Kim Do-young (20), KIA’s main third baseman, is a native of Gwangju who went to Gwangju Daesungcho, Dongseongjung, and Dongseonggo. However, there is a surprising fact. Whenever he comes to Incheon, he hits and runs even harder. Against SSG in Incheon on the 1st, he went 4-for-3 with one home run, one RBI, one stolen base, and three runs scored.

Kim has special memories of Incheon 안전놀이터. His first hit after debuting in the 2022 season came on April 9 against the Incheon SSG. The pitcher was Kim Kwang-hyun, who had just returned from the major leagues. After being silent for five games, Kim went 2-for-5 against Kwang-hyun to record his first career multi-hit game.

Kim appeared in five games for Incheon in the 2022 season. He went 5-for-16 with two home runs, two doubles, and three RBIs. After Busan, where he batted .357 in six games, Incheon’s SSG Landers Field was the next best ballpark. In fact, 2022 was a rough first season for the backup infielder. In Gwangju, he batted .229 in 56 games. But once he got to Incheon, he healed.

This season got off to a bad start. KIA played its opening two games against SSG on April 1-2 in Incheon. Kim Do-young, already a different player from last year, warmed up with a 1-for-5 performance in the opening game. In the second game, he went 3-for-3 with a home run, one RBI, and one run scored.

The lone run of the game came on a wild pitch. He broke his metatarsal while rushing home, landing on the operating table and missing about three months. Incheon seemed to be a heartbreaking city for Kim this year, but after his return, it became the “promised land” again.

It was on July 5. On that day, Kim hit his first career back-to-back home runs. It was also the first time the complete batting lineup, led by Kim Tae-gun, made its debut. It was the second four-hit game of the season. He followed it up with three more hits in game one.

Kim is 13-for-22 with two home runs, five doubles, eight RBIs, and three stolen bases in five games for Incheon this season. In 10 career games, he’s 18-for-38 with a .474 batting average, four home runs, seven RBIs, 11 runs scored, and three doubles. Now that’s a pretty good sample size, and he’s still hitting close to a fifth of the time.

SSGGranderson Field is a hitter-friendly ballpark. However, it’s interesting to note that Kim has consistently hit well in Incheon since last year. I don’t think there’s really a reason. He always tries to hit as well in other stadiums as he does in Incheon.

This season, Kim has hit .429 (3 games, 2 RBIs, 6 runs) in Pohang, .364 (3 games, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) in Busan, .273 (3 games, 1 RBI, 2 runs) in Changwon, and .261 (21 games, 10 runs) in Gwangju. 261 (21 games, 10 RBI, 19 runs, 9 doubles), Suwon batted 0.250 (5 games, 2 RBI, 3 runs, 2 doubles), Jamsil batted 0.214 (3 games), and Daegu batted 0.167 (1 run).

KIA will play SSG in Incheon on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 following the 2-3 series. Four games remain.