“There is no right answer to hitting. It’s a process of finding your own answer.”
This is the definition of batting by KBS N commentator Kim Tae-kyun (42), the Hanwha Eagles’ “No. 52” legend. It’s a simple, common sense statement, but it resonates because of Kim’s experience.
He joined Hanwha in the first round of the 2001 draft and played 15 games, including his retirement game in 2021. In his career, he has a 3.02 batting average, 2209 hits, 311 home runs, and 1358 RBIs. He had 13 seasons with more than 100 hits.
He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball and was a center fielder in various international tournaments, including the World Baseball Classic (WBC). He was one of the best hitters of his time.
He wrote a book about his 30-year journey from when he started playing baseball at the age of 10 to when he left the field at the age of 40. He published My Thoughts on Hitting. 안전놀이터 He compares the “0.4 seconds” of a hit to the process of a batter preparing for a game, stepping up to the plate and facing the pitcher, and the mindset of returning home after a game.
Kim wrote the book through trial and error from his childhood, studying hitting theories from Major League Baseball and Japan, and applying them to his own experience.
“I received a lot of love from the fans and a lot of lessons from my seniors. I wrote this book because I wanted to give back to the fans and younger players what I learned and experienced after I retired. I hope it will help not only professional players but also people in society and fans understand hitting.”
All profits from the book will be donated to Fruits of Love. Kim has been doing good since his playing days. In 2013, he became the first professional baseball player to be inducted into the Honor Society, a group of donors of $100 million or more. In December, he donated a specially designed swing to a barrier-free playground at a public children’s rehabilitation hospital in Daejeon.
He also supported youth baseball, a sport he has been interested in since his playing days. Last November, he organized the Kim Tae-gyun Youth Baseball Camp in Hongseong, 안전한 파워볼사이트 Chungcheongnam-do, and formed a team of 20 outstanding players who participated in the camp to play an exchange game against a Japanese team in Japan. Mr. Kim led the team as the head coach. The organization covered some of the costs of the event.