“I felt like the things that supported me so much were gone.”
Having played in all 144 games for the past three consecutive seasons, the “Iron Man” (28-KT Wiz) was confident heading into the season, but an unexpected injury just before the start of the season left him without one of his biggest goals.
After only returning to action in June, the team struggled for a while, but made a remarkable comeback in the second half of the season. They’ve gone from last place to 18 wins and 4 losses in 22 games, and are on a steep enough climb to be within striking distance of second place.
The game on the 16th was no different. With KT leading 2-0 against the Doosan Bears in the top of the second inning at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, Choi Jae-dae slammed a 145-kilometer-per-hour fastball from Kim Dong-joo over the left field fence.
Masu-girl home run of the season. After his exhilarating home run, Kim had to spend a lonely time in the dugout, surrounded by everyone’s indifference. It was longer than he expected, and his teammates only came up to him after the inning was over to congratulate him.
“I’ve been playing 144 games in the last three years, and after I got injured, I felt like the things that supported me so much disappeared a little bit,” he said after the game. “It was hard in the beginning because I thought it was a point where I didn’t let go of the string, whether it was bad or good.”
It was a record that would be broken at some point, but it was a record that had driven him to this point, and he needed time. It’s also why he struggled to hit .215 in the first half of the season after returning.
But Lee kept giving him chances, and his family was especially supportive. “My mom sent me a text message when I was struggling,” he said, “and it said, ‘I don’t need anything else. I need my son the most,’ and I was really touched and cried a little bit. I think that was one of the things that kept me going, even though it wasn’t good at first,” he said.
The second half of the season saw a remarkable rebound with a .375 batting average, and KT went on a steep upward trajectory with 18 wins in 22 games. While the starting lineup’s stellar pitching performance was remarkable, it’s hard to overlook the performance of the batting lineup.
It was early in the second inning, but his home run was enough to take the wind out of Doosan’s sails. The ball traveled 123 meters at a speed of 163 kilometers per hour. 스포츠토토
“When I was taking batting practice today, coaches Kim Kang and Yoo Yu-joon told me that I lead with my upper body a lot, so I was working on my lower body, and that part came out in the game unconsciously,” said Choi. “It feels good that it worked out like that, and it’s good that it’s my first home run of the season.”