“It feels more like a family than a foreign player.”
This is what NC Dinos infielder Kim Hui-jip recently said to his teammate Eric Jokish.
Kim Hwi-jip and Yokishi’s friendship is strong. The two have something in common: their previous team, the Kiwoom Heroes. Yokishi, who entered the KBO League in 2019, and Kim Hwi-jip, who debuted in the KBO League in 2021, have been together since the 2021 season. This is the fourth year in terms of the number of times.
Kim Hwi-jip and Yokishi were also briefly torn. This is because Yokishi left Kiwoom with a thigh injury in the middle of last season. They met again at NC. Kim Hwi-jip left his old team Kiwoom to move to NC in the middle of this season, and Yokishi also joined NC as a foreign pitcher for Daniel Castano in the middle of the season, reuniting.
“Yokishi feels more like a family than a foreign player,” said Kim Hui-jip, who is also playing with Yokishi. “He always respects and cares about his teammates. As I returned to the KBO League after working out individually, I hope I can produce good results, and I want to see him play in Korea for a long time.”
Yokishi also expressed his joy to meet Kim again. He has been with Kim since his rookie year in the first year of his debut. He showed a father’s smile at his growing talent every year. “Kim Hwi-jip is a really good player. Our friendship is very close. I have seen him since I was young. I feel really good to see him grow up from the age of 18. He helps me a lot when I pitch. I am proud of him, and I feel a lot of things as I see him grow up.” 먹튀검증
Their friendship also appears in games. On the day Yokishi starts, Kim Hwi-jip is a big help in the record of starting wins by swinging hard. Currently, Yokishi is winning three consecutive games, all of which were led by Kim Hwi-jip. In the match against the KIA Tigers in Changwon on the 25th of last month, Kim Hwi-jip had three RBIs, including a home run. At the SSG Landers in Incheon on the 1st, he exploded with three hits and three hits and four RBIs, including a home run, in the match against the Daegu Samsung Lions on the 7th, which was the previous game, giving Yokishi and his team a valuable victory.
Kim Hwi-jip expressed his strong determination, saying, “I don’t think Yokishi helped me a lot when I took the mound, but I want to help him with the rest of the game.”
Both Kim and Yoki have performed well, contributing greatly to NC. Kim has a batting average of 0.264 (115 hits in 436 at-bats) and a 67-run OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.757 in 124 games this year. He has a batting average of 0.302 (35 hits in 116 at-bats) with three home runs, 51 RBIs and an OPS of 0.783 in scoring areas, showing off his strength.
Since joining the team in the middle of this season, he has three wins, two losses and an earned run average of 5.70 in six games and 30 innings. Although he was shaken by his poor sense of play in the beginning, he has recently shown his ace performance by winning both KIA (two runs in five ⅓ innings), SSG (one run in six innings) and Samsung (one run in six innings).
Kim Hui-jip and Yokishi, who joined forces to win the NC Dinosaurs, will be able to see their friendship.