Kim Do-young Narrowly Misses Home Run with Double in Bid for Youngest 40-HR Record

[Anchor]

KIA Tigers baseball superstar Kim Do-young is continuing his pursuit of becoming the youngest player to hit 40 home runs in a single season today (September 4). However, he expressed regret after a well-hit ball fell just short of clearing the fence.

Reporter Bae Jeonghun has the latest update.

[Reporter]

Kim Do-young hit his 39th home run of the season early on August 26, leaving him just one step away from setting the record as the youngest player to reach 40 home runs.

However, he faced bad luck when four subsequent games were canceled due to rain, and even in regular matchups, he suffered from intense opposing checks, drawing five walks.

As a result, up until yesterday, Kim only managed to pick up one hit in 13 plate appearances across three games, struggling to find his batting rhythm.

He expressed disappointment today as well, going down on a swinging strikeout in his first plate appearance.

In his second plate appearance, he finally connected solidly on a pitch, but it failed to clear the fence.

Facing an inside forkball from KT starting pitcher Bae Je-seong, he launched a powerful hit with an exit velocity of 174 km/h. The ball traveled 108 meters and struck the left-field wall directly, forcing him to settle for a double.

Kim was retired on an infly in his third plate appearance.

If he hits a home run during the three-game series against KT scheduled through the day after tomorrow (September 6), he will break the previous record held by former manager Lee Seung-yuop, known as the "Lion King," and become the youngest player to achieve 40 home runs.

Meanwhile, Hanwha, propelled by Noh Si-hwan's massive two-run home run covering a distance of 145 meters, is challenging to snap a nine-game losing streak against Lotte, while NC, fueled by Kim Hwi-jib's two-hit, two-RBI performance, is aiming for its sixth consecutive win.

(Video by Ha Seong-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.