The entire 'Bears 99s'

There was a pitcher who emerged as a surprise star on the mound of the Doosan Bears in the 2020 Korean Series. It was Kim Min-gyu, a pitcher. At that time, Kim Min-gyu had a good pitching in Game 4 (5.1 innings, 4 hits and 1 run) following his save (0.2 innings, 1 strikeout, and no loss) in Game 2 of the Korean Series. Even though the team lost the series, the pitching Kim Min-gyu showed was still an unforgettable scene in Doosan fans' minds.

After playing in the 2021 season (2 wins, three losses and an ERA of 6.07), Kim joined the Sangmu Baseball Organization to resolve military service issues. Kim, who had high expectations for his good performance in the Sangmu Baseball Organization, was discharged from the military in the mid-2023 season and joined the team again.

However, Kim's 2023 season has not been smooth. Kim Min-kyu went straight to the Futures Team after allowing one hit and no run in an inning against the NC Dinos in Changwon on June 13. He moved back to the first team in August after spending time reorganizing, but Kim was removed from the first team entry again in August with a 4.91 ERA in five appearances. Since then, there has been no record of Kim Min-kyu appearing in the first team.

"After being discharged from the military, I lost weight rapidly, which gave me strength," Kim told reporters at Jamsil Stadium on Jan. 23. "I felt sorry that I couldn't recover until the end of the season as my ball power dropped significantly. I felt like my pitching balance was in a disarray due to unintentional weight loss, so I regained weight. If I had been ahead of my motivation after being discharged from the military last year, now I have confidence to do well because it is the season to prepare step by step."

Kim Min-gyu and his fellow players, Jeong Cheol-won and Kwak Bin, have already made inroads into the ranks of the main players in the first division. Kim Min-gyu, along with Park Shin-ji, another fellow player, dreams of becoming the entire Bears 99s in the first division.

"Jung Chul-won has also established himself as the main pitcher of the first team after serving in the military. I don't think there's any reason why it shouldn't be like that. Now that we have more good junior pitchers, we cannot avoid competition. Only when we overcome that, we can survive in the first team. I hope this season will continue to be with (Kwak) Bin and Cheol-won in the first team. They are (Park) Shin and I, but we just need to do well," he said with a smile.

Kim Min-kyu is considered a candidate to start in the 2024 season. As his style is highly utilized in both starting and bullpen sessions, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop is also likely to pay attention to Kim's pace.

"After confidently entering the first and second pitches, the key is how sharply the splitter and changeup will fall against left-handed hitters. My goal is to play a full-time season in the first division. I want to play 60 innings as a bullpen and 100 innings as a starter," Kim said.

Kim Min-kyu expressed his desire to feel the thrill again on the mound of the Korean Series as he did four years ago.

"It's already been four years, but I haven't forgotten the thrill when I take the mound in the Korean Series. I hope I get a chance to stand on the mound again this year. This time, I want to experience a championship, not a runner-up. We need to continue the good flow from the spring camp and make the opening entry. And I will watch the mound until the Korean Series with pitches that will help the team," Kim said.

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