VIDEO: Lotte Giants' Kim Joon-Tae Walks off Kia Tigers in Dramatic KBO Action
By Michael Luciano
MLB might be in the middle of their third consecutive month without live games, but the KBO is marching merrily along in South Korea, with the Lotte Giants and KIA Tigers even giving us a dramatic walk-off last night. Lotte's Kim Joon-Tae slapped a base hit down the right field line, plating two and giving the Giants a 4-3 win as they look to climb up the KBO standings.
The call of today’s Lotte Giants walk-off win over the Kia Tigers from KBSN Sports >>>>
— Connor Newcomb (@ConnorNewcomb_) June 23, 2020
I think you can hear who had the winning hit: “KIM JOON-TAE! KIM-JOON-TAE! KIM JOON-TAE!”#KBO #LotteGiants @sung_minkim @MyKBO pic.twitter.com/7GPGO4rI3h
The call might be even better than the hit.
These two teams are jostling for position in the middle of the KBO pack. This walk-off got the Giants back up to .500 at 21-21, while the Tigers lost some ground and slipped to 23-19.
On the season, Kim, a 25-year-old backup catcher, is hitting just .203 with one home run. Hopefully this walk-off gives him the spark needs to get back on the right track.
KIA Tigers 3 @ Lotte Giants 4#KBO pic.twitter.com/hnVy92wWTj
— Goles en vivo (@goles_live) June 23, 2020
While American baseball news has been dominated by labor negotiations, South Korea has itself another compelling race towards a championship. Amazing what happens when the owners and league actually want to play games.