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Tigers manager relieved after Kim Do-yeong gets up from awkward fall in Wednesday game

Published: 02 Apr. 2026, 21:57

Kia Tigers third baseman Kim Do-yeong, second from right, stays crouched in pain after a diving catch attempt during a KBO regular-season game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on April 1. [YONHAP]

Kia Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho felt his heart drop Wednesday night when his prized third baseman Kim Do-yeong went down to the ground in apparent pain.

Kim tried to make a diving grab on a scorcher off the bat of LG Twins slugger Park Dong-won during Wednesday's game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul. Kim couldn't quite get to the ball and stayed on the field for a few moments after an awkward fall.

It would have been a nightmare for the Tigers to lose Kim, the 2024 KBO regular-season MVP, to yet another injury. After his historic 2024 campaign, in which he became the youngest KBO player to record at least 30 homers and 30 steals in a season, Kim played in only 30 out of the possible 144 games in 2025 due to three separate hamstring injuries.

Fortunately for the Tigers, Kim dusted himself off and emerged with only a minor bump to his back. Lee will keep Kim off the field and start him as designated hitter (DH) against the Twins for Thursday's series finale.

Kim is batting .357 with a homer and three RBIs in four games this season.

"He wasn't getting up right away, and I was afraid he might have injured his shoulder," Lee told reporters in his pregame media scrum at Jamsil. "Things could have been a lot worse, and we could have lost him for at least 15 days. We were going to use him as DH for today anyway."

The Tigers were bitten hard by the injury bug all of last season, with Kim just one of several key players to miss extended time on the sidelines. There were some freak situations, too, with reliever Hwang Dong-ha missing more than four months of action after being struck by a car running a red light.

"It's not just with Do-yeong. Whenever one of our guys goes down, my heart starts racing," Lee said with a wry smile.

Outfielder Na Sung-bum, who also missed a big chunk of the 2025 season, is another player back at full health for the start of this season. He has looked spry on defense in particular.

"I think he will start moving even better as the season progresses," Lee said. "He cares a lot about his defense. After about 20 games in the books, I think we will see an even better version of him."

The Tigers also called up veteran reliever Lee Tae-yang from the minors before Thursday's game, and the 35-year-old is awaiting his Tigers debut after being let go by the Hanwha Eagles, with whom he'd spent 10 seasons.

"He's a professional. I know he's worked hard since spring training to try to prove himself here," the manager said. "We will ask him to cover a couple of innings at a time, especially when our starter gets pulled early."

Yonhap