Veteran Kim Sun-bin (35, KIA Tigers) has claimed himself as a troubleshooter at a moment of crisis. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho, who trusted him and appointed him, finally regained his laughter.
Prior to the match against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Stadium on Friday, one of the concerns of Kia's starting lineup was whether to hire Kim. Prior to the match, Kim had a batting average of only 0.158 (6 hits in 38 times at bat) in the last 10 games. During the period, both the on-base percentage (0.220) and the slugging percentage (0.263) were at rock bottom. Moreover, he had no hits in 10 times at bat in three games since the game against the NC Dinos on Saturday. As he lost both the first and second games of the series against Kiwoom, Kim's poor batting performance was particularly noticeable.
"Kim appears to be in poor condition. I thought about giving him a break today, but if he says he is in poor batting condition, I will give him a break next week," KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said before the game on Wednesday. "As the opponent team is a left-handed pitcher (Heyesus), I will give him a break next week." The team concluded that right-handed Kim is more suitable for targeting left-handed pitchers as the backup players for Kim are left-handed Hong Jong-pyo and Seo Geon-chang. Hence, Kim's name was put on the starting lineup as the sixth and second basemen. If it is a decision, it was his own decision.
Kim was unsuccessful until the seventh inning. Kim was out on a fly to right field in the second and fifth innings. When his team was losing 0-3, a double play by the third baseman could have been the main cause of the team's defeat. However, Lee Bum-ho did not replace Kim, and Kim pulled his team out of the mire with a dramatic tying solo home run in the ninth inning. With no runners with two outs and two outs falling behind 2-3, Kim connected a two-pitch fastball by Kiwoom left-handed bullpen Kim Sung-min to his eighth home run in this season to left.
Kia's successor Byun Woo-hyuk hit a come-from-behind solo home run, and successfully turned the tables. Kim Sun-bin's official record is one hit (one homer) and one RBI and one run from four times at bat. One hit that broke his silence for the first time in a long time was a home run. "I felt sorry for the entire team as a veteran because my batting performance was not bad recently, but hit well kept going straight to the fielder," he said after the game. "I didn't hit for long balls in my last at-bat, but just wanted to get on base. I'm so happy that I was lucky enough to lead to a home run and contribute to my team's victory."
Kim Sun-bin then said, "Through a team meeting before the game, I encouraged everyone that they are doing well now and raised the team's atmosphere. I think we won today's game with that kind of heart," and emphasized, "Thank you so much for your support even though it was an away game. I will do my best in the remaining 44 games and repay you with really good results this season."
BY: 메이저사이트
