Taekyung Kim (22), the young gun of the NC Dinos, chose to enlist despite performing at his best after his debut last season. There are regrets, but I pledged to improve for 18 months.
In a recent phone call with Star News, Kim Tae-kyung said, “After enlisting in the Sangmu baseball team, I will pay more attention to pitch and ball control, and I will prepare well physically and go out.”
On January 16th, Kim Tae-kyung will enlist at the Army Training Center in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do, to fulfill his military service obligations. After serving in the military in the Sangmu baseball team, he will become a soldier until July 15, 2024.
Kim Tae-kyung, who graduated from Gimhae Samsung Elementary School-Naedong Middle School-Masan Yongma High School and joined NC as the first choice in 2020, has pitched in 16 games, the most since his debut in the 2022 season. His performance was also compliant with 3 wins, 2 losses and 1 hold with an ERA of 3.25.
Kim Tae-gyeong, who was named as a starting candidate before the season, mainly appeared as a long relief player in the early stages. However, after spending July in the Futures League, he was given a chance as a starter after getting his first win 메이저놀이터 in his debut against Sajik Lotte on August 7 (5 innings, 1 hit and no runs). Since August he has shown stable pitching, going over five innings four times in six starts.
Looking back on his past year, Kim Tae-gyeong said, “I didn’t expect to do that.” At the same time, he said, “I thought I would do well without regrets, but luckily it worked out.” In particular, regarding his performance after August, he explained, “Before that, the balance was not well matched, but in the second group, I worked with the coaches to improve the number of rotations and pitches, and it became a good match.”
When was the ‘turning point’ that brought Kim Tae-kyung to the next level? He definitely picked the Gocheok Kiwoom match on September 18th. At the time, he replaced Shin Min-hyeok (24) as a starting pitcher and won the starting game by recording 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts and 1 run in 5⅓ innings. In particular, he won a decision victory in a face-to-face match with Ahn Woo-jin (24), who ranked first in earned run average (2.11) and strikeouts (224) this year.
Kim Tae-gyeong, who recalled the game that day, explained, “I thought luck was greater than skill before, but after the match with Kiwoom, I felt like I had grown a notch as a pitcher.” He continued, “He thought a lot about game management, etc., so he came to know the direction of growth in the future.”
Kim Tae-kyung, who made such a good season, boldly chose to enlist. He confessed, “Honestly, I felt that I had done something this year, so I wanted to do it next season as well.” However, the team persuaded Kim Tae-gyeong by saying that he could get another chance after serving in the military first and then discharged, and that it might be easier to solve military service and play baseball rather than betting on an uncertain part.
Kang In-kwon (50), NC coach, expected Kim Tae-kyung to be a starting pitcher this year even after he applied for the Sangmu baseball team after the season ended. Kim Tae-kyung said, “Director (Kang In-kwon) said right after the season ended, ‘I wish I could compete for selection next year without going to the army right away’, and I thought so too.”
In NC, there are many players who have recently been to the Sangmu baseball team, such as pitchers Choi Seong-yeong (26), Jeon-min Jeon (24), and Kim Jae-gyun (24), who have recently been discharged, as well as pitcher Bae Min-seo (24) and infielder Choi Jeong-won (23), who are currently serving. Choi Seong-young said after being discharged in September of last year, “I get a little bit of swearing in the beginning, but at the end, it is always praised and discharged from NC.”
Kim Tae-kyung said that he heard advice from his seniors who enlisted, “These days, the training facilities are so good that it’s okay to build and prepare, and it would be good if you go and look good and don’t deviate too much.” He also laughed, saying that he talked with Park Dong-soo (24), a rookie last year, who he enlisted with, saying, “Let’s go and prepare well and sweep the next season.”
Kim Tae-gyeong, who received basic military training for five weeks at the training center. Is there any player you would like to send a letter to during this period? He laughed and said, “I hope friends like Lee Yong-jun (21) and Kim Joo-won (21) do it once.” In particular, he joked that “Joo Won doesn’t communicate well” and joked, “I wish I could receive at least one letter.”
Lastly, Kim Tae-kyung sent greetings to the NC fans who would be away for 18 months, saying, “I won’t be able to see you a lot since I’m in the military, but I’ll make a good body inside and come back in a good shape, so please wait for me.”