one run scored in five at-bats.

In the first inning, Park reached base on a fielding error by the second baseman. In the second and fifth innings, he was retired on infield grounders to the second baseman and shortstop, respectively.

His first hit of the day came in the seventh inning. With two outs and no runners on base, he faced Hanwha's starting pitcher Owen White and launched a two-run double into the left-field seats. However, he failed to score as subsequent batters did not deliver hits.

The decisive moment arrived in the ninth inning when both teams were locked at 2-2.

With no outs and runners on first and second, Park stepped up to the plate against reliever Lee Min-woo. He took a ball on the first pitch, then attempted a sacrifice bunt on the second pitch but fouled it off. On the third pitch, he initially assumed a bunting stance before suddenly switching to a batting posture, driving a two-run single through the gap between left and center field past shortstop Sim Woo-jun. As KIA ultimately won 6-3, this hit became the game-winning RBI.

Park has appeared in 103 games this season, posting a .286 batting average (112 hits in 391 at-bats), 15 home runs, 56 RBIs, 62 runs scored, 19 stolen bases (with 3 failures), 23 walks, 85 strikeouts, a .325 on-base percentage, a .460 slugging percentage, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.785, and a .358 batting average with runners in scoring position.

Although his performance dipped slightly toward the end of the first half, he has shown strong form since the second half began. His batting average was .283 (86 hits in 304 at-bats) during the first half and rose to .299 (26 hits in 87 at-bats) in the second half.

KIA manager Lee Beom-ho, speaking ahead of the three-game series against Hanwha, praised Park Jae-hyun: "His balance has definitely improved, and he seems to have gained significant confidence through extensive game experience. I'm extremely satisfied with his current level. He knows which pitches to swing at and which to lay off. He fits well into the team's atmosphere. His swing speed itself is fast, and he hits with excellent timing, generating good exit velocity. If he continues to maintain this mindset without overreaching, he could become a player who consistently hits many home runs. I believe achieving 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases is entirely within reach."

Kim Do-young also spared no praise for Park Jae-hyun. In an interview with reporters on the 19th, Kim stated, "He's truly performing exceptionally well right now. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we're in fourth place because of Jae-hyun. As a teammate, whenever I see him at the plate, I get the strong feeling that he'll keep hitting. Especially in crucial moments, that feeling intensifies. That's why I'm genuinely curious about his future and believe he will continue to improve." He gave a thumbs-up in support.

He continued, "When watching Jae-hyun from the side, you can see he has firmly established his own routines and training methods. He's performing much better than I did in my second year, so I expect him to maintain consistent performance without fluctuations. In fact, during my second year, I was so focused on accumulating stats that I felt compelled to swing at every pitch, often forcing swings unnecessarily. Of course, Jae-hyun went through a similar phase but overcame it and has now grown into an excellent hitter. I believe he is an even better hitter than I am," offering high praise while cheering for his junior teammate.

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*This content was translated by AI.