Incheon: When the SSG Landers traded away a draft pick and cash for him from the NC Dinos in June, outfielder Kim Seong-uk was determined to prove his worth and make his new team look good for their decision. Instead, the 32-year-old suffered one injury after another and ended up playing just 47 games for his new Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club. He batted only .209 with two home runs and 13 RBIs, only a season after setting career highs with 17 home runs and 60 RBIs.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim was extra motivated entering the first-round postseason series against the Samsung Lions, hoping to make up for all the lost time from the regular season. And he took care of that with one swing of the bat Saturday. Kim blasted a walk-off home run off Ariel Jurado in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 2 of the first-round series, helping the Landers to a 4-3 win that knotted the best-of-five contest at one game apiece.
"I've been trying to do well every time, but things just didn't go my way this year," Kim said after being named the Player of the Game at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul. "I don't think I've ever been injured as often as I have this year. I always felt bad about that, and fortunately, I think this home run can make up for it."
The Landers had squandered a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth as closer Jo Byeong-hyeon blew a save in his first postseason appearance. The Lions then brought in starter Ariel Jurado for a surprising relief appearance for the bottom ninth. Kim was due up second in that inning. He had gone 0-for-3 against Jurado in the regular season and admitted, "I don't recall ever making good contact against him."
"But I just stepped into the batter's box and thought to myself, 'I'll just take my swing and see what happens,'" Kim said. "I wanted to take a confident swing if I saw something around the zone." Kim's line drive shot, which came off a 0-1 fastball, left the field in a hurry. "As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going out," Kim said. "But I was just hoping it would stay fair and not hook foul."
The series will now move to the Lions' home in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul. And the life of a reserve outfielder is such that Kim, who did not play in Game 1 on Thursday, said he wasn't sure if he will be back in the lineup for Game 3 on Monday. "If I end up playing, I will try to replicate my performance from today," he said. "And if I am asked to pinch hit in late innings, I will try to stay ready for that situation, too."