Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers returns to the dugout after batting practice before a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the Hanwha Eagles at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 2, 2025, in this photo provided by the Tigers. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The 2024 South Korean baseball MVP Kim Do-yeong will miss the rest of the regular season with his third hamstring injury of 2025, his club announced Friday.
Kim’s Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team, the Kia Tigers, said an MRI showed Friday that Kim had sustained damage to his left hamstring. Due to swelling in the area, Kim will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks to determine the full extent of his injury, the Tigers added.
With 42 games left, the Tigers have decided to keep Kim on the sidelines for the remainder of the regular season, regardless of the result of further tests.
“Given that he has muscle damage, it’s unlikely he will be back any time soon,” a Tigers official said. “As a precaution, we have decided to let Kim Do-yeong rest and recover for the rest of the season.”
Kim was forced to leave Thursday’s game against the Lotte Giants after he suffered what the Tigers said was cramp in his left hamstring. Playing third base, Kim bobbled a ground ball hit by Yoon Dong-hee and then came up limping after he failed to pick up the ball off the ground with his bare hand.
After chatting with a team trainer, Kim walked off the field under his own power.
This was only Kim’s third game back from a right hamstring injury, which had kept him out of action since May 28.
On the first day of the season on March 22, Kim hurt his left hamstring and didn’t return until April 25.
Kim has played only 30 out of the Tigers’ 102 games this season. He has a .309/.361/.582 line with seven home runs, 27 RBIs and three steals.
The team official said Kim sustained his latest injury in a different area in his left hamstring than the first ailment from March.
Kim, 21, was the runaway winner of the KBO regular-season MVP award last year, when he batted .347/.420/.647 with 38 home runs, 109 RBIs and 40 steals. He set the single-season record with 143 runs scored and became the youngest player in KBO history with a .300 batting average, 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in the same season.
Kim also helped the Tigers win the 2024 Korean Series title, their first championship in seven years.
The Tigers have been decimated by injuries all season, as they try to become the first team since the 2015-2016 Doosan Bears to repeat as Korean Series champions.
In addition to missing Kim for extended periods, the Tigers have also been without slugging outfielder Na Sung-bum and veteran infielders Park Chan-ho and Kim Sun-bin for significant portions of the season.
From the pitching staff, they lost reliever Kwak Do-gyu for the season to an elbow surgery, and starter Hwang Dong-ha broke his back in May after being struck by a car running a red light.
Another starting pitcher, Yoon Young-cheol, hit the sidelines in early July with elbow issues.
The Tigers are still in position to reach the postseason. Prior to Friday’s action, they ranked fourth in the 10-team league with a 50-48-4 (wins-losses-ties) record.
(Yonhap)
