If the LG Twins win their first pennant in 29 years, Kim Hyun-soo (35-LG) will be free of his Korean Series (KS) nightmare once and for all.
Kim batted just .235 (4-for-17) in Games 1 through 4 of the KS this year, but he emerged as a “hero” at key moments.
In the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2 against the KT WIZ at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Aug. 8, with the score 2-4, Kim hit a two-run double off KT’s core bullpen of Park Young-hyun that cleared the first baseman’s side.
Kim Hyun-soo’s double gave LG the lead for good, and Park Dong-won’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth gave them a thrilling 5-4 victory.
At Katie Weeds Park in Suwon on Nov. 11, Kim Hyun-soo hit the game-winning two-run arch over the right field wall in the first inning. It was a prelude to a 15-4 victory in Game 4.
It had been 10 years since Kim Hyun-soo hit a “KS home run” in Game 1 of the 2013 KS against the Samsung Lions when he was a member of the Doosan Bears.
In fact, Kim Hyun-soo’s stats for KS at the Doosan facility remained consistent over four seasons with 23 hits in 88 games (0.261 batting average), one home run, and seven RBIs. While this was unsatisfactory considering his offensive prowess as a “hitting machine,” it was not a serious issue considering that the KS only had core pitchers.
However, Kim was labeled as “weak against KS” after he walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2008 KS Series, trailing 0-2. At the time, Doosan lost four games to the SK Wyverns, and Kim was batting just .048 (1-for-21) with a walk-off single in the team’s last chance.
In the 2015 KS, Kim Hyun-soo went 8-for-19 (.421 batting average) with four RBIs, helping Doosan win the championship with a four-game sweep of the Samsung Lions. He also earned his first KS championship ring.
Kim Hyun-soo, who played for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball in 2016 and 2017, signed a free agent contract with LG in 2018 for four years and 11.5 billion won ($11.5 million), and also signed a retention contract with LG in 2022 for 4+2 years and up to 11.5 billion won.
LG missed the postseason in 2018, but made the fall stage for five consecutive years from 2019 to this year. This year, they won their first regular season title in 29 years, since 1994.
From the moment he put on an LG uniform, Kim Hyun-soo’s goal was to help LG win the KS.
If he can help LG win its first title in 29 years, Kim will be able to shed the label of weakness in KS once and for all.
“I used to swing passively in big games,” Kim said, “but now that I have more experience, I don’t rush at the plate and I don’t hesitate.”
Kim Hyun-soo, who has experienced both the highs and lows of playing in the postseason (PS), has 45 RBIs in the PS, surpassing Choi Jung (SSG Landers) with 43 RBIs.
In 2015, Kim helped Doosan win its first KS title in 14 years, since 2001.
If LG, which leads the best-of-seven KS by three games to one, wins the title with one more win, Kim will be recognized as the man who led LG to its first title in 29 years. 파워볼사이트