The shortstop position of Kiwoom is still Muju. Can Kiwoom find a replacement for Kim Hui-jip, the national shortstop.
Shortstop with a wide defense radius is called the “flower of infield defense.” Kim Hwi-jip has been the shortstop in Kiwoom. After Kim Hwi-jip was traded to NC in May, Kiwoom began an open audition for shortstop without promise. Players who were not given many opportunities in the first division are taking the opportunity to select and are being tested for shortstop’s quality. As the season is nearing the end, there seems to be no right person until now.
Kim Tae-jin (29) is the most frequently used shortstop since Kim Hwi-jip’s transfer. Kim played shortstop for the first time in 11 years since his debut on June 14. Although Kim encompasses both infield and outfield defense, he had no experience as a shortstop in a professional league. “Kim Tae-jin’s use of shortstop is a strategy that can be used occasionally when creating offensive lineups,” Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki said at the time. So far, Kim has played shortstop in 271.1 innings (25 starts in 47 games) and recorded three errors.
Lee Jae-sang, 19, a high school graduate who wore the Kiwoom uniform as the 16th player in the second round this season, received the most opportunities after Kim Tae-jin. Lee took the shortstop position in 221 innings (28 starts in 35 games) this year, his debut season. Lee Jae-sang, who had been drawing attention as a shortstop prospect since he was an amateur, started the game as shortstop on June 1, right after the trade of Kim Hui-jip. As a shortstop, he showed stable defense by scoring 44 putouts and four errors this season. However, he was eliminated from the first division entry due to poor batting performance in the aftermath of a fractured finger in April.
A rookie in the fourth round, Ko Young-woo (23) has also been tested as a shortstop. Ko had a chance to start as a shortstop early on May 10. He had been deployed as a shortstop in 67 innings (seven starts in 14 games), but has been playing again recently as a third baseman. 안전놀이터
Kim Byung-hwi (23) has also joined the shortstop competition. Kim, who joined the team as the 37th player in the second round of the fourth round in 2020, has not had many chances in the first division since his debut, but has recently been listed in the starting lineup as a shortstop. Kim, who has been playing 67 innings (14 games as a seventh starter), has started as a shortstop in three of the last four games. Kim, who has played only 13 games in the 2021 and 10 games in the 2023 seasons in the first division, is in desperate need of survival in the first division. “He is a good defender,” Hong said of Kim. “A fielder can get more opportunities in the first division only when he has good defense.”
Kiwoom is still continuing its audition without finding a fixed shortstop. “The story that the competition for shortstop is fierce is proof that no player gives that much confidence,” coach Hong said. There is a desperate need for a new face to erase the afterimage of Kim Hwi-jip.