"All of a sudden, people from other countries..." Kim Do-young's status was this high, KIA said, "If you get hurt, you'll die."

"All of a sudden, people from other countries..." Kim Do-young's status was this high, KIA said, "If you get hurt, you'll die."

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"I didn't imagine it, but suddenly people from other countries came and got autographs, so it was a little strange."

KIA Tigers infielder Kim Do-young (21) expressed surprise over her unexpected popularity in Taiwan. When she arrived in Taipei on Monday, she was surrounded by local baseball fans in Taiwan. "It was amazing to see her overseas fans recognize her as she is participating in a big international competition for the first time.

Taiwanese media also showed great interest in Kim Do-young as the most notable player in Korea. South Korea will play its first Group B match in the first round of the "2024 Premier 12" on the 13th. Both South Korea and Taiwan have a strong will to beat each other to advance to the Super Round. Taiwanese media actively covered the scene of South Korea's first local adaptation training at Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan on the 9th.

Kim joined Kia as the first team name in 2022 and is in full bloom this year, making his third year as a professional. He hit 0.347 (189 hits in 544 at-bats), 38 homers, 40 steals, 109 RBIs, 143 runs and OPS 1.067 in 141 games, making him a leading candidate for MVP of the regular season. Kim had the best year contributing to KIA's win in the Korean Series, so it was natural that he is considered a notable player in the Premier 12.

"Taiwan Yahoo Sports" said, "Kim Do-young, who is 21 years old this year, is the ninth player in KBO history to join the 30-30 club. In his third year as a pro, he hit .347 with 38 home runs and 49 steals. The Korean media is considering Kim as a leading candidate for MVP. Kim is expected to join Korea's central batting lineup as he boasts long hitting power and quick feet. Kim's batting skills are impressive, and both his bat control and long hitting power are remarkable."

Kim Do-young responded to the hot response in Taiwan, saying, "First of all, I feel good. I never imagined it, but suddenly, people from other countries came and got autographs, which was a little surprising. Other than that, I didn't feel like I had to do well. First of all, I feel that the Premier 12 is a bigger tournament than the APBC (Asian Professional Baseball Championship) I played last year. As it is just such a competition, I want to meet the media's expectations."

Major League Baseball's website MLB.com also named Kim as one of the eight players to watch for this year. MLB.com praised him, saying, "Kim had an incredible 2024 season, and defeated Samsung to become the Korean Series champion. At just 21, Kim achieved the youngest 30-30 mark in KBO history, and finished the season with 38 home runs and 40 steals. He also became the fastest player to score 100 points for the season at the youngest age. It was in 97 games, and he beat the record of Lee Seung-yeop, a 22-year-old KBO legend, in 1998. With a batting average of .347, the third baseman is perfect, which could scare any pitcher who faces the Korean lineup."

Regarding being illuminated on MLB.com , Kim Do-young said, "First of all, I want to show a different side of myself from last year. To say that, I felt that (Premier 12) was a bigger competition than other competitions before, so I wanted to do better."

KIA desperately hopes that Kim Do-young, a key player, will not get hurt. Shim Jae-hak and Lee Bum-ho were confident several times.

Kim Do-young said, "Leader Kim often texted me and said, 'If you get hurt, I will die'. He told me not to get hurt and to shine on our country. The director also told me a lot not to get hurt through Won-jun. I don't think he told me to do well separately. He just told me not to get hurt."

Ryu Joong-il, the coach of the Korean national baseball team, considers Kim Do-yeong as the core of the Korean team's batting lineup. Chances are high that Kim will start as the third batter and third baseman. However, Kim had a heavy bat in two warm-up matches with Cuba and practice matches with Sangmu, which he played in Korea. He had one hit (batting average of 0.125) and two walks in eight times at bat.

Coach Ryu said after the match against Sangmu on the 6th, "I don't think (Kim Do-young) has the timing yet. I made him play two or three more times when he switched to a designated hitter in the middle, but the last timing was good. He's such a good player, so I'll find him quickly."

Kim Do-young said, "First of all, I didn't have a good feeling at that time. I felt like I was coming out after catching something. After coming to Taiwan and training, I felt light in my body. I felt like, 'Did my body get used to it?'" Kim said calmly. "When I hit it again today, it was okay."

Korea will have a practice game against the Wei Quan Dragons of the Taiwan Professional Baseball League (CPBL) at Tianmu Baseball Stadium on Tuesday. Wei Quan was the team that won the CPBL title last year. Ahead of the match against Taiwan on Thursday, it will be the last real game inspection and mock test against Taiwan.

After the first adaptation training at Tianmu Baseball Stadium on the day, Kim Do-young said, "We talked a lot about what the fielders said was similar to Gocheok Dome. I definitely felt that the ball itself flew in with strength, and I think I need to adapt well for the rest of the year. (In batting training), I felt that the ball was not going out well, but I don't know. If the ball was the same, things that should have gone over would not go over, and maybe because I trained outside for the first time in a long time, I felt that the ball was not going out," adding, "I will try to get more familiar with the stadium by playing Weiqiu Safety." 토토사이트

Meanwhile, this Premier 12 match will be broadcast live on Spotify Prime.