"One More Before Sept. 6, and History Changes": Kim Do-young Hits 39th Homer, Targets Lee Seung-yuop's Record

[Financial News] Kim Do-young, the 22-year-old superstar of the Tigers, has finally pushed beyond his own limits and now stands on the brink of one of the brightest milestones in the 44-year history of Korean professional baseball. By casually driving a 155-km fastball over the fence, he is now just one home run away from breaking Lee Seung-yuop's all-time record for the youngest player to reach 40 homers.
Kim appeared in a home game against the Lotte Giants at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 26th and launched a long ball from his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with no outs and runners on first and second. He pulled a 155-km fastball from Lotte starter Elvin Rodriguez and sent it over the right-field fence for a go-ahead three-run homer, his 39th of the season.
With that swing, Kim surpassed his previous career high of 38 home runs, set in 2024 when he was named regular-season MVP, and established a new single-season personal best. Attention across the baseball world is now focused entirely on whether he can become the youngest player ever to reach 40 home runs.


If Kim, who was born on Oct. 2, 2003, adds one more homer before Sept. 6 and reaches the 40-homer mark, he will break the KBO League's all-time record for the youngest player to hit 40 home runs, set by Lee Seung-yuop in 1999 with the Samsung Lions at 22 years, 11 months and 5 days old, ending a 27-year wait.
The 'birthday controversy' surrounding Lee Seung-yuop ahead of the milestone was also settled cleanly by the KBO's official interpretation. Confusion had recently arisen over the former manager's registered birthday with the KBO, after it was revealed that the date was based on the lunar calendar, not the solar date of Oct. 11, 1976.
In a notice released on the 26th, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said, "When compiling age-related records, we have calculated players' ages based on the registration documents submitted annually by clubs since the league's inaugural year," adding, "We plan to continue using that standard for now."
The KBO added, "If Kim Do-young reaches 40 home runs by Sept. 6, he will be 22 years, 11 months and 4 days old, making him the new youngest player to hit 40 home runs."


Meanwhile, the challengers chasing Kim Do-young are also surging. At Jamsil Stadium on the same day, LG Twins foreign hitter Austin Dean was on fire. After recording a cycle hit the previous day, Austin added a go-ahead solo homer to left field in the bottom of the first inning and then a three-run shot to left in the bottom of the seventh against the NC Dinos, finishing with a multi-homer game and his 34th and 35th home runs of the season.
As Kim Do-young enters the countdown to a historic milestone, Austin's home run barrage has also heated up the race. The KBO League home run title battle this season has become a fierce contest with no clear favorite, and it is set to remain wide open until the final stretch of the regular season.


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