It was a 60% effort. He swung the bat with all his might on his uninjured thigh, and his ticket to the Korean Series arrived.

Kim Min-hyuk was named the Daily MVP of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason after hitting the tying run in the fifth game of the best-of-five playoff series against the NC Dinos at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, South Korea. It was the game-winning hit that led the team to the Korean Series for the first time in two years.

Kim Min-hyuk was playing the playoffs as a substitute due to the aftermath of an injury he suffered at the end of the regular season. 바카라사이트 After being left out of the starting lineup for the fateful Game 5, Kim came in as a pinch-hitter for Oh Yoon-seok with runners on first and third in the bottom of the fifth inning, trailing 0-2. After Jang Sung-woo doubled and Moon Sang-chul singled to left to tie the game, Lee pulled out the contact-friendly Kim Min-hyuk.

Kim was facing a 1B-2S count against NC starter Shin Min-hyuk, but he calmly watched the next two pitches to get a full count. He then lined a six-pitch changeup to deep right for a two-run double to tie the game. The ball went so deep that Moon Sang-chul, who was on first base, was able to steal second and third to reach home.

After Kim Min-hyuk’s RBI single changed the momentum,

KT broke the 2-2 tie in the sixth inning when Kim Sang-soo and Hwang Jae-gyun walked and Alford singled to load the bases before Park Byung-ho singled home Kim Sang-soo. It was the final run of the game.

Kim Min-hyuk said after the game, “It was a frustrating game for us offensively. The manager and batting coach told me to prepare early today, and I think the fact that I practiced batting indoors beforehand led to a good result,” he said, sharing the secret of his pinch-hit hit.

Kim suffered a serious injury while fielding against the Suwon Lotte on Sept. 21. It was the top of the ninth inning with runners on second and first with a 5-0 lead. KT’s Kim Young-hyun hit a hard line drive to the right outfield against Lotte’s Kim Min-seok, and the right fielder made a spectacular sliding catch for the final out.

While making the catch, Kim’s left thigh hit the ground hard. His thigh caught in the grass and prevented him from making a smooth slide. After the pitch, Kim laid down on the ground and called for the team trainer with an urgent gesture, complaining of extreme pain while holding his left thigh with his right hand.

After a medical examination,

Kim was informed that he had torn two muscles in his left thigh. He is expected to be out for at least four weeks and will not be able to play in the postseason. Kim’s rehabilitation took longer than expected, and he was unable to fully recover his thigh, so he made the playoff roster without being able to run or play defense.

“After I got injured, I thought I would recover unconditionally by fall baseball, but when I got a second opinion, they told me it was a little bad,” he said. “I thought it was right to go to the bat, so I didn’t think about it in a hurry and focused a little more on hitting,” he said.

As for his current physical condition, he said, “I’m running at about 60%. My batting is fine, but I still have pain when I play the infield and field,” he said.

Kim Min-hyuk will be on the roster for the Korean Series, which starts on July 7, to continue the team’s V2 journey. “We were so close, I thought that if we passed that one chance, we wouldn’t come back, and that was the deciding factor,” said Lee Kang-cheol. “Even if Kim Min-hyuk wasn’t feeling well, I thought it was a good idea. We were debating whether to include him in the playoffs, but he’s a good contact hitter, so we included him, and it worked out well for us today. He did very well. He’ll be with us for the Korean Series.”