“It’s more exciting than a home run.”

KIA Tigers infielder Kim Kyu-seong, who showed a rare scene, shared his feelings.

KIA won 6-3 in an away game against LG Twins in the 2023 Professional Baseball KBO League held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 29th thanks to the concentration of pitches and strokes. As a result, KIA, which had a 4-game winning streak, achieved a 50% win rate with 11 wins and 11 losses.

It was a game in which Kim Kyu-sung’s performance shined. He only used his quick feet to score valuable points for KIA.

In the first and second innings, the opposing pitcher’s balk and the infielder’s mistake made KIA the first to score two runs, and Hwang Dae-in’s two-run arch in the top of the third inclined the pendulum to win. In the beginning of the 4th inning, Ryu Ji-hyeok also hit a timely hit with 1 RBI.

However, a crisis came to KIA in the bottom of the 7th inning. Kim Dae-yu, who took the mound after starting pitcher Sean Anderson, who was struggling hard, got Kim Min-seong (four pitches), Park Hae-min (hits), and Hong Chang-ki (four pitches) all on base and was driven to the bases safely. Choi Ji-min, who came on the mound afterwards, gave up points to the three successor runners and hurriedly extinguished the fire by ending the inning, but the gap between the two seemed too narrow considering the firepower of LG’s other line.

In this critical situation, Kim Gyu-seong stepped forward. In the top of the ninth, he was put into the game as a large runner when lead hitter Kim Sun-bin got a hit.

He landed on third base with Choi Hyeong-woo’s right-hander hit and Hwang Dae-in’s center fielder fly, and quickly dug home with the bases loaded with two outs followed by Socrates Brito’s walk and Lee Chang-jin’s strikeout.

Surprised by Kim Kyu-sung’s sudden play, LG pitcher Ham Deok-joo hurriedly passed the ball to catcher Park Dong-won, but it was already too late. Kim Kyu-seong, who was responsible for KIA’s sixth goal, clenched his fists and cheered loudly.

KIA, who brought the atmosphere perfectly with this score by Kim Kyu-sung, was able to face a thrilling victory in the end by blocking LG’s attack at the end of the 9th inning.

Kim Kyu-seong, whom we met after the game, said, “Before we did homesteal, Coach Jae-young Cho gave us information. ‘The opposing pitcher is a left-hander and the baseball field shouts are loud, so the call play of LG players may not work well. He instructed, ‘Do a lot of leads. So, I was also thinking about home still, but the coach gave me an autograph. So I ran to the home as it was,” he looked back at the home still situation.

This was an operation that was possible because Kim Gyu-seong was well aware of the characteristics of Ham Deok-ju on the mound. He said, “The coach told me about the opponent pitcher’s habits. So, after looking carefully, Ham Deok-joo exchanged autographs with the catcher and ran at the timing when he looked at first base. He ran without thinking, just thinking that he had to live. He slid into the home, but the ball hadn’t come yet, so I was sure he lived then,” he smiled.

Kim Gyu-seong, who was nominated by the KIA in the second 7th round in the 2016 rookie draft, posted a batting average of 0.173, 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 2 steals in 227 professional first team games until last year. His quick feet and defensive power were recognized early on, but he revealed his weakness in his hitting. However, he has started to show his presence at the plate this season as well. In the home NC Dinos game on the 26th, he also led KIA to a 6-0 victory by blasting three superior points that brought victory.

When asked whether he likes home runs or home steals, Kim Gyu-seong said, “Home steal is the first time in my baseball life. It was so thrilling that I couldn’t express it in words,” he said. “I felt more thrilled than a home run. Also, I think I felt better because our team had to score one more point to go leisurely.”

During Kim Gyu-seong’s home steal, both the first base runner and the second base runner advanced one base each, which was recorded as the first triple steal in the KIA club. If you expand the scope to KBO history, it is the 7th record. In addition, KIA, which opened the attack with frequent steals even in the early stages of the game, recorded 6 steals in a team in one game, which is the first time since the match against LG in Jamsil on July 24, 2013. Kim Gyu-seong, who took the lead in making these various records by KIA, was warmly welcomed at the dugout. 안전놀이터

“Everyone was delighted,” he said. I really felt like I had done something great because I played without anyone knowing, even the players in the dugout didn’t know. (Kim) Sunbin hyung said, ‘I didn’t know the real LG side, and we ran without anyone knowing’.”

This season, Kim Kyu-seong is showing outstanding skills in both offense, defense and state. Still, he was not satisfied. “There are still many things missing. So whenever he goes out to play, he tries to do his best in the given role. That kind of thing seems to be showing up in a good shape lately. For me, it is still a process of studying to become a better player. I will do my best to become a better player while learning many things.” Those were the words of Kim Kyu-seong.