"Asian Games aftereffects? What's that?" KIM Do-young returns with a gold medal and launches No. 41 in his first at-bat, setting a new Tigers home-run record!

[Financial News]   The dignity of the national team's cleanup hitter required just one swing in his first at-bat after returning. KIM Do-young (23, Kia Tigers), the "baseball genius" who came back to the Tigers after winning a gold medal, launched a blast in his very first plate appearance and completely rewrote the history of the Tigers franchise.
KIM Do-young started at third base and in the No. 3 spot for the Kia Tigers in their 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League home game against the KT Wiz at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on the 29th. He drew a lightning-fast two-run home run in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning.
His hot bat, which had been blazing before he left for the Asian Games, had not cooled at all during his absence of more than 10 days. With one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the first, KIM Do-young faced KT starter Logan Allen and, on a 1-0 count, confidently lifted the second pitch—a 147 km/h fastball on the outside part of the plate. The ball sailed well over the right-center-field wall for a picture-perfect two-run homer that put his team ahead. It was his 41st home run of the season, reignited exactly 21 days after his homer against the Samsung Lions on the 8th.
That one swing sent the history of Korean baseball and the Tigers into motion at the same time. First, a 27-year-old Tigers record fell. KIM Do-young surpassed the 40 home runs hit by foreign hitter Tracy Sanders in 1999, becoming the sole holder of the franchise's single-season home-run record with 41. He has eclipsed the many sluggers who shone and faded since the Haitai Tigers era, marking the emergence of the most complete home-run hitter in Tigers history.
He also seized complete control of the fiercely contested home-run race. While KIM Do-young was away at the Asian Games, the second-place contenders, Austin Dean of the LG Twins and Sam Hilliard of the KT Wiz, surged to 39 home runs and threatened him from just behind. But KIM Do-young launched No. 41 right in front of rival Hilliard, seemingly to send a message and douse his competitors' hopes of catching him. He thereby extended his lead over the tied second-place group to two home runs and firmly retained sole possession of first place in the home-run race.
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