10 years pro, career high season finally in sight “I’m also resetting my goals”
Wizards’ leadoff man Kim Min-hyuk (28) tied the record for most RBIs in a single game in his career. This is his 10th year as a professional. And this season, he is finally challenging for a career-high season.
KT Wiz won the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League away game against the Samsung Lions 8-7 on March 23 at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. With the win, KT avenged the previous day’s loss and completed a sweep of the series. With a record of 39 wins, two draws, and 42 losses this season, KT remains in sixth place in the league. They are 0.5 games behind the fifth-place Lotte Giants. The fourth-place NC Dinos are three games back.
Kim Min-hyuk, who started in leadoff and right field, went 3-for-6 with a home run, four RBIs, and one run scored. After a grounder to third base in the first inning, Kim led off the third with a single up the middle. However, he was later thrown out at second base on a deflected grounder to second by Kim Sang-soo.
Kim came through in the fourth inning. With runners on first and second, he hit a two-run double to right-center field to tie the game at 3-2. In the fifth, he struck out on three pitches with the bases loaded.
In the seventh inning, Kim’s bat shined again. With runners on first and second, Bae Jeong-dae singled to left to make it 5-4. Kim Min-hyuk stepped up to the plate and hit a two-run double to left-center field, effectively sealing the game. The score became 7-4. In the end, KT scored one more run on an RBI single by Kim Sang-soo to win the game 8-7.
Kim Min-hyuk’s four RBIs on the day tied his career high for RBIs in a single game. Kim previously went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs in a home game against Suwon on Oct. 4 last year, which also happened to be against Samsung.
After the game, Kim Min-hyuk said, “I try not to make a distinction between good and bad hitting, even though I have hit in 11 consecutive games and tied the record for most RBIs in a single game. If you have a bad situation, you can fall into the trap of thinking you’re not hitting well. “I’m training with the belief in myself that I’ve been following the routine every day and the results are good,” he said, adding, “I think my hit today was thanks to the rice that (Hwang) Jae-gyun bought for me the day before.
In 69 games this season, Kim is batting .313 (240-for-75) with 13 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 26 RBI, 40 runs scored, four stolen bases, 21 walks, 34 strikeouts, a .408 on-base percentage, and a .370 slugging percentage. At this rate, he’s well on his way to a career-high season. Kim had his highest batting average (.320) in 2021, but he only played 75 games then, and last season he played a career-high 132 games, but hit just .284.
“This year, like last year, I went into the season with a goal of 70 hits. This year, thankfully, I’m playing a lot of games as a starter, so I think I need to reset my goal. Playing a lot of games as a starter (this season) put a lot of pressure on my body. Even (Bae) Jung-dae, who played 144 games every season, said it was hard, so after hearing that, I was able to accept the pressure,” he said.바카라
Kim has already surpassed his goal of 70 hits. His batting average in July was a whopping 0.429 (21-for-49), and he’s showing off a highly sensitive batting average. He’s already ranked ninth in the league in batting average. How far can Kim soar in the rest of the season? KT fans are excited to find out.