“My batting average was really bad…but the coaches believed in me.”
The Lotte Giants’ Kim Min-seok was different from his usual self. He was always confident with his rookie spirit.
As a rookie, he was well-received with his ‘Rookie 100-hit’ business card alone. There were few criticisms of his relatively poor defense, initiative, or long bat.
But this second year is different. Kim faced widespread criticism throughout the offseason. His batting hasn’t been as good as he’d hoped. Unlike his rookie season, where he was a fixture in the first team all year, this year he has been bouncing around the second team. This season, he is just 2-for-6 (13 hits in 63 at-bats) with an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of .524.
It was different against the Busan NC Dinos on April 2. LOTTE manager Kim Tae-hyung had a game plan from the start and was looking for the right time to make a move. “I was preparing to pinch-hit from the third inning,” said Kim Min-seok.
And in the bottom of the sixth inning, trailing 2-4, with the bases loaded, he split the right-center field line. It was a game-winning triple.
After reaching second base and seeing the runner on first, Kim bowed his head deeply and pumped his fist in the air. It was a roar that captured the emotion of the past hour. It quickly turned into a cheer with both arms raised.
“My batting average wasn’t good, I didn’t have any hits, but the coaches said, ‘This is your chance to make up for it,’ so I was encouraged, and I thought, ‘I’m just going to hit one fastball,’” he said after the game.
In fact, Kim had 12 hits in 14 at-bats with one home run and two walks. His batting average is just 8.3. Last year, he went 0-for-9 with two strikeouts, and this year, he is 1-for-3.
Nevertheless, manager Kim Tae-hyung and hitting 토토사이트 coaches Kim Joo-chan and Lim Hoon had faith in Kim, and he has repaid that trust in style.
He was very proud of his batting form for his young age. However, following coach Kim Tae-hyung’s advice, he developed a toe-tap batting form without leg kicks. He was happy with his relatively stable vision, but he was unable to improve his batting average.
“I actually watched Park Min-woo closely for two days while watching the NC game,” Kim confessed. As a swinging junior and a contact-oriented hitter, they share similarities in their hitting.
“He would toe-tap like me, lift his legs, and hit differently depending on the pitcher. And the feeling that the bat comes out shorter and more compact? I watched it carefully, because usually I would foul off pitches because I would listen too much to the opponent’s pitch.”
“I heard a lot of good things about me as a rookie, but I think the second year is the real reality, and as a professional player, you have to show results,” Kim said. When he was mentally tired, he practiced more and pushed himself harder.
“I’ve always been confident, but this year I felt like I was being chased mentally, and it’s hard to play left field… I hope today’s game will be a chance to find my confidence.”
