It was no exaggeration to say that this year's Korean professional baseball started with Kim Do-young (21) and ended with Kim Do-young. Kim Do-young, who conquered the KBO League in his third year of debut, will now conquer the world stage through the 2024 Premier 12.안전놀이터

Korea will start its 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 Group B schedule starting with the match against Taiwan on Tuesday. The Premier 12 tournament, which will feature the top 12 countries in the WBSC baseball rankings, marks the third anniversary this year. Korea has been included in Group B along with Japan, Taiwan, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Australia.

Korea, which won the first competition in 2015 and the runner-up in the second competition in 2019, is a team that is receiving a lot of attention. Among them, the interest in Kim Do-young is unusual.

Kim has been singled out as a key player in Korea ahead of the Premier 12. Referring to the "eight players to watch out for in the Premier 12" ahead of the Premier 12 opening, MLB.COM picked Kim as one of them. "Kim had an amazing 2024 season. He helped us win the Korean Series as well," MLB.COM said. "He is a batter who can make all pitchers who face Korea fear him with his sophistication and slugging capability." WBSC also described Kim as a "phenomenal third baseman" through its website and expressed its interest in him.

Kim contributed significantly to Kia's overall victory this season by posting a batting average of 0.347 with 38 homers and 40 steals, 109 RBIs, 143 points, and a slugging percentage of 0.647. He has also rewritten countless history in the KBO league, including being the youngest to receive 30 homers and 30 steals. Although the announcement has yet to be made, he has reserved the most valuable player (MVP).

Kim has already become the No. 1 check target for teams that will face off against Korea. Notably, Taiwan, which will have its first game against Korea, is paying attention to Kim. "Not only is Kim excellent in slugging, but he also plays base running aggressively after getting on base, and the success rate of stolen bases reaches 90 percent," Taiwan's Yahoo Sports said. "He also has the most triple hits in the KBO league this season. He is truly a player who makes defense difficult." Taiwan's Now News also said, "Batchers such as Lee Seung-yeop, Lee Dae-ho and Kim Dong-ju (who represented Korean baseball) showed heroic swings. However, those types of hitters have disappeared since last year, and other types of young hitters such as Kim Do-young are leading the offense."

The upcoming championship is another opportunity for Kim. She was selected as the second senior member of the national team following the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) held in November last year. At the time of the APBC, Kim was sluggish with a batting average of 0.200 (three hits in 15 at-bats) and had to undergo rehabilitation for four months due to injury to her finger in the final match against Japan. This year's event is a chance to wipe out all bad memories of APBC.

In Group B, Korea must not only meet formidable opponents such as Taiwan, the Dominican Republic, Australia, and Cuba, but also face "enemy" Japan. Only the teams ranked first and second in each group will be given the ticket to the semifinal super round. For Korea to advance to the semifinals, it must be at least four wins and one loss, which is by no means an easy goal. Under these circumstances, if Kim Do-young can show what she has shown in the regular league all season and lead Korea to heights, we will see a spectacular emergence of a new "hero" who can lead Korean baseball's batting lineup for at least the next 10 years.