Участник:"The price of milk is no joke."
There is a reason to do better this year than last year for Lim Ki-young (31), the highest annual salary in the KIA Tigers pitcher group in 2024.
"I've been expecting a baby with my wife since the end of last year's season," said Lim Ki-young, who I met recently at the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. Parenting is the most difficult thing to do. Even if you look at it together, you and your wife are definitely different. Still, it's really good so far."
Lim has a different job to do this winter. Training has not changed yet. This winter, like last year, he comes to work before 9 a.m. to focus on reinforcement and weight training, and after leaving work in the afternoon, he focuses on raising children. After making a one-hundred-year engagement with Kim Se-eum, a former KIA cheerleader in the winter of 2020, Lim gave birth to her first child in three years in September last year. For his wife, who allowed him to concentrate on baseball during the season, he is trying to spend time with his family as much as possible until spring camp.
Lim Ki-young said, "She cared about me and cared about me as much as possible during the season, but I was even more grateful while raising my child. That's what I'm worried about because when I go to spring camp, I have to see my wife alone again. That's why I try to be with her (childrearing) as much as possible until I go to camp. When I go out to exercise in the morning and go in the afternoon, I spend as much time as possible with my wife. I sometimes take my child for a walk in the evening," Lim said.
Lim Ki-young, who was performing well day by day thanks to his wife who always supported him, had a career-high season last year. Despite playing as a starter for six seasons and completely switching to a bullpen, he played in 64 games (82 innings) as a long-relief pitcher, recording four wins, four losses, 16 holds, three saves and an ERA of 2.96.
In response, Lim Ki-young said, "When I played as a bullpen at the end of 2022, and competed with (Yoon) Young-chul as a fifth starter before the start of 2023, I thought I would go to the bullpen for some reason. Thinking that way, I thought I would use a lot if I went to the middle, so I felt stronger that I should do well. I didn't feel bad at all, and if I do well here (with a bullpen), my value will increase even more."
After going through a short period of adaptation in April, he became a bullpen member from May. He played regardless of time and circumstances. If the starter collapsed early, he took the mound to fill the inning that was lacking, and even if his team was in crisis, he took the mound without fail as a must-win team. This is evidenced by the fact that he played more than two innings 14 times and had 73 at-bats with a scoring right. Despite tough situations, Lim has minimized a large number of runs by posting a 0.235 hit-to-score ratio and a 0.353 hit-to-score ratio.
"In April, I had a hard time adjusting from warming up to taking the mound irregularly. However, I was able to adapt quickly because my coaches helped me by telling me when to take the mound in advance," Lim said. "When I took the mound, I decided to finish the game quickly with the fewest number of balls. When I took the mound under important circumstances, I thought about the minimum number of lost goals. If I try not to give up the ball at all, the result would be even worse," Lim recalled.
The KIA team returned the team's highest annual salary as a pitcher thanks to its dedication in supporting the team's pitching staff under all circumstances. Coach Kim Jong-kook's generous praise after the season was not an empty promise. "The coach always said thank you. But I thought it was something that a player should definitely do. If any team faces a difficult situation, someone has to do the job. Since I have experience as a starting pitcher, I could throw long balls and what the team needed was what I could do. The coaches and pitchers all around me said thank you, so I felt that I did a good job in the direction that the team wanted," Lim said.
Another part of Lim's performance recognized by KIA is the clubhouse leadership. He keeps young players' spirit alive, but he speaks like a senior when his actions are excessive. It is a necessary role at a time when young players are making strides due to the recent generational change.
"When (Ryu) Ji-hyuk was in our team, Ji-hyuk was the fielder and I was in the pitching team a lot. Now (Lee) Woo-sung and (Han) Seung-taek talk a lot about the fielder's team. Players who have their weapons and are greedy for baseball, such as (Lee) Ri-ri and (Jeong) Hae-young, do not touch them separately. Instead, I often talk about this and that to players who go back and forth between the first and second teams," Lim said.
"I've experienced that a lot, and I've experienced such things before, so I always tell my juniors not to be intimidated and to do what they can in the first division. When you do something excessive, you say what you have to say again. Someone has to do what they have to do. I hope they keep what they have to do, but throw it down without any regrets," he added.
Lim's appointment for this year has yet to be decided. He could join the starting lineup with Will Crowe, James Nail, Yang Hyun-jong, Yi Ui-ri and Yoon Young-chul, or join the bullpen with Chung Hae-young, Choi Ji-min, Jang Hyun-sik, Jeon Sang-hyun and Park Jun-pyo. Lim's commitment is to prepare for any position equally.
"Our pitching staff is very good. I always thought that whenever I went to the camp every year, there was no room for me to start or anything. I always want to compete because good players can come out to fill my position and I can't make it or get hurt at any time," he said. "I have no personal goal and I don't think about FA. I feel that I need to get a good team performance unconditionally. When I get a team performance, my record follows me."
Rather, more realistic reasons fueled Lim's motivation. "Now that my child is born, I definitely thought I should work harder," Lim said. "It didn't feel real when everyone said milk powder was expensive, but when I actually experienced it, the price of diapers and milk powder was no joke. I felt I had to do better because of that," Lim said.