Kwak Do-kyu (20), a left-handed pitcher for the Kia Tigers in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), put on a touching performance. He wore a T-shirt with his name and No. 48 on it and threw it for Lee Yi-ri (22), who is rehabbing from an injury.
Kwak Do-kyu came on as the third pitcher in relief in the top of the sixth inning of Game 5 of the best-of-five Korean Series (KS-7) against the Samsung Lions of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Champions Field in Gwangju-Gu, South Korea, on Monday and pitched one inning of one-hit ball with two strikeouts and no walks.
After striking out Lewin Diaz, who had hit back-to-back two-run homers in the first and third innings, on a low curveball outside, Kwak retired Kim Young-woong on three pitches. He followed that up with a 1-2 fastball outside for two strikes and then a low curveball on the body to get a swinging strike. He gave up an infield single to Park Byung-ho, but got Lee Jae-hyun to ground out to third to end the inning.
It was one thing to get out of the first inning with the game tied, but what came next was the real showstopper. As he walked down the mound, Kwak unbuttoned his jersey. He then used both hands to unbutton his jersey, revealing a T-shirt on his chest with Lee’s name and number 48 on it.
Smiling at the TV cameras,
Kwak then slapped his chest with his right hand and performed a gesture toward Lee. A surprise performance that no one expected. 카지노사이트 Even though the game wasn’t over, he made a bold self-expression typical of the MZ generation in their 20s.
Kwak wore Lee’s number, 48, on his cap throughout the Korean Series. It was an emotional moment for Lee, who was rehabilitating from an injury. After a stellar debut in 2021, where he won the Rookie of the Year award, Lee was a mainstay in the KIA rotation, winning double-digit games in 2022 and 2023.
This year, however, he was lost for the season after just four games due to elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. He has been rehabilitating since the surgery in June and has been watching Kia’s Korean Series from afar. Kwak’s romantic performance for his senior brought the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field to its feet.
This is not the first time Kwak has performed such a ceremony.
In the fourth game of the Korean Series at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on April 26, Kwak also performed a playful gesture in the bottom of the eighth inning when he struck out Diaz on an eight-pitch walk-off single to end the inning and turned his hat around afterward.
Meanwhile, second-year left-hander Kwak Do-kyu has been a staple in the Kia rotation this season, going 4-2 with a 3.56 ERA and 16 saves in 71 games (55⅔ innings) with 64 strikeouts. In the Korean Series, he won Game 1 of the three-game series before this appearance, pitching three innings of one-hit ball with two strikeouts and no walks. He was called upon to relieve Jang Hyun-sik in the top of the seventh inning. In Game 4 of the Korean Series, he pitched 4 innings, 2 hits, no walks, 4 strikeouts, and no runs. It was a bold performance for his first Korean Series.