Praise erupts for "the eternal heart of KIA": "I truly felt he is a superstar who needs no words"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Yang Hyeon-jong (38), "the eternal heart of the KIA Tigers," shared his thoughts after finishing the regular season in third place. Above all, he did not hold back praise for "superstar" Kim Do-young (23).

The KIA Tigers secured a direct ticket to the 준플레이오프 (jun-playoff) by defeating the LG Twins in their final regular-season game, powered by a dramatic two-run home run from Kim Do-young in the bottom of the eighth inning.

On the 12th, KIA won 4-2 against LG in the final game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field.

With this victory, KIA finished the regular season with a record of 79 wins, 63 losses, and 2 ties, securing third place in the league and earning a direct berth in the 준플레이오프 (jun-playoff). Meanwhile, LG ended the season in fourth place with a record of 78 wins, 75 losses, and 1 tie. The final gap between the two teams was 1.5 games.

Following their victory, KIA will rest for four days before facing the winner of the Wild Card Series between LG and the Doosan Bears in Game 1 of the 준플레이오프 (jun-playoff) starting on the 17th.

Kim Do-young, who hit the decisive two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, emerged as the hero of the game, but Yang Hyeon-jong, who started on the pitcher's mound, was also one of the key contributors.

With this game marking the end of his year, Yang Hyeon-jong finished the regular season with a record of 12 wins and 6 losses in 26 appearances, along with an ERA of 4.19. Over a total of 124⅔ innings, he allowed 122 hits (including 15 home runs), issued 58 walks, struck out 85 batters, and gave up 66 runs (58 earned). His WHIP was 1.44, and the batting average against him was 0.252. He recorded two quality starts (pitching at least six innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs).

Prior to this game, Yang Hyeon-jong had appeared in three games against LG this season, posting a record of 1 win and 2 losses with an ERA of 4.61. Over a total of 13⅔ innings, he allowed 11 hits (including 1 home run), issued 14 walks, struck out 6 batters, and gave up 8 runs (7 earned), with a batting average against him of 0.220. In this crucial game against LG, he pitched a strong five innings, allowing three hits (including one home run) and one walk while striking out three batters and giving up one run (one earned), laying the foundation for the victory.

Before the game, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho commented on Yang Hyeon-jong's pitching usage, saying, "If he pitches well, we will keep him in. If he struggles early on, all our pitchers are waiting, so we can make a quick move in the early innings."

The manager added, "I think of it as taking one inning at a time from the first inning onward. (Yang) Hyeon-jong also said he would pitch his best. First, we will see how things go in the early innings and then observe how the game unfolds. Still, I don't think there will be any problem pitching through at least one full rotation of the opposing lineup. The reason I cut him off around 80 pitches in his previous start was just in case a situation arose where he would need to pitch again after only four days of rest. I believe it won't be a big issue," expressing his confidence.

In the end, Yang Hyeon-jong threw 67 pitches. The manager chose an early substitution, bringing in Jo Sang-woo immediately from the sixth inning. Although Jo Sang-woo allowed a tie-breaking home run, the rest of the bullpen shut down the opposition effectively to secure the win.

After the game, Yang Hyeon-jong said, "It has been a long time since I faced a game with such a heavy burden. It was a game with great responsibility, and it felt like we were already in the postseason. However, I tried not to let the pressure get to me. I thought that if I wavered, all the players would waver, so I tried my best to remain as calm as possible."

He continued, "I believed I would be able to pitch in this game, so I had been preparing for it. Because I was prepared that way, pitching after only four days of rest was not a problem at all. However, there was mental pressure. I thought that if I could overcome that pressure, a good result would follow." He added, "In particular, (Kim) Tae-goon gave me excellent leads. Except for one or two pitches, I followed Tae-goon's leads every time. It was effective in suppressing the power of players with strong hitting ability through those good leads."

Yang Hyeon-jong continued, "(Kim) Do-young has really been performing well in the games I pitch in. I truly felt he is a superstar who needs no words. That home run was the one that secured third place for the team, and it also decided his title as home run champion and his 100th career home run—it was a single swing that determined everything. It is proud and impressive to see him calmly overcome pitchers regardless of the results in previous at-bats. He is a player who brings even more anticipation for next year and the year after. I hope he grows into an even bigger star," showering him with praise.

Finally, Yang Hyeon-jong said, "The long, long regular season has ended. I should have pitched many more innings, so I feel deeply sorry to the team for not pitching as much as I could. Still, I am satisfied that the team was able to finish in a high position of third place. As the team's oldest player, I want to praise every single one of my teammates." He concluded, "We have advanced directly to the 준플레이오프 (jun-playoff). Since the team atmosphere is good, I think we just need to do what we have been doing. While trying to play well is important, it would be best to approach this as a bonus game beyond the 144th regular-season games. But of course, we will aim for winning games. I believe that if all players can overcome the pressure, a good result will follow. We will do our very best until the end so that we can finish at the highest possible place," vowing to perform well.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original