It was a month of April to remember for WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup star Doyeong Kim. The 20-year-old infielder became the first player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league history to collect at least 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases in one month.
Kim is in his third season with the Kia Tigers. He finished the 2023 season with a .303 batting average, seven home runs and 25 stolen bases in 84 games, 81 at third base and three at shortstop. In 2024, he appeared in 41 games at third base, going 57-for-170 (a .335 batting average) with 11 home runs and 17 stolen bases.
Kim was Korea's starting shortstop at the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2021. He appeared in six games, going 6-for-17 (.353 batting average) with four RBIs.
Korean fans have nicknamed Kim The Stepson of the Wind after Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Jung-Ho Lee, a Tokyo 2020 and WBSC Premier12 star, compared Kim's skill with his legendary father, Jong-Beom Lee. Jong-Beom was known as The Son of the Wind, and Jung-Ho as The Grandson of the Wind.
KBO is the top professional league in Korea. Attendance in 2024 is on pace for record numbers, as over 3m fans have flocked to the ballparks with only 30% of the season's games played.
