"Extra-large trade → 2nd military service", left an impact with a sweeping triple. "I had a lot of trouble..."
"Extra-large trade → 2nd military service", left an impact with a sweeping triple. "I had a lot of trouble..."
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Kim Min-seok (21) of the Doosan Bears did not miss his third chance. As such, he looked forward to this moment in the Futures League.메이저놀이터
Kim Min-seok started as the sixth batter in the visiting left field of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 30th and led his team to a 9-4 come-from-behind victory by swinging two hits, one strikeout, three RBIs, and one run from five times at bat.
Kim Min-seok, who was nominated by the Lotte Giants as the third-ranked player in the first round in 2023, wore a Doosan uniform in a 3-2 trade with Choo Jae-hyun and Choi Woo-in in exchange for Jung Chul-won and Jeon Min-jae ahead of this season.
It was a trade that Jung Chul-won and Kim Min-seok were called the main cards. Lotte definitely needed bullpen resources, and Doosan was desperate for promising outfield resources to take responsibility for the future.
Jung Cheol-won established himself as Lotte's key bullpen and missed more than two weeks due to injury, so he failed to fill the regular at-bat, but Jeon Min-jae, who is on the verge of returning to the top of the batting list, also swung hard.
The situation of Kim Min-seok, who said himself, "I thought it was a huge trade," was somewhat different. He started from the opening game and played a two-run third base with multiple hits, including a triple, and continued his hit streak for four consecutive games, but he was silent for five consecutive games after that, eventually being notified of his move to the second team.
He returned on the 20th of last month and seemed to have a good hitting sense with three consecutive hits, but he was later mired in a slump and was eliminated from his second first-team entry.
Kim Min-seok, who was listed in the starting lineup on the day after his third comeback, had a hit to the right from his first at-bat in the second inning but failed to steal a base, before bending his head down. However, when Jake Cave hit a tying two-run homer to hit Yang Ji-yul's slider at the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded with one out and one out, he roared with a three-run sweep that ran behind the right field. The game was decided in an instant, and Doosan won a come-from-behind victory.
After the game, coach Lee Seung-yeop said, "The batting line was evenly distributed and led the team to come from behind to win. Notably, the team scored seven runs in the seventh inning when the tide was lagging," adding, "I want to praise Kim Min-seok for hitting a three-run triple with a good swing at the bases-loaded opportunity."
Kim Min-seok, who failed to take advantage of the opportunity in the third inning, said, "I was disappointed, but I calculated the batting order, and I tried to stay fast because I thought I would have more chances twice," adding, "I thought let's focus on defense quickly."
Kim Min-seok, who had been waiting for the right time, had a chance. He also aimed the ball precisely. "I got fastballs for both the first and second pitches, but I didn't think I would come after that," he said, smiling. "I thought about it from the moment I was at bat that I would show fastballs and then bring a pitching pattern that lures the ball down low, but I think that was right, which resulted in good results."
Kim Min-seok, who got the opportunity to take charge of the victory, said, "My seniors walked and hit me with a ball that hit me in the front, so I confidently turned (the bat) around thinking that I didn't want to get struck out and hit with double play because it would be a come-from-behind victory even if I hit an outfield fly. As soon as I checked (the ball fell), I played hard thinking that even if I die, I would die at third base unconditionally." The dust on Kim Min-seok's uniform represented the decisive performance of the day.
As much as it was highly anticipated, it was not easy to calm down while moving back and forth between the second division. "I had a lot of trouble, but I thought it was a process of getting stronger because I had to play baseball for a few decades, not just for a year or two, and I did image training on my own," he said. "It's certainly an environment where I can practice more than the first team, so I reflected on myself a lot and studied how to set my own zone and hit the ball well."
In the second division, Kim was also given infield lessons at the first and second bases. He was desperate to survive in the first division. "My main field was the outfield, but I trained when my infield coach had time or when I had time," Kim said. "Both infield and outfielders in the Major League can be more utilized and participate in more games, so we practiced together in that area." Kim Min-seok, who defended first and second bases, also received high satisfaction from the Futures coaching staff.
He has the mindset that he will no longer be able to travel to and from the Futures. "His performance on the day gave me confidence, and I want to show this kind of performance in the future," Kim Min-seok said with a smile. "I'm glad that he made a good balance in the 2nd division to the 1st division game."