There is a strong axis that supports the bullpen of the KIA Tigers this season. This is the story of Lim Ki-young 30, a submarine who was eliminated from the fifth selection competition but is playing a big role in the relief team. 토토
Lim Ki-young recently met with reporters and said, I want to go out more and help the team win when I like it. I think my role is the most important right now, so I have a sense of responsibility, he said.
Lim Ki-young, who has already become a 12-year professional veteran, is also a player who has been selected for the national team at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. He started in 23 games last year as well, having filled regular innings 153 innings for the first time in his life in 2021. However, he started the season in the bullpen this year, losing to rookie Yoon Young-chul 19 in the competition for the fifth starter.
As of the 14th, Lim Ki-young has pitched in 42 games, recording 2 wins, 1 loss, 2 saves, 11 holds, and an ERA of 2.35. He is fighting for multi-inning in more than half of 22 games. Currently recording 61⅓ innings, he is throwing at a 95-inning pace as of the end of the season. It is also true that there are concerns in that there have been only five cases of throwing more than 90 innings as relief in 10 seasons since 2014.
Lim Ki-young is also aware of this view. He affirmed, There are people who think that there are many innings, but there is no physical problem.I’ve been preparing to start for years, he said. You can throw about four innings a week. The starter throws as long as six innings if he throws one game, and if he goes twice, he throws longer, he said. It’s not hard or burdensome to think like that.
The coaching staff is also showing gratitude for Lim Ki-young’s hard work. Lim Ki-young won a relief victory against Lotte in Sajik on the 12th with three strikeouts in two and three innings. When KIA, which was leading 8-1, gave up four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, he took the mound and put out the fire by cleaning up Lotte’s batters. I took a week off, but I couldn’t help but fight. KIA manager Kim Jong-kook said, Lim Ki-young blocked it too well at a very important moment. If I had scored a little more, I wouldn’t have had to go to multi-inning, he said, expressing his gratitude and sorry.
Lim Ki-young said, Coaches and coaches always say thank you and sorry when they throw. There are also many people asking, Are you sick? Not only me, but all the players have that mind, he said adding, I always want to go out more when I like and help the team win.
Lim Ki-young’s batting average this season fell from 0.274 last year to 0.181. On top of that, the number of home runs, which was 1.25 per nine innings, decreased significantly to 0.15. There is no big difference in the average speed of fastballs 137.6km in 2022 137.4km in 2023, based on Statistics. Lim Ki-young said, When I was a starting pitcher, my batting order turned around and when I went to the center in the fourth or fifth innings, I hit a lot, so I had more home runs, adding, Now I finished it before I went around once, so my regular hits have decreased. I also tried to finish it quickly by throwing the best pitch because it was a short inning, he explained the secret.
As of the 14th, KIA is in sixth place by 1.5 games with a season winning rate of 0.495 45 wins, 46 losses, 2 draws from fifth place Doosan Bears. It is 4.5 games away from the third-place KT Wiz, and it may go higher as there are still more than 50 games left in the season. Lim Ki-young’s total autumn baseball experience is one game, but he contributed to the team’s integrated victory by winning Game 4 of the Korean Series 5⅔3 innings without losing a point in 2017.
Lim Ki-young said, First of all, I have to go to autumn baseball unconditionally, adding, But not only I but also all the players are thinking, I’m not in the current position, I can go higher, adding, I think I have to catch and do it when I catch an important game.