"I feel like it's going to explode. I'm frustrated, too."Will Kiwoom, a 92-homer slugger who was blocked by injuries, survive
"I feel like it's going to explode. I'm frustrated, too."Will Kiwoom, a 92-homer slugger who was blocked by injuries, survive
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Offseason outfielder Kim Dong-yeop has a new home. After being released by the Samsung Lions, he was contacted by the Kiwoom Heroes and joined the team.
Kim Dong-yeop is a slugger with strong slugging capability. He has a batting average of 0.268 (5,43 hits in 2028 at-bats) with 92 homers, 316 RBIs and 24 steals (OPS) of 0.761 in 657 games in the KBO league. During the 2017-2018 season when he played for the SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers), he hit 22 homers and 27 homers, respectively. He hit 20 homers in the 2020 season when he was a member of Samsung. At that time, he played 115 games and posted a slugging percentage of 0.508.토토사이트
However, Kim failed to continue his upward trajectory. He tried to draw a steep upward trajectory, but was blocked by injury and bowed his head. Last year, he only posted a batting average of 0.111 (two hits in 18 at-bats) with a two-run OPS of 0.357 in eight games. This was not the best report card for Kim.
Kim Dong-yeop, who met before leaving for Arizona, the U.S., on the 23rd, said, "I'm really frustrated, too. I think it's going to explode, but it hasn't exploded properly every year. I want to show it with actions at the ballpark. Rather than talking, I will answer by showing a new side of me in a new team."
Maybe Kiwoom is a team that can best demonstrate Kim's strengths. They both want it as a team and players.
Last year, Kiwoom suffered a hard time due to lack of slugging capability. The team started efforts to strengthen its batters during the off-season, displaying the disgrace of being the lowest in team home runs (104 home runs) and slugging percentage (0.380). The 10 KBO League teams are the only ones to use two foreign hitters (Jaciel Puig and Ruben Cardinez) this season. They are compatible with Kim Dong-yeop, who mainly uses long balls.
When Kiwoom recruited Kim Dong-yeop in November last year, the team said, "We are pleased to have the right-handed slugger that our team needs. With Kim joining the team, we can balance the right and left sides of the lineup to display stronger and more organized attacks. As an experienced veteran player, we look forward to having a positive impact on young players in our team."
Kim Dong-yeop said, "Growing up was a club that I really wanted to come to from a long time ago. They contacted me right after the release. I thought it was a club that I would go to someday, but I feel really good because it's this year," adding, "I shouldn't be sick. That way, I can catch it when the opportunity comes. My mindset has changed a lot. I arrived at the airport with an exciting feeling."
"I still have a lot of energy left. As long as I don't get sick. I'm going to focus on my physical condition. What I can show is my slugging ability. With that expectation, Kiwoom recruited me. I want to perform well in line with that expectation," he added.
Kim Dong-yeop, who has overcome the pain of his release to start anew, expressed his strong determination for the upcoming 2025 season.
Kim Dong-yeop said, "There is no yardstick for performance. I hope it doesn't hurt. I set the standard every year, but it hurt. I hope it doesn't hurt just because I got some home runs and RBIs when I wasn't in pain. (As things didn't go well), I always lost my mind. It won't be able to change dramatically, but I'm still aiming for that as I wanted to show that kind of slugging capability as before," vowing to rebound.