“I want to learn senior Lee Jeong-yong’s breaking ball and senior Lee Min-ho’s game management.”
The LG Twins selected right-handed pitcher Kim Dong-gyu (19) from Seongnam High School in the rookie draft last year. Kim Dong-gyu, who is 194 cm and 105 kg, has good physique conditions for his height. Based on this, his fastball angle is good, the pitching mechanism and the power of the ball end are good, so he is considered as a player who has the power to overwhelm batters and will be responsible for LG mound in the future.스포츠토토
In the 2022 season, he went 2-0 with an earned run average of 2.45 while pitching 21.2 innings in 10 games. After his nomination, LG said, “The angle of the fastball is good based on the condition of a good physique with a large height. He has good pitching mechanism and power at the end of the ball, so he has the power to overwhelm the batter.”
Dong-gyu Kim, whom I recently met, said, “I wanted to come to LG. Jamsil Baseball Stadium is the largest and is visited by many people. Watching senior Lee Jeong-yong throw, he thought, ‘Wow, I want to stand on that mound too,’ and it’s really nice to be here.”
The role models are LG’s Pil Seung-jo Lee Jung-yong and LG’s 4-year right-hander Lee Min-ho. “I want to learn senior Lee Min-ho’s game management and senior Lee Jung-yong’s breaking ball,” said Kim Dong-gyu.
However, in an LG YouTube interview right after the nomination, Kim Dong-gyu only talked about Lee Min-ho as a role model. There was a reason why I couldn’t tell Lee Jung-yong. Kim Dong-gyu told the hidden behind-the-scenes story of the day.
Kim Dong-gyu said, “After the draft was over, all my friends were interviewed, and they called seniors who didn’t come out of their school. I couldn’t mention senior Lee Jung-yong because the kids said, ‘Seniors from the same school aren’t good enough’. I want to learn from both Lee Jung-yong and Lee Min-ho,” he laughed. For reference, Lee Jeong-yong was from Seongnam High School, the same high school as Kim Dong-gyu, and Lee Min-ho was from Whimoon High School.
He is tall at 194cm. LG also has high expectations, saying, “The angle of his fastball is good based on his tall height and good physique.”
Kim Dong-gyu also said, “I think the RBI that is plugged in from the key is my strength. It will be difficult for batters to notice the type of pitch because the fastball and breaking ball come similarly and then bend or break.”
In his debut season, he was given the number 64 shirt. When asked if there was a number he wanted to do later, he said, “It is 17. It’s because it’s LA Angels Ohtani’s number.” Currently LG’s number 17 is Park Hae-min.
The hitter he wanted to stick with was Park Byeong-ho (kt Wiz), the home run king of the KBO League. “He is the best hitter in Korea. When we meet, the first pitch will unconditionally throw an in-course fastball.”
Finally, Kim Dong-gyu said, “I want to be in the opening entry. If I don’t make it to the opening entry, I definitely want to go to the first team in May or June. The position I want to do is selection.”