“I accidentally saw (Jeong) Soo-bin hyung hitting on TV. When I saw that, I thought, ‘This is not the time to take care of my pride. How many home runs should I hit? I thought that triple-digit hits was the way I should go.”

Faced with hope in despair. In the process of rehabilitating from his injury, he happened to see a veteran player batting, which became an opportunity to set his direction. Some may ridicule him as a typical ‘tick’, but he put down his pride and held the bat short, and the road opened. This is the story of Kiwoom infielder Kim Tae-jin (28), who accepted the change because he was more eager than anyone else.

Looking back, it was 2022 that makes my heart beat. Last year, Kiwoom took on great challenges from the semi-playoffs (Jun PO) to the Korean Series (KS). Although they did not reach the top, Kiwoom received applause as hot as the winning team SSG after the 6th game of KS, which was the last game. He showed his fighting spirit in every game, and Taejin Kim was in the middle of his fighting spirit.

Kim Tae-jin flew with a batting average of 0.357 in the LG and PO series against top pitchers, and a batting average of 0.333 in SSG and KS. He desperately increased the number of pitches by pitchers, skipped balls out of the strike zone, and got on base with hits or walks. He, who was a forgotten prospect, made his name known again through baseball in the fall of last year.

Kim Tae-jin, who is currently training at Salt River Field in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, recalled last fall and said, “I really had an experience that money couldn’t buy. He was traded, hit well, then got injured, played a long fall baseball, it was eventful, but I think he gained a lot. He still occasionally watches baseball videos from last fall. At that time, the scenes come to mind strongly and can motivate you,” he smiled.

His biggest gain is in batting direction. He held the upper part of the bat handle while at bat and struck an optimized contact. He chose contact over long hits and took off. Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki said of Kim Tae-jin’s batting, “It’s almost like holding a bat in half and hitting it. Doesn’t that mean you’re desperate? He is producing good results in a way that suits him.”

Change came by accident. Kim Tae-jin said, “It was at the beginning of last season when I was recovering from an injury at KIA. After receiving treatment, he turned on the TV at home, and accidentally saw (Jeong) Subin Lee hyung hitting the TV. When he saw that, he said, ‘This is not the time to take care of your pride. How many home runs should I hit? I thought that a three-digit hit is the way I should go,” he said. He thought that there was nothing that I couldn’t do, even for a player who was a free agent like Soobin Lee. As he caught it short, the ball started to go out to the left center, and the quality of the ball improved.”

It gave results quickly. Kim Tae-jin, who transferred from KIA to Kiwoom through a trade at the end of April, produced frightening hits. He made his debut as a Kiwoom player on May 3 against Gwangju KIA and scored two hits. He became Kiwoom’s leadoff batting average of 0.308 in May. However, on May 26, he was injured during the final defense against LG in Jamsil, and missed two months.

Kim Tae-jin said, “It was the best time for baseball in my life. Baseball was really fun, but it was so hard to miss again due to an injury. ‘Is baseball not for me? I even thought, “Should I quit baseball?” Now, I think of the injuries I suffered at the time as something to snack on,” he laughed. 먹튀검증

We set specific goals for the new season. OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.800 or higher, and triple-digit hits. Kim Tae-jin said, “Now I found my baseball. This year, I want to go on base often while holding on to the pitcher persistently.” I have never aimed for an OPS so far, but I want to try an OPS of 0.800 or higher as an alternate hitter. (Lee) Yong-gyu sunbae-nim achieved this in his heyday, and I want to do like Yong-gyu-sunbaenim.”

Lastly, Kim Tae-jin said, “Of course, the team goal is to win. Our team players do well in baseball without being shaken in a big game. Now it seems that we only have to tie the final knot,” he said. “We are competing while training various positions from camp to shortstop. I want to win the competition to become a starting player and achieve both personal and team goals. I think our team can do it,” he raised his voice.