SEOUL– After annihilating a fastball for a two-run homer to tie a postseason baseball game Monday night, Doosan Bears’ cleanup hitter Kim Jae-hwan dropped his bat and admired his towering shot, channeling his inner Ken Griffey Jr.
Kim’s blast in the bottom of the eighth inning brought the Bears even with the Kiwoom Heroes at 4-4 in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) wild card game. The Heroes broke the tie with a three-spot in the top of the ninth for a 7-4 victory at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
But if the Bears had pulled off a win, Kim’s celebration — after the bat drop, he pointed to the dugout and clapped on his way to first base, somewhat out of character for the soft-spoken veteran — would have stood as the signature moment of the night.
With the Bears about to take their second crack at winning the wild card Tuesday, Kim said his bat drop was a message to his teammates: let’s enjoy this experience together, win or lose.
“We have some young pitchers and position players, and I want them to play as many postseason games as possible,” said the 33-year-old captain with 33 postseason games to his credit. “No matter how long or short this postseason lasts for us this year, I told them we should have fun playing these games.”
Kim is now one of few remaining members of the Bears’ dynastic run. They’ve played in every Korean Series since 2015, and won titles in 2015, 2016 and 2019. They only need a tie Tuesday to advance to the next round, but a loss will end that impressive streak.
Kim, the oldest member of the starting lineup in the first game, said he was passing along things he’d heard from veterans a handful of years ago.
“I’ve learned so much from some great veteran players over the years, and I wanted to set an example for younger guys just like they did for me,” Kim said. “As an older player now, I wanted to fire up the dugout and show a different side that maybe people didn’t see during the regular season.”
The Bears have let a handful of stars leave via free agency in recent seasons, and appear to be on their last legs. But Kim was ready to put Monday’s disappointment behind him.
“Last night, we all did our best. And today is even more important,” he said. “We’ll win as a team and lose as a team. We want to make sure we won’t have any regrets at the end.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency