Will I be able to forget the regrettable 4 years and smile again?
LG Twins infielder Kim Min-seong (35) moved from Kiwoom Heroes to LG through a sign-and-trade ahead of the 2019 season. At the time, LG did not have a clear starting third baseman, and LG hoped that Min-Sung Kim would definitely fill that spot.
But that dream did not come true. Kim Min-sung has not been able to show off his performance for the past four years. From the 2019 season to the 2022 season, he played 407 games with a batting average of 0.244, 282 hits, 24 homers and 156 RBIs.
In particular, last season would have been a year he wanted to erase. This is because he wrote the worst batting average record since 0.248 in 2009 when the name Kim Min-seong was announced. 0.207. The starting position was also given to Moon Bo-kyung. 안전놀이터 Of course, he hit a home run at the end of the season and played an impressive performance as a second baseman, but that was not enough.
Kim Min-seong also turned 36 in Korean age. It’s a pity for me and the team to finish like this. Ahead of the 2023 season, LG appointed director Yeom Gyeong-yeop as the new Twins’ command tower instead of renewing the contract with manager Ryu Ji-hyun.
Director Yeom Kyung-yeop knows Kim Min-sung better than anyone else, and Kim Min-sung showed off all his talents under director Yeom Kyung-yeop. From 2013 to 2016, Kim Min-seong and director Yeom Kyung-yeop ate together in Heroes.
In 2013, when coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop took office, Kim Min-seong began to establish himself as a starting pitcher by filling the first stipulated number of at-bats in his debut. At this time, he recorded his first triple-digit hit in his debut, his first double-digit home run in his debut, and his first 70 or more RBIs.
In particular, he had batting averages of 0.303 and 0.306 in 2015 and 2016, respectively. These two seasons are the only seasons in which Kim Min-sung recorded a batting average of 30%. In 2016, he hit 39 doubles alone. He had the second most in the league.
Kim Min-seong played 503 games for 4 years with coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop, recording a batting average of 0.296, 548 hits, 60 homers, 310 RBIs and 256 runs. He played an active role in which more than 130 hits, -15 home runs, and 70 RBIs can be expected every season, and he spent the heyday of the Heroes together with Park Byung-ho, Kang Jeong-ho, and Seo Geon-chang. In the 2014 season, he couldn’t laugh because he was blocked by the wall of the Samsung Lions, but he also stepped on the stage of his debut Korean series.
The last 4 years of sluggishness? To overcome this, you have to shed a lot of sweat during the off-season. However, everyone knows Kim Min-sung’s sincerity and defensive power. Currently, Kim Min-seong is likely to start the 2023 season in the position of backup. Coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop also said, “Kim Min-seong will take on the backup role of second base, first base and third base, and help the main players’ stamina arrangement.”
However, he cannot play a season with only the main players. A truly strong team is when the backup is strong. In addition, LG produced the largest number of six players in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will be held later in the season, are likely to select a large number of key players, so the performance of multi-players such as Kim Min-seong is more important than ever.
The past of his last 4 years is just the past. Now it’s time to run again for a new tomorrow.
What about the 2023 season of Kim Min-seong, who has become a 35-year-old veteran? Will he be able to laugh with a teacher who shared his heyday?