The first save of his debut was the game that confirmed the team’s advancement to the postseason. Doosan Bears Kim Myung-shin experienced the joy of preserving victory for the first time.
Doosan won a record 3-2 in the away game against LG in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 14th. With the win on this day, they brought their season record to 74 wins, 2 draws, and 65 losses, and confirmed their advancement to the postseason regardless of the results of the remaining games. With three games left in the regular season for Doosan, the rankings may change depending on the results of these three games.
On this day, Kim Myung-shin took over the mound from Kim Kang-ryul in a crisis situation with 1st and 2nd bases out and no outs, leading 3-2, by one point. And Kim Myung-shin, who led Austin Dean to a fly ball to left field, ended the game by catching Oh Ji-hwan with a fly ball to right field and Moon Bo-kyung with a fly ball to center field in the ensuing situation with one out and runners on 1st and 3rd base. With the first save of Kim Myung-shin, who joined the team in 2017, Doosan confirmed its advancement to the fall baseball season.
Kim Myeong-shin, whom we met after the game, said, “I don’t know if I can say this, but I thought it wasn’t my score anyway. I thought that if I blocked it, I was doing well, and I couldn’t help it even if I gave it a score, so I did my best as (Yang) Eui-ji made a sign, but Ui-ji hyung’s “The cause of death was shocking,” he said.
Kim Myung-shin laughed, saying, “Actually, Austin thought it was a hit, and the two were home runs, but he didn’t go as far as I thought, so I felt good.” He analyzed, “I thought Austin’s batting was more about counting the ball than a miss, but the slider went in a little slow and seemed to hit well at the end.”
Until this day, Kim Myung-shin had only been on the mound once in a save situation. Kim Myung-shin went down to the mound in the Jamsil KIA game on September 1, 2021, after Yoo Hee-gwan met the requirement for a total of 100 wins by allowing 1 run in 6 innings, and then went on the mound in the top of the 9th inning when the score was 2-1 and one run was kicked with one out and a runner on first base. However, he became the losing pitcher when he was hit by a two-run gun from Choi Won-jun with 2 outs and 3rd base on base.안전놀이터
Kim Myeong-shin said, “Maybe it’s because I’m not a fast pitcher, but I didn’t have many opportunities to save. I had one chance when Hee-kwan missed his 10th win, and this was the second time, and as I went up, I remembered a little bit of that time. This time, I thought, ‘But let’s try.’ “I thought about this,” I looked back.
Doosan, which plays the Korean Series every year and ended the regular season early last year by finishing in 9th place, returned to fall baseball after two years. Kim Myeong-shin said, “Last year, when we finished 9th and had a finishing camp, it felt different seeing other teams playing baseball. So, the team members said, ‘We have to do it again next year,’ and I feel good because I can go this year. “It’s good and I feel even better because I feel like I played a part in it.”
Kim Myung-shin recorded 1 win, 9 holds, and 1 save in the last 12 games he appeared on the mound. He is expected to play an important role in the postseason as well. Kim Myung-shin replied, “Nothing has been decided, but no matter the situation, I never shake my head. I think it’s my job to throw every corner as soon as Ui-hyung signs.”