Daejeon: Kia Tigers outfielder Kim Ho-ryung and reliever Sung Yeong-tak both earned their first All-Star selections in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) as injury replacements Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the KBO announced that Kim, 33, will replace his injured Tigers teammate Choi Hyoung-woo, who is unable to participate in Saturday's All-Star Game due to a right hamstring injury suffered on Tuesday.
Choi had been the top vote-getter for the designated hitter (DH) position for the "Nanum" team, which consists of players from the Tigers, Hanwha Eagles, LG Twins, NC Dinos, and Kiwoom Heroes. With Choi sidelined, Moon Hyun-bin of the Eagles, who was the runner-up in the fan and player voting, will step into the starting DH role for the Nanum side. Moon had already secured a spot as a reserve player, and with his promotion to the starting lineup, Kim was named to the Nanum team.
Kim has been a longtime backup outfielder but has stepped up as a starter this season due to injuries within the Tigers' ranks. He has delivered a respectable .285/.366/.438 batting line over 48 games and has been playing strong defense in center field.
Later on Thursday, the league office announced that Tigers reliever Yoon Young-cheol would miss the All-Star Game due to elbow issues. Yoon had also been an injury replacement for another Tigers pitcher, Adam Oller, who was ruled out last Friday with shoulder discomfort. Sung, 20, will take Yoon's place in the lineup. Since making his KBO debut on May 20, Sung has maintained a 0.71 ERA over 25 1/3 innings in 21 appearances.
Sung began his career with a record-breaking 17 1/3-inning scoreless streak, the longest in franchise history and the third longest in the KBO. Although the streak ended on June 24, Sung has managed seven shutout innings in his six subsequent outings.
This year's All-Star Game will take place at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, the Eagles' newly opened stadium located 140 kilometers south of Seoul.