Hanwha's trade is a huge hit, how grateful I would have been...A goal for the Tigers
Jul 13, 2025
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KIA Tigers right-hander Kim Do-hyun (25) is writing a success story in his fourth year of trade transfer. Kim Do-hyun was 4-3 with 90 ⅔ innings and a 3.18 ERA in 16 games in the first half. At the same time, he showed the most outstanding performance among KIA's domestic starters and did not show any signs of exhaustion even though it was his first full-time season.
Kim Do-hyun is ranked 13th, the top in the league in the ERA category. It is meaningful for a player who has just taken a step forward as a starting pitcher. Among domestic starting pitchers, Oh Won-seok (2.78), Cho Hyung-joon (2.87), LG Lim Chan-kyu (2.88) and Samsung Won Tae-in (3.13) are ranked fifth in the league. Except for Oh Won-seok, all of them were aces who played for the national team last year. This means that Kim Do-hyun has risen to the level where he can compete with them.
When Kim Do-hyun moved from Hanwha Eagles to KIA in April 2022, he didn't know it would grow to this extent. At the time of Kim Do-hyun's transfer, his fastball speed was in the early 140km range. Compared to the breaking ball power such as curves, sliders, and changeups, the fastball speed was disappointing, but now the fastball speed has risen to more than 150km. Immediately after the transfer to KIA, it was very helpful to focus on building up while serving in the military as an active member.
Currently, Sung Young-tak, who joined KIA in the 10th round of the 2024 rookie draft, is taking a similar path to Kim Do-hyun. Sung Young-tak was a player with a fastball speed of only 130km, and after systematically building his body in the second team, he got an opportunity in the first team with a maximum speed of 147km this year and quickly settled down as a must-win group.
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Manager Lee expected Kim Do-hyun to be an ace who can prevent six to seven scoreless innings, not a starter who is satisfied with three runs in five innings. So, when Kim Do-hyun was shaken on the mound, he often visited the mound in person and gave encouragement.
Kim Do-hyun said "I think he comes to the mound a lot when I take the mound because the coach is very affectionate to me. Anyway, the coach and the coach keep giving me good opportunities, so I want to repay them" expressed his innermost thoughts.
In his fourth year of transfer, Kim Do-hyun dreams of becoming a representative pitcher for the Tigers beyond the success of the trade. His goal is to become a pitcher who will make a mark in the club's history like Jung Hae-young (currently 144 saves) and Jeon Sang-hyun (currently 101 holds), the first 100-hold pitcher in the Tigers' history, who continues to set the record for the most saves in history.
Kim Do-hyun said, `I want to continue to be a starting pitcher, and I want to be a player who represents the Tigers. First of all, I think I should prepare one more game and have such a big goal"I'm determined.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
