“I think I was trying to do better after my discharge from the military, which led to my slump.”
KT Wiz’s Kim started the 15th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the Hanwha Eagles at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on April 7 and pitched 5.2 innings of four-hit ball with six strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Behind Kim’s performance and the explosiveness of the offense, KT cruised to a 17-0 victory.
Kim had been struggling this season. Prior to this game, he was 2-2 with an 8.49 ERA in 15 appearances. It was a far cry from his strong showing last season, when he went 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA in six games after leaving the military at the end of the season.
As a result, he spent more time with the Futures than the first team this season, but with the losses of Choi Soon-joon, Uhm Sang-baek, and Kim Min-soo to injury and Park Young-hyun to the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the pitching staff was gaping.
In his previous three starts, Kim had struggled with a 2-2 record and a 12.00 ERA, but not on this day. He was in trouble but didn’t give up any runs. It was a pitching performance that promises more to come.
It was the most innings pitched, most strikeouts, and most pitches thrown (91) in a single game this season. It was also the first team win in 1168 days since July 26, 2020, against the Suwon NC Dinos, and the first in 1232 days since May 23, 2020, against the Jamsil LG Twins.
After the game, Kim said, “I’m grateful to the manager and coaches for giving me a chance after my poor performance this year. I think (Kang) Hyun-woo’s lead helped us win today.”
In 13 games for the Futures, Kim split time between the starting rotation and the bullpen, posting four wins and a 4.07 ERA.메이저사이트
“I worked a lot on my slider and my third pitch, my changeup, with coaches Yoo Byeol-yeol and Jeon Byung-doo at the Futures. I also gained a lot of stamina,” he said.
“I don’t know the exact reason for my poor performance this season. However, I think I was trying to do better after my discharge from the military, which led to my slump.”
Let’s look forward to seeing how things will change for Kim from this day forward.