In this file photo from Oct. 3, 2024, Doosan Bears closer Kim Taek-yeon pitches against the KT Wiz during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization wild card game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — At the tender age of 19, Doosan Bears closer Kim Taek-yeon mowed down hitters and helpless hitters with shocking ease in 2024, establishing himself as the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
But the right-hander isn’t one to gloat over his success. He isn’t even sure he can give himself any grade for his performance in 2024 because he doesn’t feel he has proven anything yet.
Kim believes he has much more to give.
“One thing is for sure. I must be better next year than I was this year,” Kim said in a group interview Thursday after his offseason workout at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. “I feel like I have not fully matured physically, and I have so much room for improvement on the technical side too.”
Kim relied mostly on his four-seam fastballs and sliders this season to strike out 78 batters in 65 innings, while also recording 19 saves — a record by a rookie out of high school — and a 2.08 ERA. He threw very few curveballs, changeups and splitters, and Kim said one of those three will become his main third pitch next year.
“I want to sharpen my second and third pitches during the offseason,” Kim said. “I’ve been working on my curveball for some time now. I want to give it a little twist and throw a harder curveball than usual.”
Kim said he will need a third pitch to become more effective against left-handed batters. This year, right-handed batters hit just .177 against Kim with an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .508, while left-handed batters had a .259 batting average with a .706 OPS.
“The fact that left-handed hitters didn’t strike out as much and hit for higher average means I didn’t have a putaway pitch against them,” Kim said. “If I am up against a left-handed guy with the bases loaded, I won’t be able to get by with just my fastballs and sliders.”
Kim’s 2.08 ERA is plenty good, but he had a 7.71 ERA after his first three outings of the season in March. Take those games out of the equation, and Kim’s ERA would be 1.87.
Kim thrived after taking over as the closer in June. His own manager Lee Seung-yuop marveled at the way Kim went after hitters fearlessly, saying he pitched much older than his age.
Kim said he never thought about his age once he stood on the mound.
“To me, whether you’re 19 or some old veteran, you’re baseball players all the same,” Kim said. “My mindset all season long was that I was facing baseball players, not someone much older and more experienced than I am. I wanted to be aggressive all the time and show people that I am not your average 19-year-old pitcher.”
The job of the closer comes with the pressure of having to protect slim leads in late innings, but Kim said going through tight situations early in his career helped him with the mental side of baseball.
“Being in tough situations forced me to stay focused, and getting key strikeouts helped me with my confidence,” Kim said. “I caught some lucky breaks along the way, and my pitches improved as the season progressed.”
Kim said he was most proud of his strikeout numbers. He averaged 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings and struck out 28.2 percent of the batters he faced, among the best numbers for relief pitchers.
“Early in the season, I didn’t have conviction in my abilities. I wasn’t sure if my stuff would play in the KBO,” Kim said. “But I finished with more strikeouts than innings pitched. That showed me I could get hitters out in this league.”
Kim, who gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in one inning of work in his debut on March 23, said rough patches early in the season hardened him for the rest of the year.
“I think I was able to learn from early miscues and grow up as the season wore on,” Kim reflected. “I didn’t know a year could go by so quickly. I am grateful that I was able to stay healthy the whole season.”
Asked to give himself a grade for this year’s performance, Kim said: “I don’t think I can really grade myself for this year because I was just experiencing the league for the first time. Maybe I will evaluate myself next year.”
Though the Bears’ season has ended, Kim’s year is not over. He is considered a lock to make the South Korean national team for the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament next month, with manager Ryu Joong-il planning to take young players with an eye toward the 2026 World Baseball Classic and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Kim said he will try to pitch for the national team much the same way he did for his KBO club.
“Obviously, I will be throwing a lot of fastballs. And if I get knocked around, that means I will need to get better,” Kim said. “Just because my fastballs worked in the KBO, it doesn’t mean they will work at the Premier12. So I will see how this plays out. I am still young enough to go through trials and errors, and I want to take advantage of that while I can.”
(Yonhap)
