Home > Sports > Baseball

Slugger Kim Do-yeong buoyed by home run in tuneup game

Published: 03 Mar. 2026, 13:02

Kim Do-yeong of Korea, left, celebrates with teammate Lee Jung-hoo after hitting a solo home run against the Hanshin Tigers during an exhibition game ahead of the World Baseball Classic at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, on March 2. [YONHAP]

With the World Baseball Classic (WBC) fast approaching, Korean slugger Kim Do-yeong likes where his game is headed.

The latest proof of Kim's fine form was the solo home run he blasted during an exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, on Monday.

Kim, the 2024 regular-season MVP in the KBO, had also homered in his previous game, an unofficial scrimmage in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. Then in the fifth inning of Monday's game, Kim took Daiki Hayakawa deep to left-center field for a solo shot that tied the game at 3-3.

“Since we arrived here, I've been trying to put myself into better game shape,” Kim said afterward. After about two weeks of training and playing scrimmages against KBO teams in Okinawa, the national team had its first practice in Osaka on Sunday and then played the Tigers on Monday. Kim and his teammates will take on another Japanese club, the Orix Buffaloes, on Tuesday.

“Right now, I feel as good as I normally do,” Kim said. “In the first couple of at-bats, I was worried about things I don't normally pay attention to, leading to some rushed swings. In that third at-bat, I only concentrated on things I normally focus on, and that had a great result.”

After a historic 2024 campaign for the Kia Tigers, as he became the youngest player to put up at least 30 homers and 30 steals and set a league record with 143 runs scored, Kim only played 30 out of the team's 144 games in 2025. He suffered three separate hamstring injuries — twice hurting it while running the bases and once when playing defense at third.

On Monday, Kim started the game at third base and made a tricky catch on a pop fly right on the mound as he fell to the ground. He also legged out an infield hit to lead off the game in the first inning, showing no ill effects of his hamstring problems.

Yonhap