Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers (L) walks off the field after suffering a hamstring injury following a successful steal of second base during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gwangju Kia-Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul, in this file photo from May 27, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The reigning South Korean baseball MVP Kim Do-yeong, recently back from his second hamstring injury, had to leave Thursday’s game with a hamstring cramp.
The third baseman complained of pains in his left hamstring after bobbling a ground ball hit by Yoon Dong-hee of the Lotte Giants during the bottom of the fifth inning of their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular-season game at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Kim had the ball go off the heel of his glove and then failed to pick it up off the ground with his bare hand. Kim then came up limping, and after a brief chat with a team trainer, he walked off the field under his own power, with Park Min taking over at the hot corner.
A Tigers official said Kim’s left hamstring cramped up and the team was going to monitor the situation before deciding whether to send the player to a hospital.
This was only Kim’s third game back from his right hamstring injury, which had kept him out of action since May 28. Before that, Kim injured his left hamstring on the first day of the season, March 22, and didn’t come back again until April 25.
In 29 games this season prior to Thursday, Kim had a .306/.353/.583 line with seven home runs, 27 RBIs and three steals.
Kim set the KBO on fire last season, winning the regular-season MVP award after launching 38 home runs and stealing 40 bases. At 20, Kim became the youngest player to join the 30-30 club in league history.
He also set a single-season record with 143 runs scored. He batted .347/.420/.647 and had 109 RBIs, becoming the youngest player with a .300 batting average, 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in the same season.
The Tigers, the 2024 Korean Series champions, have had rotten injury luck all season. In addition to losing Kim for an extended stretch of time, they have also missed slugging outfielder Na Sung-bum and veteran infielders Park Chan-ho and Kim Sun-bin.
Yoon Do-hyun, who filled in nicely for Kim at second base, suffered a broken finger on June 11 and hasn’t played since.
Among pitchers, 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.
(Yonhap)
