Is the secret of Kim Jae-yoon (33, kt Wiz), who has established himself as the best closer in the KBO League, a unique mentality? Kim Jae-yoon pitched for relief in the Lotte Giants match of the '2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League' held at Sajik Stadium on the 25th. In the bottom of the ninth inning, when the team led 3-1, he came on as a closer to protect the team's victory.
Kim Jae-yoon played a difficult game, continuing the fondant-pongdang match. He treated pinch hitter Lee Jung-hoon, who was the lead hitter, with a ground ball to third baseman, but was hit by a heavy hit by Yoo Gang-nam, the follow-up hitter, and became 1 out and 1 base. Afterwards, Kim Jae-yoon took a breather by treating Dong-hee Han with a ground ball to third baseman, but he allowed a walk in a full count match with Jin-hyeok Noh, and faced a crisis with one company and 1st and 2nd base.
At bat, Jeong Bo-geun, one of the hottest batsmen in Lotte recently, came out as a pinch hitter. Kim Jae-yoon threw the 5th slider on the ball count of 2-2 and caught Jeong Bo-geun with a floating ball in left field, giving the team victory. The final score was 1 hit, 1 walk, and no runs. It was his 23rd save of the season and his 160th career save at the same time. Kim Jae-yoon, who we met after the game, said, “The number of pitches was increasing, and I thought I would lose my strength if it was longer, so I tried to win quickly. did.
Then, "I thought I was good at controlling my condition, but my accumulated stamina seems to have gone up and down little by little. So these days, I'm more concerned about recovery and I'm trying to rest a lot. Little by little, it's hard because it's at the end of the season." revealed In the last game (against Suwon KIA Tigers on the 24th), Kim Jae-yoon had the worst pitch of the season. 토토 He got on the mound in the top of the ninth inning, when a 3-3 tight game followed, and he had to look at the team's 3-7 defeat by allowing 4 runs in ⅔ innings. He was somewhat shaken by his first 4-run pitching of the season and his first 4-run game since the match against Suwon Samsung on April 3 last year, but he got back on track in one day and made a meaningful save.
Kim Jae-yoon smiled, saying, "I conceded a lot and the team lost, but I thought it was just one game and prepared for the next game. Also, my personality is the type to forget (bad things) easily." Kim Jae-yoon made the 8th 160 save notice in the history of the KBO League with this save. Above Kim Jae-yoon, Oh Seung-hwan (391 saves), Son Seung-rak (271 saves), Lim Chang-yong (258 saves), Kim Yong-su (227 saves), Koo Dae-seong (214 saves), Jung Woo-ram (197 saves), and Jin Pil-joong (191 saves) are full of legendary pitchers. Kim Jae-yoon has also risen to the ranks of recognized legends like them.
Kim Jae-yoon said, “As a goal, if possible, I want to exceed 200 saves. "(Compared to the first save) I think I've gotten to know the opponent's hitters a little more. There is a different aspect because I have accumulated data from long experience. The tension is always the same because I'm always in an important situation, and the experience (accumulated) is different." Same," he replied.
kt is raging as the best team in the league in the second half. With a record of 23 wins and 6 losses in the second half (0.793 win rate), he is running first in the win rate. Kim Jae-yoon, who stands at the center of it as the final boss, said, "The team's ranking continues to rise, and of course we are looking at (targeting) to first place. However, the players are working hard to finish the season at the highest possible level. Fans also (At the stadium) Thank you so much for coming and cheering me on. I hope you will cheer me on until the end.
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