“I’ve been practicing and the results are coming out with good at-bats.”
Kim Taek-woo (23-NC Dinos) went 4-for-4 with a home run, a walk, three runs scored, and an RBI in a Futures League game against the Samsung Lions at Gyeongsan Ballpark on April 10.
Kim, a graduate of Yushin-Yonsei University, joined the NC Dinos as a developmental player in 2023.
Despite not being drafted, he has shown off his hitting prowess, earning “batting awards” in both high school and college.
Game 10 was a game where Kim’s strengths were on full display. Batting ninth and playing shortstop, he singled in his first at-bat and walked in his second. He then hit in all three of his at-bats to finish with a five-strikeout game. NC went on to win 9-4.
“It feels good to help the team win,” Kim said on the club’s social media after the game.
In his first six games in September, Kim batted .400. He said, “I was out in August due to a left finger injury and returned in September, but I’ve been practicing with Coach Cho Young-hoon and making changes to my swing, and it seems to be working for me. I’m happy that the results of my practice are coming out as good hits in the game,” he explained.
While the conversations with the coaching staff have been helpful, his teammates have also been a good source of motivation. “I practice a lot with (Park) Joo Chan-yi, (Kim) Suyoon-yi, and (Choi) Bo Sung-hyung, and I think I learn a lot by talking to them and practicing with them. My brothers tell me things that the coach can’t see, so I think I get better results while practicing,” he said.
He emphasized the importance of defense, even though offense is also offense, as defense can be played anywhere in the infield. “Hitting is important, but I think you have to pay more attention to defense than hitting. If your defense is unstable, you won’t be able to play, so I’ve been practicing a lot on how to handle ground balls,” he said.
“I think it was a bit of a disappointing year for me because I was doing well in the beginning of the season, but I felt my physical strength dropping in the summer, and then I got injured, so it was a very disappointing time to not be able to play my favorite sport. I felt it was more unfortunate that I couldn’t play due to injury than that I didn’t perform well,” she said, adding, “It took a lot of strength to catch the ball on the defensive side than at the 토토사이트 beginning of the season, but I’ve been practicing with coach Ji Seok-hoon to make my grip softer, and it seems to have improved. I will continue to work on my handling.” He added, “I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.
On the end of the season, he said, “I think my priority is to not get injured in the remaining matches. I will do my best to prepare from Camp1 (the final training camp) and show my best in Camp2 (spring camp).”
