“Motivation is ahead, no regrets”…”I tried to make a catch in the first inning and hit a double”
“I’m in my 10th year… I want to show that the ‘Kium Franchise’ is still going strong”
Reporter Kwon Hyuk-jun = He got off to a bad start with poor defense, but made up for it perfectly at the plate. “I felt very sorry for myself, so I think that’s why I got good results at the plate,” said Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Lim Byung-wook (28).
Lim started in the sixth spot in right field against the Lotte Giants in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at the Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul on Tuesday and went 2-for-4 with a double (one home run), three runs scored, two RBIs and two walks. Behind Lim’s four-strikeout performance, Kiwoom won 7-6.
It was a shaky start. In the top of the first inning, Lim Byung-wook, playing right field, made a sliding catch of Lotte’s Ahn Chi-hong’s hit in the second inning and dropped the ball behind the plate. This allowed the first baseman to rush home and Ahn Chi-hong to reach second base, giving Kiwoom the lead.
It was especially disappointing that Kiwoom’s starting pitcher was Oh Sang-won, who was making his first career start. After giving up a run in the first inning, Oh gave up two more runs in the second inning and was unable to complete the three-hit shutout.
“I’m sure he wanted to pitch well after coming up from the second team, but I felt very sorry for him (Sang-won),” said Lim Byung-wook. “I couldn’t talk to him during the game because I was concentrating, but now that it’s over, I have to go and apologize to him.”
However, he said he doesn’t regret attempting the diving catch.
“I would have been disappointed in myself if it was a complacent play, but I did my best as a player, so I don’t regret it,” he said. “It was a lesson for me to not push myself too hard next time. I’m not too stressed about it.”
What he lacked in defense, he made up for at the plate. He reached base in all four of his at-bats on the day, including a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning, and crossed the plate three times in the victory.
“I was able to get four hits because I felt very sorry for myself,” Lim said, adding, “I would be satisfied if the fans watching baseball knew that I was doing my best.”안전놀이터
Lim Byung-wook, who was drafted by Kiwoom (then Nexen) in 2014, is now a 10-year veteran. In the meantime, his teammates have changed a lot, and he realizes that his position has also changed.
“Our team has a lot of players from other teams, and I hope it will be an opportunity to show that franchise players are alive and well,” says Lim. “There are a lot of juniors who have gone to the military. We will always strive to show our athleticism on and off the field.”