The first game of the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) qualifying round against Australia at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 16th. In the top of the 10th inning, Korean closer Jung Hae-young struck out Clayton Campbell with no outs and runners on first and second bases, and was hit by Chris Bucker on the third base.
Kim Do-young’s ball flew straight to the front, but he was hit in the face by a ball that hit the glove. There was pain, but Kim Do-young was not embarrassed at all. He picked up the dropped ball, quickly stepped on third base, and immediately threw it to second base. Only after completing the double play exquisitely as if he had made an intentional dropout, Kim Do-young touched his face and complained of pain. Fortunately, it wasn’t a major injury.
After the game, Kim Do-young laughed, saying, “It’s okay because I got hit by the glove,” and said, “It’s okay. I think I’m the one to be. I made a double play at the expense of my body. I think it was the game we were going to win,” he said. Pitcher Jung Hae-young also said, “It’s a relief to say, but I got hit in the face and became sick.” I thanked Doyoung for missing it well,” he said with a smile.
If he had caught the ball normally, only one out count would have gone up, not a double play. However, a little bit of luck and calm next play combined to produce the best results. Kim Do-young said, “It was an in-play situation, so I only thought about the next play, but I just did it in a hectic way. When throwing to second base, the runner was slightly blocked from view, but he didn’t care and threw it,” he said.
South Korea, which overcame the crisis of winning without losing a point in the top of the 10th inning with Kim Do-young’s awesome double play, won 3-2 with Roh Si-hwan’s walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th inning. In batting, Kim Do-young came out as a leadoff hitter in the eighth inning, which was trailing 1-2, and opened the scoring with a left double, and scored a tie when he stepped home when Kim Joo-won hit a timely hit.
In the previous three at-bats, Kim Do-young swallowed his disappointment with a grounder, strikeout, and strikeout to shortstop. In particular, he struck out one out and first and second bases in the third inning and one out and first and third bases in the fifth inning to lose his scoring opportunity, but he made up for it all with a double at the last batter’s box and a defense in the 10th inning.
Kim Do-young said, “I was so busy in the beginning. “I was sorry for the team because I couldn’t keep hitting it, but I think it’s a relief that I made a decisive hit later,” he said, adding that he was relieved during the game thanks to Moon Dong-ju, a starting pitcher of the same age. He said, “Dongju keeps talking to me I was able to do it comfortably. When he was hitting 0 for 2, Dong-ju said, “Smile.” I felt a little relieved because I said, “Let’s go eat after this.” I think Dong-ju has enough time because he has experienced an international competition once, he said.
For Kim Do-young, who was selected for the U-23 Baseball World Cup team in September 2021 when he was a senior in high school, this APBC is his first international competition since becoming a professional. It was a thrilling and nerve-wracking game for him, who actually made his national team debut.
However, as he finished well in offense and defense, he naturally relaxed. He said, “I’m confident that I’ll do really well tomorrow (17th). Today, I rushed in to hit at first. “If you make it a little more comfortable and relaxed from tomorrow, there will be good results,” he said of the match against Japan on the 17th. “I think not only Japan, but also Australia and Taiwan are strong teams and should be checked.” I’ll focus on all teams the same.”