He pulled out the three letters he had in mind for “shortstop,” but it didn’t work out. He admitted that he did not help the team and said he would look forward to the next opportunity. Kiwoom’s Kim Hye-sung, 24, led the team out of its losing streak as a designated hitter, neither a shortstop nor a second baseman.
Kim went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs as the No. 2 designated hitter against Gocheok Lotte on 9 September. She started off with a single in the first inning and followed it up with a single up the middle in the third, a double in the fourth, and a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Kim Hye-sung was replaced during the game after being hit by a foul pitch the day before. The coaching staff advised her to rest, but she requested to play as a designated hitter and made the most of almost every at-bat. Kiwoom defeated Lotte 10-8 to snap a nine-game losing streak.
After the game, Kim Hye-sung said, “It’s best that we broke the long losing streak. I played as the designated hitter, but the other players did a good job defensively. “I actually wanted to play defence, but I didn’t think it would help the team at all in my current state. Unless my leg is broken, I should be playing, but if I’m not 100 per cent, I don’t think I can help in defence, so I played as a designated hitter.”
Kim Hye-sung then talked about playing shortstop in five consecutive games, from Samsung Electronics in Gochuk on the 29th of last month to LG Electronics in Jamsil on the 3rd. Commenting on the fact that the league’s best second baseman, whom everyone acknowledges, was suddenly playing shortstop, a position he played two years ago, he said, “I thought, ‘Let’s go to shortstop and try to do well.’ But I made two errors and didn’t help the team. I didn’t help, so I got cut,” he said candidly.
“I told the coach that I wanted to play shortstop, but I made mistakes and didn’t do a good job, so I think it’s inevitable that I’ll go back (to second base),” he said, adding, “Actually, I always prepare for shortstop defence. But I have to show it with results, not just preparation, and I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
Kiwoom head coach Hong Won-ki also commented on Kim Hye-sung playing shortstop, saying, “The player herself strongly requested to play shortstop. Of course, she has to prove it. She will be in the shortstop position only if she shows her performance. We will continue to play her as the starting shortstop because she strongly requested it,” but also said, “She has to show her performance as a shortstop. If you’re not performing well at shortstop, either offensively or defensively, you’re going to have to accept it. Only with a good performance will I be able to continue playing shortstop.”스포츠토토
“It wasn’t easy,” Kim said about the atmosphere during the losing streak. It was the longest losing streak in the club, and I was worried about that. (Lee) Joo-hyung was new and the atmosphere was heavy because of the losing streak, and it wasn’t easy to talk to him. It must have been especially difficult for him because he’s a junior,” he said. “I think we’ll talk about it later. We broke the losing streak today, so now we’ll go back up, and then we’ll naturally talk to the players more.”