Ah! 154km direct hit, KIA almost lost a .300 hitter...I ran for now, but it's too early to feel safe

Aug 23, 2025

Ah! 154km direct hit, KIA almost lost a .300 hitter...I ran for now, but it's too early to feel safe
The game between the KIA Tigers and the LG Twins at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 23rd. KIA Kim Seok-hwan, who was hit by LG Kim Young-woo's fastball in the top of the eighth inning, is complaining of pain. Gwangju = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.23/






KIA Tigers swept away their surprised hearts. Outfielder Kim Seok-hwan, who has been hitting hard since his recent return to the first team, almost left due to injury.

Kim Seok-hwan took the batter's box as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning, trailing 2-6 against the Gwangju LG Twins on the 23rd. At the ball count of 1B1S, opposing pitcher Kim Young-woo's 154km/h fastball hit near Kim Seok-hwan's right knee.

Kim Seok-hwan complained of severe pain as soon as he was hit by the ball, and collapsed near the batter's box for a while and could not get up. Kim Young-woo apologized after walking close to the place where Kim Seok-hwan collapsed because he did not mean to.




KIA manager Lee Bum-ho was watching Kim Seok-hwan's condition with a serious look in the dugout. Fortunately, Kim Seok-hwan walked out to first base after signing that he was okay. Although the follow-up hit did not break out, he did not seem to have much discomfort in his legs, such as continuing to skip at first base.

Kim Seok-hwan stayed until the end of the game and defended in left field, putting to rest concerns about major injuries. However, it is not known how much swelling will be in the area hit by the ball a day later, so the condition will have to be watched a little longer.

Ah! 154km direct hit, KIA almost lost a .300 hitter...I ran for now, but it's too early to feel safe
A game between the KIA Tigers and the LG Twins at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 23rd. LG Kim Young-woo expresses his sorry to KIA Oh Sun-woo immediately after the dune in the bottom of the 8th inning. Gwangju = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.23/



Ah! 154km direct hit, KIA almost lost a .300 hitter...I ran for now, but it's too early to feel safe
The game between the KIA Tigers and the LG Twins at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 23rd. KIA Kim Seok-hwan, who was hit by LG Kim Young-woo's fastball in the top of the eighth inning, is complaining of pain. Gwangju = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.23/



Kim Seok-hwan came up to the first team to refresh the atmosphere. In the Futures League, he hit .429 (12 hits in 28 times at bat) in August, hit two home runs, and hit six RBIs. Even after coming to the first team on the 20th, he maintained a good batting sense with a batting average of 0.357 (5 hits in 14 at-bats), one home run and one RBI.

KIA used outfielders Choi Won-joon and Lee Woo-sung as trade cards, and Lee Chang-jin recently left due to injuries. Park Jung-woo was notified of his second leg on the 23rd due to disciplinary action due to a recent war of words on SNS with his fans. In this situation, even Kim Seok-hwan would have suffered a big blow to the outfield players if he left due to injury.

Meanwhile, KIA lost 2-6 and fell to eighth place after losing four consecutive games. It is two games behind the fifth-ranked KT Wiz and three games behind the ninth-ranked Doosan Bears. It's not something to give up yet, but the situation that keeps moving away from the semifinals is certainly not positive.

Ah! 154km direct hit, KIA almost lost a .300 hitter...I ran for now, but it's too early to feel safe
The game between the KIA Tigers and the LG Twins at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 23rd. KIA Kim Seok-hwan, who was hit by LG Kim Young-woo's fastball in the top of the eighth inning, is complaining of pain. Gwangju = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.23/







This article was translated by Naver AI translator.