"All I got was a pongo."
Samsung Lions catcher Kim Jae-sung, 27, recently had an unconventional "affair. Kim Jae-sung had the unusual experience of starting at first base for two consecutive games, on the 17th and 18th against the Suwon KT Wiz.
It was Samsung's move to bolster its offense. Samsung had recently been thinking about how to utilize its three hitting catchers, and came up with the idea of using Kim Jae-sung at first base to get all three catchers into the game. Son Joo-in, a defensive coach, recommended that Kim Jae-sung play first base, and when Park Jin-man asked him about it, he responded with a confident "I'll play first base" and Samsung's special lineup was finalized. In preparation for Oh's absence, the team had been practicing first base defense for several days.
Kim Jae-sung himself was surprised by the sudden appearance. "My grandson's coach told me to take a fungo, so I took an infield fungo a few days ago. I was surprised when I saw the starting lineup the day before (on the 16th). At first, I thought they had mislabeled (Kim) Jae-sang. I was nervous," he recalled.
Kim confessed that he had never played first base defense in his entire amateur career. This was his first time playing first base in a game, both professionally and in his baseball career. "It was my first time playing first base, and it was really hard. It's a position that looks easy, but I realized very quickly that it wasn't. I thought my (first base) brothers were great," he said, shaking his head.
Despite playing first base for the first time in his life, Kim Jae-sung was relatively solid and did a good job defending the position. Coach Park Jin-man, who watched the game on the 17th, said, "Kim Jae-sung did a good job defending first base. It was his first time, but he was relaxed, and he must have been confused about the direction of the ball, but his stability stood out after the first game." He praised the first baseman.
However, Kim Jae-sung said he was actually nervous about the game. "There were people around me saying, 'Relax,' but I didn't listen. Instead, he retorted, "It's an important game, so how can I relax? More than his successful defense, Kim Jae-sung remembers and was bothered by the throwing error that tied the game in the 16th inning. He blamed himself for not being able to catch a throw from third baseman Kim Young-woong in a two-on-three situation with a one-run lead.
To avoid repeating the same mistake, Kim Jae-sung focused on the next day's game. On the 18th, he finished the game with a scoreless inning. 토토사이트 "It wasn't easy to concentrate because I was in an awkward position, but it helped that I prepared by imagining situations such as hitting and serving positions," he smiled.
Despite his awkwardness on defense, he swung the bat the way the team wanted him to. After going 4-for-3 on Day 17, he continued his hot hitting on Day 18, going 4-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. In the 18th game, which featured all three catchers, he combined with Kang Min-ho and Kim Tae-gun for seven hits and three RBIs to lead the team to a 7-5 victory. Kim Jae-sung's performance shined.
"I was lucky to get a good result," he said, adding, "I will continue to work hard and focus on playing well for the team (whether at first base or catcher)."
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