Up until early last year, Kim was expected to become the LG Twins' "second catcher" who will succeed Park Dong-won. However, Yeom seems to have completely changed his mind. It will take some time to see Kim wearing a mask as his main player.안전놀이터

Kim Bum-suk started his professional career after being nominated by LG as the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2023 Rookie Draft. Kim Bum-suk, who had been highly anticipated as a catcher with "one shot" skills since high school, played in 58 games, including being selected as the Futures League All-Star in 2023, recording 56 hits, six homers, 31 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.286 OPS of 0.789. In the first team, he recorded three hits, one homer and four RBIs in 10 games, and gained valuable experience by joining the Korean Series entry with the full support of the head coach.

However, Yeom Kyung-yeop's idea started to get twisted starting from last year's spring camp. Kim was listed on the Arizona Spring camp list for the first team, which resulted in an early return to Korea due to a side injury. Notably, Yeom Kyung-yeop also scolded Kim for failing to control his weight in the process. The coach seemed to have deep regret over the fact that a promising runner lost a precious opportunity due to failure to control his weight.

Still, Yeom did not completely remove Kim from his plan and failed to join the opening game entry, but he swung his bat after being called by the first team in mid-April. In response, Yeom said in an interview with reporters that he will proceed with the "Kim Bum-suk Project." He intended to build a second catcher who can firmly support Park Dong-won through rigorous training with his coach Park Kyung-wan.

As time passed, however, Kim's batting sense declined noticeably, and as the ranking battle was intensifying, his frequency of participation also decreased. There were not many expectations that Kim would be able to grow into a second catcher within a short period of time from the beginning, but Kim was clearly slower than manager Yeom Kyung-yeop thought. Under these circumstances, Lee Ju-heon appeared like a comet at the end of the season.

Lee Joo-heon, who was selected by LG as the 72nd overall pick in the third round of the second and third round of the 2022 Rookie Draft, is a player who actually completed his military service at the same time as joining the professional league, and was provided with a last-minute opportunity to finish the season after performing brilliantly with 23 hits, six home runs, 21 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.284 OPS of 0.983 in 39 games last year. In just three games, he hit four hits, including two doubles, and made a clear impression, and enjoyed the joy of joining the postseason entry. This is the biggest reason why LG did not choose to accompany Heo Do-hwan after the 2024 season.

Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop has also changed his mind. When this reporter met him at the "2025 Team New Year's Meeting" on Friday, Yeom said that there will be no "all-out" baseball that relies solely on the main players this season. He also expressed his intention to catch both results and development, revealing his blueprint for the catcher. The coach said it would be a great opportunity for Kim, but shook his head about the catcher's participation.

"We can say that (Lee) Jooheon will play in defense. (Kim Bum-suk's participation in catcher) will not be easy this year," manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said. "In case of Bum-suk, when we train (capture) players, we consider the importance of substitute agents higher. We will play the role of right-handed substitute and designated hitter when the left-handed pitcher comes out."

Catcher Kim Bum-suk will be available only occasionally this year, but he is not expected to be frequent. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop continued, "It's not easy to play as the second catcher because we only practiced defense in camp even though we didn't have a final training session. Think of Jooheon as the second catcher. Think of Bum-suk as the third catcher."

In the end, Kim Bum-seok, who was pushed out by Lee Joo-heon as a catcher, must show his strength in offense in order to receive a chance in this year's first-team stage. Only then can he take on the role of a designated hitter beyond a substitute. If you look like you in the second half of last year, you are more likely to stay in the second division than in the first division. A more important season than ever will come for Kim Bum-seok, who had high expectations but has not grown well.