I didn't watch KS because I was angry. I'm not satisfied with the 1.5 billion contract, why is Lim Ki-young studying abroad…Except for KS, how painful it must have been

Dec 22, 2024

The 2023 KBO League Lotte Giants and KIA Tigers match was held at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 2nd. KIA pitcher Lim Ki-young allows a two-run triple to Ko Seung-min with two outs and runners on the first and third bases in the top of the sixth inning. Gwangju = Reporter Choi Moon-young @sportschosun.com /2023.05.02/

"Honestly, no one feels good. I didn't even watch the Korean Series when I was missing the entry. I was angry and angry when I won the championship."

KIA Tigers' sidearm pitcher Lim Ki-young (31) had a very bitter season on his own this year. Because we prepared really hard last winter for the preliminary FA season. He was full of confidence as he had his best season of his career with four wins, 16 holds, three saves, 82 innings and a 2.96 ERA in 64 appearances in the 2023 season.

However, immediately after the opening, all plans were disrupted when the left side left due to micro-damage of the abdominal muscles. First of all, I couldn't throw the ball properly on the mound, and I kept trying to build myself up and stand on the mound, so I kept getting sick somewhere. This is why he recorded only 37 games, 6 wins and 2 losses, 2 holds, 45 ⅔ innings and an ERA of 6.31.

Lim Ki-young said, `The biggest thing I got hurt as soon as I started was. I tried to build my body quickly, but it took a little longer, and when I came to the first team, I started and threw a bullpen, so I think it was a little difficult in that process. In fact, such is an excuse. I wish I had done well in such a situation, but the biggest thing I couldn't do is look back on this year."

KBO's newly introduced ABS (automatic ball determination system) was also a stumbling block for Lim Ki-young. Lim Ki-young is a player who mainly targets low strike zones, and the strike zone set by ABS was generally favorable to players targeting high places.

Lim Ki-young "Certainly had the influence of ABS. Because I'm the type to throw low in a way, but because I didn't catch such a ball, there were many on-base hits by the opponent. At the same time, there were more cases where (I) was driven."

These pains accumulated and were eliminated from the Korean Series entry. KIA won its 12th championship this year, and Lim Ki-young had no choice but to watch from a distance even in the same KIA uniform as his teammates. In the end, this year's Korean Series game did not come into my eyes because I felt resentful for myself.

Lim Ki-young said "Honestly, no one feels good when they're out of the entry. So I didn't watch the Korean Series game. When I won the championship, I had a lot of anger, and I was angry. So I just thought I should show better performance next year,' he said, reflecting on the pain of being eliminated from the Korean Series.

The 2023 KBO League exhibition game between the Hanwha Eagles and the KIA Tigers was held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 13th. KIA Lim Ki-young. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2023.03.13/

A match between KIA and SSG at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 3rd. KIA Lim Ki-young is pitching hard. Incheon = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2023.09.03/

It was the worst season overall, but Lim exercised his FA rights this year. It was a sluggish season, so I had a lot of worries until just before I applied for the FA. Lim Ki-young met with KIA General Manager Shim Jae-hak a day before the FA application and held an hour-long interview, and at this meeting, `I want to stay at KIA" he strongly appealed.

General manager Shim urged Lim Ki-young to `I'll catch him somehow' and completed the FA contract on the 21st as promised. Lim Ki-young signed a total of 1.5 billion won with KIA, including a three-year contract period, a down payment of 300 million won, an annual salary of 900 million won and an option of 300 million won. It took a little more than a month to reach an agreement due to disagreements in the amount, but Lim Ki-young signed the contract without being greedy to admit his sluggish performance this year.

Lim Ki-young was happy to complete his FA contract with KIA, but he was not satisfied. He is determined to do well next year even if it is to repay the club that signed the FA contract after a sluggish season. This is why he decided to leave for the United States a little earlier for training before the spring camp.

Lim Ki-young said, `I'm still working on my body, but I'm preparing to go to the U.S. early next January to get training. The general manager took care of me to go. It's my first time training in the U.S., so I'm looking forward to it, and I want to build up my body quickly, so I decided to do that."

It is also positive that changes will occur in the ABS strike zone, which was not compatible with Lim Ki-young this year. The KBO Executive Committee decided to lower the ABS strike zone by reflecting the results of a team survey earlier this month. Without any change in zone size, both the top and bottom are lowered by 0.6 percentage points, so that the whole moves down.

Lim Ki-young said, `But I think (the changed ABS strike zone) would be better than this year. But I think I'll have to do it before I know. You have to see for yourself how low it has been, and you have to adapt from camp. I think I need to throw away what I've done before and prepare something different" showed a willingness.

Next year, he vowed to give strength to KIA, which is trying to win its second consecutive Korean Series title. Lim Ki-young said, `We showed our fans such a bad performance this season. I think I'll have to show you the same pitching as last year next year"I'm determined.