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Reigning KBO MVP Kim Do-yeong suffers 2nd hamstring injury of season

Published: 28 May. 2025, 16:48

Kia Tigers infielder Kim Do-young steals second base with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning during the KBO game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on May 27. [YONHAP]

The reigning Korean baseball MVP Kim Do-yeong has suffered yet another hamstring injury that will keep him out for several weeks, with his Kia Tigers unable to catch a break as they try to defend their league title.

Kim grabbed the back of his right thigh after stealing second base during the bottom of the fifth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju.

Immediately after his third steal of the season, Kim called for a trainer and walked off the field, with a slight limp, moments later.

The initial diagnosis Tuesday night showed some damage to Kim's right hamstring. The Tigers then announced Wednesday afternoon that Kim has a grade 2 strain and he will be reevaluated four weeks later.

Kim missed the first month of the season with a milder, grade 1 strain of his left hamstring. He pulled up lame after rounding first base during the season-opening game on March 22 and did not play again until April 25.

And the 21-year-old superstar had been playing well before the injury. He entered Wednesday's game batting .330 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in 26 games.

Tigers manager Lee Bum-ho had asked Kim to refrain from stealing so that he could avoid another leg injury. Kim mostly heeded that advice and didn't even have any steal attempt this season until swiping two bags without getting caught last Saturday.

But then the disaster struck for the Tigers on Wednesday when Kim, who had just hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 2-1, suffered his second hamstring injury of the year.

Kia Tigers infielder Kim Do-young, left, walks off during the KBO game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on May 27. [YONHAP]

Kim took the KBO by storm in 2024, claiming the regular-season MVP trophy in a landslide after putting up 38 home runs and stealing 40 bases. It made him the youngest member of the 30-30 club in KBO history at age 20.

Kim also set a single-season record with 143 runs scored. He batted .347/.420/.647 and had 109 RBIs, becoming the youngest player with a .300 batting average, 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in the same season.

The Tigers, trying to become the first team in nine years to repeat as Korean Series champions, have had rotten injury luck all season.

In addition to Kim, the Tigers have been without shortstop Park Chan-ho and second baseman Kim Sun-bin at different times. Two of their big mashers, first baseman Patrick Wisdom and outfielder Na Sung-bum, are currently out with back and calf injuries, respectively.

Among pitchers, reliever Kwak Do-gyu underwent season-ending elbow surgery in April, and starter Hwang Dong-ha suffered a fractured back earlier this month after being struck by a vehicle running a red light.

Yonhap