“This is the best day of my baseball life”.
Kia Tigers slugger Kim Do-young (20) recorded a natural cycling hit in his minimum at-bat. He hit a single, a triple, a double, and a two-run home run against the NC Dinos in the 2024 Baseball World Series at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on March 23. He had four hits, two RBIs, and three runs scored in the team’s 8-1 victory. The team extended its winning streak to seven games.
In the bottom of the first inning, with runners on first and second, he singled to deep center field to drive in three runs. In the third inning, he led off with a double to right-center field. Instead of running to third, he was stopped at second base. After failing to score, in the fifth inning, he hit a long single to left-center and sprinted to third base. It scored three runs.
Kim stepped to the plate to a roaring crowd chanting, “Kim Do-young cycling hit!” and took a five-pitch slider from Bae Jae-hwan for a 115-meter two-run shot. Champions Field went wild. It was his first career cycling hit and the smallest at-bat natural cycling hit in history. It was the third on the team, behind Joo Chan Kim and Roger Bernadina. Yang’s complete game show and cycling hit were the first for the team and only the third in 37 years.
After the match, Kim said, “I think I let out a gasp as soon as I hit it. I got goosebumps right after I hit it. It was a hit that gave me goosebumps all the way around the field. I’m very happy with my hit today. It’s my first cycling hit. This is the best day of my baseball career. I think I’m going to have more great days in the future,” he said with satisfaction.
“I was conscious of the record, but I just knew I needed to be more calm at the plate. I told myself not to go for the home run and just keep thinking about the zone and reacting, and it paid off. In my 토토사이트 third at-bat, I hit a triple and did the ritual, and I felt so good that I felt like I could actually do it today,” he explained.
In his second at-bat, he hit a line drive to right-center field and didn’t sprint to third base, fearing injury. The next three batters were retired on singles or groundouts, so no runs scored. I felt bad that I didn’t run to third on my own because there were no runs scoring.
The result was a single, then a double, then a triple, then a home run. “In my second at-bat, I hit a double and should have gone to third. I was disappointed that I didn’t score, but that was in the back of my mind from the moment I hit the ball, and I ran hard to get to third base. I made a mistake and that’s how it happened (the natural cycling hit),” he laughed.
He is five homers and one stolen base away from 30 homers and 30 doubles. “I think it would be easier if I hit five quickly, but I’m just trying to help the team win every day. I feel like I’m hitting consistently, not too many ups and downs. I’m just trying to focus on what the team needs right now. I make sure to rest. I’m tired when I sleep, but I’m not tired on the field. I try to take care of my injuries and not make unnecessary plays. I’m only going to make the plays that I need to make to help the team win,” he said calmly.
