If you look at it coldly, KIA super rookie Kim Do-young (20) was not a super rookie in the 2022 season. When he was at Dongsung High School in Gwangju, he joined after being evaluated as having the highest level of talent, but it was too much to rank the first team. 0.237 batting average in 103 games, 3 home runs, 19 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, OPS 0.674.
As he became the batting champion in the exhibition game, he emerged as a strong candidate for the Rookie of the Year award. Manager Kim Jong-guk hoped that he would prove the ‘second Lee Jong-beom’ by appointing Kim Do-young as the starting third baseman throughout April, including taking the leadoff for the opening game. However, the reality was that it was a year that confirmed the huge gap between high school and professional first team.안전놀이터
In fact, Kim Do-young said, “The ball the seniors gave me to just hit” over the batting king in the demonstration game during the season. He confessed that it was difficult to adapt to the completely different ball composition in the regular season. He was pushed to the back-up and occasionally came to the plate, making it extremely difficult to maintain his hitting feel. However, he was not inferior to the senior infielders in the first team in defense and running, and thanks to this, he endured as a first-team backup all year except for the time he missed due to a finger injury in August.
As expected, the Rookie of the Year was misfired, but for Kim Do-young, 2022 was a time of precious experience. He once thought seriously about going down to the second team and taking time to calmly fill the plate and prepare. However, he learned the meaning of what he said, “It is good for seniors to be here (group 1) unconditionally.”
He must have naturally looked over his shoulder and learned the know-how and self-management of seniors who can spend full-time in the first team. In other words, Kim Do-young had a valuable experience in the 2022 season that an ordinary first-year high school graduate could not. The classics of last year can be the nourishment for the growth of the 2023 season.
Regardless of the event, there are cases in which rookies who have performed well in their second year suffer a sophomore jinx due to a little carelessness and concentration checks from opponents. Even Kim Do-yeong has to open the lid to find out. However, as he had a rough first year, he may have a slightly easier season this season than last year. In fact, Kim Do-young showed a different cotyledon at first glance by raising a sharp taste even in his last-minute batting last season. He seemed to be somewhat prepared.
In the first half of the 2021 season, 안전놀이터 when he was a rookie, Ui-ri Lee, a year senior to Doyoung Kim, went well by getting a starting spot. However, due to his carelessness, he tripped on the steps of his dugout and effectively missed the second half. He realized the common truth that he shouldn’t be careless in managing his body even for a moment, and in the 2022 season, he earned his first 10 wins by playing full-time. Eui-ri Lee also suffered in advance when he was a rookie and upgraded in his second year.
Of course, Eui-ri Lee is different from Do-yeong Kim in that she received the rookie of the year title. However, what is more important than rookie of the year is to play baseball well for a long time. This year, Kim Do-young competes as the starting third baseman by playing with Ryu Ji-hyeok and transfer student Byeon Woo-hyuk. He occupies the starting third baseman, and if he ignores even the second-year jinx, he will prepare a stepping stone to become a super young gun rather than a super rookie.