Kiwoom Heroes catcher Kim Dong-heon (19) was eliminated from the first team entry for the first time after his debut.
Kiwoom made an entry change on the 2nd, Monday, when there is no baseball. Kim Dong-heon and outfielder Lim Byung-wook (28) were canceled. The players who will replace them will be registered in the first team ahead of the Gocheok NC Dinos game on the 3rd.
Kim Dong-heon, who graduated from Chungam High School and was nominated in the 12th overall in the 2nd round at Kiwoom this year, boarded the opening entry along with his classmate Kim Gun-hee. Kim Gun-hee (19) was canceled 5 days after the opening, but Kim Dong-heon survived alone. Even though he is a rookie with a high school diploma, he was fully trusted enough to share the home of the team with veteran catcher Lee Ji-young (37).
Until the 2nd of this month, out of the team’s 77 games, Lee Ji-young started as a catcher in 50 games and Kim Dong-heon played in 27 games. . Looking at the 10th most defensive innings (295⅓ innings) among catchers in the league this year, he was more than a tolerable backup catcher.
Kim Dong-heon played many games as soon as he appeared in the first team, and was named among the two catchers along with Kim Hyung-jun (24, NC) in the final entry (24 players) of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games announced last month. The KBO Power Reinforcement Committee boldly chose Kim Dong-heon instead of the catcher wild card for long-term development that looked forward to the 2026 WBC. He is the only rookie in the Asian Games held in October.
Why did Kim Dong-heon, who was on a winning streak as soon as he joined, suddenly hit the brakes? After Kim Dong-heon was canceled on the 2nd, an official from the Kiwoom club said, “There is no injury. If Kim Dong-heon has ‘experienced’ in the 1st group so far, now is the time to step up from the 2nd group like other rookies.
Kim Dong-heon was recently replaced with Lee Ji-young in the second half of the game and often came in particularly tight situations. Kim Dong-heon was put into defense in the top of the 6th inning with a 5-2 lead against the Gocheok SSG Landers on the 2nd. The team eventually lost 5-9 with 1 run in the 6th inning, 4 runs in the 8th inning and 2 runs in the 9th inning, and also gave up 5th place to Doosan.
There is no way that the Kiwoom team sent rookie Kim Dong-heon to the second team, taking responsibility for the loss on the 2nd. It is highly likely that the team, which started June in 8th place and finished in 5th place, now has to go out, deciding that now is the time to reorganize Kim Dong-heon in the 2nd team, where every game is breathtaking. A rookie born in 2004 is too young and has a heavy burden on his shoulders to take responsibility for everything from holds to saves.안전놀이터
In fact, many people see Kim Dong-heon’s frequent business trips at the beginning of the season as an ‘appeal’ for the Asian Games. Kim Dong-heon started 24 of the team’s 57 games (23 catchers, 1 designated hitter) until the day before the Asian Games final entry on the 9th of last month, but after the announcement of his entry, he only started 4 out of 20 games. However, he gained a lot of experience as a backup catcher, appearing in 18 of 20 games as a substitute in 14 games.
Park Do-hyun, Kiwoom battery coach, said of Kim Dong-heon, “He is a smart player. Once taught, his ability to absorb is good and his willingness to learn is good.” As soon as he joined this year, he must have been distracted, but each game must have been a great experience and a lot of study for him. Kim Dong-heon’s life as a catcher is not the end of the second army, but the beginning. He can take responsibility for the Asian Games and the future of the team only when he plays more games and becomes a catcher with richer experience.