KIA Tigers star Kim Do-young hit his 39th home run of the season on August 26, 2026, leaving him just one shy of becoming the KBO League’s youngest player to reach 40 home runs. Meanwhile, a dispute over historical birth registrations has sparked league-wide debate over age-related records.
Kim Do-young Sets New Career High With 39th Home Run
Professional baseball player Kim Do-young of the KIA Tigers reached a major personal milestone during a home game against the Lotte Giants at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. Batting in the bottom of the first inning with runners on first and second, Kim launched a 155 km/h fastball from Lotte starting pitcher Elvin Rodriguez over the right-field fence for a three-run home run.
The achievement pushed his season total to 39 home runs, officially breaking his previous single-season personal best of 38 home runs, which he set during his MVP-winning season in 2024. During that 2024 campaign, Kim finished just two home runs short of the 40-homer mark, narrowly missing a 40-40 home run and stolen base season.
With one more home run, Kim will join Tracy Sanders, who hit 40 home runs in 1999, as the second player in KIA Tigers franchise history to reach the 40-home run plateau. Beyond personal records, the feat puts him directly on the doorstep of KBO history.
The Countdown to the Youngest 40-Home Run Record
Born on October 2, 2003, Kim has until September 6 to hit his 40th home run of the season. Accomplishing the feat by that date would make him 22 years, 11 months, and 4 days old, breaking the all-time KBO record for the youngest player to hit 40 home runs in a single season.
The existing record belongs to Lee Seung-yeop, who set the mark at 22 years, 11 months, and 5 days old in 1999. However, that historical benchmark recently became the center of an unexpected administrative controversy involving how players’ ages and birth dates were recorded in past decades.
When Lee entered the Samsung Lions in 1995, his birth date was officially registered in the KBO database using his lunar calendar birthday of August 18, 1976, rather than his solar calendar birthday of October 11, 1976. Similar registration practices applied to other veterans, such as active player Choi Hyung-woo, whose official registration lists a lunar birth date of January 18, 1984, instead of his actual solar birth date of December 16, 1983.
KBO Clarifies Age Calculation Standards Amid Record Debate
The revelation that several prominent player records rest on lunar registration dates triggered widespread discussion over whether historical age records should be completely recalculated using solar calendars. If the league applied solar birth dates uniformly across all historical seasons, Kim’s current pursuit of the youngest 40-home run milestone would look very different, as historical benchmarks would shift accordingly.
![[서울=뉴시스] 프로야구 KIA 타이거즈 김도영이 26일 광주-기아챔피언스필드에서 열린 2026 신한 쏠 KBO리그 롯데 자이언츠와의 경기 1회 홈런을 친 뒤 베이스를 돌고 있다. (사진=KIA 타이거즈 제공)](https://img1.newsis.com/2026/08/26/NISI20260826_0002222386_web.jpg "Photo: 뉴시스")
Addressing the confusion, the KBO issued an official statement explaining that the league has calculated players’ ages based on registration data submitted annually by each club since its inaugural season when compiling various age-related records and adding that it plans to continue compiling records based on those standards for now. The league office further stated that if Kim Do-young achieves 40 home runs by September 6, he will set the record as the youngest player to reach 40 home runs at the age of 22 years, 11 months, and 4 days, while adding that it will consult with the clubs going forward to smoothly resolve issues arising from players being registered under different standards such as solar or lunar birthdays.
KBO Secretary General Park Geun-chan noted regarding the legacy registration methods that in the past, the birthdates used during amateur playing days and handwritten details submitted at the time of draft applications seemed to have become the registered birthdates, and added that this matter would likely require discussion.
Austin Dean Closes In in the Home Run Race
While Kim draws closer to the 40-home run threshold, the competition atop the league’s home run leaderboard intensified at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. LG Twins slugger Austin Dean delivered a multi-home run performance against the NC Dinos, following up on his cycle by hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning and adding a three-run home run in the seventh. Austin’s 35th home run of the season moved him within four home runs of Kim.
