Kim Beom-seok, who got the opportunity, rescues LG from the crisis of ‘team no-hit’… continues to win with consecutive hits

The person who ended the LG Twins’ no-hit, no-run crisis was none other than Kim Beom-seok (19), who was in his second year with the team.

Kim Beom-seok recorded 1 hit in 4 at-bats in the game against Samsung held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 24th. Kim Beom-seok’s hit was the only hit LG had against Samsung that day.

LG, who lost 0-6 in the first scoreless game of the season, barely escaped the team’s no-hit, no-run situation.

On this day, LG was blocked by the excellent pitching of the opponent’s left-handed starting pitcher, Seung-Hyun Lee, and received 6 walks through the 5th inning, but struggled with no hits. Seung-Hyun Lee was replaced at the start of the 6th inning with 89 pitches.

Kim Beom-seok hit Tae-hoon Kim’s 140 km/h two-seam fastball with one out in the 6th inning, trailing 0-3, and recorded a left-field hit. This was the first and last team hit recorded by LG on the 24th.

Kim Beom-seok has started in four consecutive games, starting with the first game of the doubleheader against SSG Landers on the 21st, and recorded hits in all four games. LG coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop also says, “We should keep using it when the times are good.”

Kim Beom-seok, born in 2004, is a promising player who joined LG in 2023 after being drafted 7th in the first round. He hit 10 home runs during his third year at Gyeongnam High School. This is the most home runs in a season since high school baseball switched to using wooden bats. Immediately after the draft, LG general manager Cha Myung-seok was confident of his success, saying, “The proper name Kim Beom-seok will become synonymous with Korean baseball.”

Kim Beom-seok made a dramatic entrance into the Korean Series (KS) last year and recorded 1 hit in 1 at-bat. Ahead of this season, coach Yeom Kyung-yeop announced that he plans to have Kim Beom-seok wear the first-team starting mask for about one game a week. Accordingly, quality control (QC) coach Ho-Jun Lee and battery coach Gyeong-Wan Park provided intensive guidance.

However, injuries and weight held him back. Kim Beom-seok complained of pain in his oblique muscle during field training in Arizona, USA, and had to return home. Although his injury was not serious, Coach Yeom diagnosed that the injury was caused by a failure to manage his weight, which was well over 100 kg.

Director Yeom Kyung-yeop could not continue to ignore Kim Beom-seok’s talent.

Kim Beom-seok was promoted to the first team three weeks after the opening and quickly emerged as the “No. 1 pinch hitter.” In the first and second games of the doubleheader against SSG Landers on the 21st, he played an active part with 4 hits and 4 RBIs in 8 at-bats, including a grand slam home run. Following the grand slam in the final game of game 1, in game 2, when the team was down 4-5, the leadoff hitter hit in the top of the 9th inning, setting the stage for a 5-5 tie.

Initially, the opportunity to start would be given when a left-handed starting pitcher appeared, but now the opportunity to start will be given against right-handed pitchers as well. He also moved up to number 3 in the batting order.

Kim Beom-seok is in good shape with a batting average of 0.421 in 7 games this season.

Coach Yeom Kyeong-yeop said, “Kim Beom-seok has a good swing. Although he is young, he has contact ability and is good at dealing with breaking balls. His hitting skills will improve further.” He added, “Compared to players of the same age as 19 years old, his hitting is definitely different. He is a natural. “If Kim Beom-seok plays well, he can take turns giving rest to the tired players.”

In the game on the 24th, he played a ‘big role’ in saving LG from a crisis that could have resulted in a ‘team no hit, no run’.