There is no gap at all. Kim Do-young (21) of the Kia Tigers is defending the title by swinging his bat in front of Koo Ja-wook (31) of the Samsung Lions.메이저사이트

At a home game against the Samsung Lions at the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on Sunday, Kim made three hits, one homer, one RBI, three runs and one stolen base, and walked three times at bat. KIA led by Kim Do-young's one-man show beat Samsung 5-3.

Kim Do-young, who was the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first inning, hit a 132km/h fastball on the fourth pitch against Samsung starter Lee Seung-min at a ball count of 1-2, marking his 38th home run of the season with a 125m pre-emptive solo shot over the center fence.

Kim Do-young, who scored his 136th point of the season with this home run, set a new KBO league record, surpassing the most points (135 points) in a single season held by his teammate Seo Geon-chang in 2014 (then Nexen Heroes).

After completing multiple hits with a single in the third inning, Kim added a stolen base in the fifth inning. Taking the lead as a leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth inning with KIA leading 2-0, Kim made a game on the third base with a straight walk. Then, he immediately started at the first pitch at Yoon's at-bat, stealing the second base with confidence. After successfully stealing the 40th base of this season, Kim ran home when Yoon made a timely hit to score another run.

Kim Do-young, who entered the batter's box for the fourth time as a leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning with KIA leading 4-1, had three hits and four runs on the left. After Yoon Do-hyun struck out, when Park Chan-ho's double, Kim Do-young immediately ran from first base to home, recording his third score and 138 points for the season.

Before the game, Kim Do-young was ranked fourth in the batting average league (0.344), with a slugging percentage (0.647) and OPS (1.064), but he was closely followed by Koo Ja-wook, who showed off his peak batting performance in September. Koo Ja-wook emerged as a threat to Kim Do-young's title by ranking third in the batting average (0.3442 and Kim Do-young 0.3436), second in the slugging percentage (0.629), and second in the OPS (1.045).

Samsung, which confirmed its direct advance to the playoffs, gave key players such as Koo Ja-wook, Kim Ji-chan, Lee Jae-hyun and Kang Min-ho a break from the starting lineup in the match against KIA on the 23rd. Kim Do-young, who is challenging the record of 40 home runs and 40 steals, played three hits and four on base, including a home run, in front of Koo Ja-wook, who is "second in slugging percentage, OPS," firmly maintaining his slugging percentage (0.655) and OPS (1.076) first place.

Kim Do-young, who has already left numerous records in the KBO League and Tigers' 43-year club history, still has new history to write. If he adds two homers in the remaining five games to achieve the long-awaited 40-homer steal, he will join the 40-40 club, the second in history and the first Korean batter since Eric Thames (47 homers-40 steals) in 2015.

If he continues his current pace, he will be able to write a new history in slugging percentage and OPS. Currently, Kim ranks No. 1 in slugging percentage and OPS for a single season, surpassing Kim Sang-hun (0.639 in slugging percentage) in 2009 and Kim Bong-yeon (1.076 in OPS) in 1982. Kim, who has already set the Tigers' No. 1 record in scoring (138 points, a new KBO record), total Ruta (343 hits), and triple hits (nine, tied for first place), is racing hard to set another milestone.