What kind of year will 2023 be for Samsung Lions outfielder Kim Seong-yoon (24)? Wouldn’t it be an unforgettable year in his baseball life?
On the 21st, the Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) Performance Improvement Committee and the KBO Power Strengthening Committee replaced two of the 24 members of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games baseball team who were injured or in the recovery stage from injuries but judged to have difficulty showing normal performance during the tournament. Confirmed.
One of those two is Kiwoom Heroes batter Lee Jeong-hoo. As soon as the second half of the season started, Lee Jeong-hoo suffered an injury and was put on the operating table and was out for the season. The departure of Lee Jeong-hoo, the KBO’s best hitter and one with extensive experience in international competitions, is bound to be painful for Ryu Joong-il, who is aiming for his fourth consecutive gold medal.
Even so, I couldn’t help but select him as a replacement. Someone had to replace Lee Jeong-hoo and be named to the national team. The names of young outfielders such as Samsung Lions’ Kim Hyun-jun and Lotte Giants’ Yoon Dong-hee and Kim Min-seok were mentioned.
However, none of them were named to the national team. The player named on their behalf is Kim Seong-yoon, a 163cm outfielder from Samsung.
Kim Seong-yoon, who graduated from Wondong Middle School and Pohang Jecheol High School and joined Samsung with the 39th pick in the 4th round of the 17th round, was a backup player who mainly played as a defender and pinch runner until this season. He had played in just 110 professional games as of last season.스포츠토토
Even last season, when he played the most games since his professional debut, he was not a player who made a significant presence with 8 hits, 2 RBIs, and 14 runs in 48 games.
But his season this season is different. In fact, he was just like that until the first half of the season. As always, he came out primarily as a pinch runner and substitute. He appeared in 52 games, but only had a batting average of .217 with 15 hits, 7 RBI, and 11 runs scored.
However, in the second half of the year, Kim Seong-yoon completely changed. In 45 games, he has a batting average of .352 with 57 hits, 2 home runs, 20 RBI, and 27 runs scored. Looking at his performance in the second half of the year, his performance is worthy of being selected as a member of the national team. He is second in the league in stolen bases in the second half, sixth in most hits, and seventh in batting average.
He has clearly established himself as Samsung’s starting outfielder by showing base-running play using his quick feet, a wide defensive range that allows him to see all three outfield positions, and excellent contact ability. Now, he is listed among Samsung’s starting outfield lineup along with Koo Ja-wook, Kim Hyun-jun, and Jose Pirella. Thanks to this, Koo Ja-wook and Pirella were able to manage their stamina and gain time to focus on batting in the designated hitter position.
The baseball of Kim Seong-yoon, who made the leap from backup to starting player in his later years, and was even selected to the national team.
Previously, Samsung coach Park Jin-man said, “Kim Seong-yoon is performing well. Future Team players will also think about this. He will think, ‘If we show that well, we can earn a place in the first team.’ Seongyoon Kim is giving hope. “He is doing a good job of motivating me.”
Kim Seong-yoon’s performance is enough to give new hope to the players playing in the second team.
Let’s look forward to Kim Seong-yoon’s performance under the Hangzhou sky wearing the national team uniform.
Meanwhile, along with Lee Jeong-hoo, NC Dinos pitcher Koo Chang-mo was also excluded from the entry. He recently recovered from an injury and made an appearance for the Futures and was named to the first team, but was ultimately left out as it was judged that he was not in perfect condition. Left-hander Kim Young-gyu from the same team will go to the Asian Games in place of Koo Chang-mo.
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