I want to imitate everything of Doosan's Kim Ki-yeon and Yang Eui-ji, the second draft catcher
Mar 15, 2025
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Kim Ki-yeon made a clear impression while playing his first full-time first team last season. Yang Eui-ji, the main catcher, suffered minor injuries all season. Doosan almost had a big hole in its catcher position, but Kim Ki-yeon played like a treasure. This year, after Yang Eui-ji, he will open with a certain position of 'first backup catcher'.
Kim Ki-yeon moved from LG to Doosan through the second draft after the 2023 season. Kim Ki-yeon is a graduate of Gwangju Jinheung High School and is also a junior directly under Yang Eui-ji's high school. When he joined LG, he had high expectations as the next-generation main catcher. Early on, the club's internal evaluation was also very high. However, he failed to fulfill his potential at LG.
The road opened when I came to Doosan. In 2024, Yang Eui-ji took the opportunity that came as the time he was away increased. He hit .278 in 95 games / on-base percentage of .337 / slugging percentage of .337 with five home runs. He played 579 innings wearing a catcher's mask. The difference from Yang Eui-ji's 608 ⅓ innings was very narrow.
Ahead of the 2025 season, the spring camp was not smooth. I sprained my back during weight training in Australia's first camp. He failed to join the second camp in Miyazaki, Japan. It was a heartbreaking moment, but he recovered quickly.
Kim Ki-yeon joined the first team in time for the exhibition game KIA on the 13th. He also wore a starting mask against Kiwoom on the 15th.
Kim Ki-yeon said "The director told me not to prepare too much because I was nervous. It's good because you told me to recover as well as possible. I thought I could go up to the exhibition game, so I didn't think about it in a hurry and prepared calmly" he said.
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Kim Ki-yeon is not proud of her position. He said "I don't think it's guaranteed. You have to do well this year, too. I will do my best as a competitor."
What needs to be supplemented is clear. Kim Ki-yeon said, `Last year, the steal deterrence rate was very bad. I want to pay more attention to that this year. Pitchers can be in a hurry because of the pitch clock, and I think the catcher should control the timing well. I want to focus on defense first and then hit .300 offensively," he predicted cautiously.
The role model is Yang Eui-ji. Kim Ki-yeon said, `I want to imitate everything about Yang Eui-ji. I want to learn defense, defense, attack, and game management" he wished.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
