Moon Bo-kyung, 23, the starting third baseman for the LG Twins of the Korean Baseball Organization, is an iconic player.
He is a testament to LG’s rebuilding success.
LG has traditionally been short on third basemen. The team has repeatedly failed to develop third basemen and has tried to fill the weakness in various ways, including trades, free agency, and signing foreign players.
In the meantime, Moon Bo-kyung, who joined the team in 2019, solved the team’s problem.
He was touted as a key player in the team’s 2021 rebuild, earning plenty of playing time and solving the “hot corner” problem by hitting .300 for the first time in his career last year.
However, LG’s belly button Moon Bo-kyung was not immune to growing pains.
In particular, his inexperience showed in the fall baseball last year.
He couldn’t handle the pressure in the second round of the playoffs (PO) against the Kiwoom Heroes.
Trailing 6-7 in the ninth inning, he hit a walk-off home run to end the game.
It wasn’t the only one. In the eighth inning of Game 3 of the POs, down 4-6, with runners on first and second, he tried to bunt and failed.
The ball bounced toward the pitcher, and the opposing closer Kim Jae-woong caught it and threw to second for a double play.
For the second game in a row, Moon’s worst play in a game-tying situation scattered ashes over LG’s chances of advancing to the Korean Series (KS).
At the time, Moon blamed herself. After Game 3 of the PO, she was seen in tears in the dugout.
Those around her were worried that the fall 2022 stage would be traumatic for her.
However, Moon bounced back strongly. She continued to play well in the 2023 season, leading LG’s New Wind Baseball.
And in the fall, when she returned to the field after a one-year hiatus, she proved how far she had come.
In her first at-bat against the visiting KT Wiz in Game 4 of the KS Series at Katie Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, on Nov. 11, Moon opened the game with a single to right field against the opposing team’s starting pitcher, Eom Sang-baek.
Then, in the top of the sixth inning with a 3-0 lead, he blasted a two-run home run to drive a wedge into the game.
She took advantage of a 143-kilometer-per-hour fastball from reliever Kim Jae-yoon and lined a 110-meter arch over the left field fence.
Moon’s performance continued. In the top of the seventh inning, when the score was 9-1, she hit a two-run double to the right of the right field fence.
Moon finished the day 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
There were no signs of fall baseball trauma on her face. Thanks to Moon’s performance, LG won 3-1 against KS and moved closer to its first championship in 29 years. 먹튀검증
