'Personal First in History' Kim Do-young: "Does the Ball Look as Big as a Watermelon?" The Answer Was No [On-Site at the Junior Playoffs]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

KIA Tigers superstar Kim Do-young (23) made the LG Twins cry once again. In Game 1 of the Junior Playoffs (best-of-five series), he dominated with two home runs and four RBIs, leading his team to victory.

On the 17th, in Game 1 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Junior Playoffs against LG at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field, Kim Do-young started as the third batter and third baseman. He delivered a standout performance with two hits (two home runs), two runs scored, and four RBIs in four at-bats, contributing significantly to his team's 5-1 victory.

LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop had previously expressed his resolve ahead of the Junior Playoffs against KIA after winning Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Doosan Bears. "We fought fiercely for position with KIA until the end of the season, but every time it came down to a decisive moment, we got hit by Kim Do-young. It seems that how we handle Kim Do-young will be crucial in this Junior Playoffs," he warned.

And ahead of Game 1 of the Junior Playoffs, when asked about Kim Do-young, Manager Yeom said, "First, I spoke with the scouting analysis team and the coaching staff," then smiled and emphasized, "(Kim) Do-young must not have runners on base in front of him."

However, Kim Do-young once again showed his strength in crucial moments against LG. In his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning on this day, Kim Do-young was limited to a fly out to left field. That was all he managed initially.

After that, Kim Do-young's one-man show unfolded. With the teams tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, with no outs and no runners on base. Entering the batter's box, Kim Do-young crushed a first-pitch fastball (149 km/h) thrown by LG starter Tolerhurst into the inner zone, launching a solo home run over the left field fence. It was the moment KIA turned the game around to lead 2-1.

Kim Do-young's performance continued. With KIA leading 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, with no outs and runners on first and third bases. Instead of removing starter Tolerhurst, LG brought in Woo Kang-hoon. Against such a pitcher as Woo Kang-hoon, Kim Do-young hit a sacrifice fly to right field, adding a valuable run.

This was not the end. With his team leading 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, with two outs and a runner on first base. Against LG reliever Jang Hyun-seok, after a full count duel, Kim Do-young attacked the sixth pitch, a forkball (133 km/h) thrown to the middle of the plate, launching a two-run home run over the center field fence. It was the go-ahead home run that extended the lead to 5-1. This was the first time Kim Do-young hit multiple home runs in the postseason. After hitting the winning hit, Kim Do-young enjoyed the joy of receiving the "Batting Performance Award of the Day (prize money of 1 million won + prize of 5 boxes of potato chips)" selected by Potato Chips after the game.

After the game, Kim Do-young said, "Since it was the first game today, I thought it was really important. It felt great to secure this first win. I feel even better because I think I contributed to the victory."

Including the regular season, Kim Do-young has hit home runs in three consecutive games against LG. In the away game at Jamsil on the 5th, he hit a go-ahead three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning. Following that, in the final regular season game on the 12th, he drew a decisive two-run arc in the bottom of the eighth inning, and on this day, he again smashed a decisive two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning.

In response to the question "Does the ball look as big as a watermelon?", Kim Do-young said, "No. It doesn't feel like that." He explained, "I think my thoughts are very simple at the plate. That's why I get good results. Also, because it's autumn baseball, I dive deeper into the plays I can make, which led to even better results."

Continuing on, when asked if he felt LG had prepared specifically against him, he said, "I didn't have a strong sense of anything special. However, I did feel that they were approaching the duel cautiously. But perhaps because the opposing starting pitcher (Tolerhurst) is a foreign pitcher, he seems to pitch aggressively anyway, so I also competed with confidence in the same way."

Manager Lee Beom-ho of KIA, the team's commander-in-chief, did not hold back his praise after today's victory, saying, "Kim Do-young knows how to hit home runs." Regarding this, Kim Do-young shared his secret: "The key to hitting home runs well seems less about what you think at the plate and more about having already established that batting mechanism during practice before stepping in. The approach at the plate itself is not directly related to hitting home runs. I think it's effective to prepare a batting form that allows for good hits during training."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original