SSG Landers head coach Lee Sung-yong had a heavy look on his face when he heard the story of infielder Kim Sung-hyun (37) before the game against KT Wiz at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Saturday.
“There was swelling after (Kim) was hit by the ball. I double-checked him and diagnosed him with a microfracture,” Lee said.
Kim was hit in the wrist by a pitch from LG pitcher Woo Kang-hoon in the second game of a doubleheader against the LG Twins on April 21. It was expected to be a simple bruise, but it turned out to be worse than expected. Kim Sung-hyun said he was fine and was expected to make a quick return, but the swelling didn’t go down and he was removed from the first team roster on April 24 against the Busan Lotte Giants.
He traveled to Seoul and received the results of a hospital examination, 스포츠토토 which showed a microfracture, and even underwent a second examination just in case.
“He was doing a great job,” Lee said. He was doing a good job at second and third base,” Lee sighed.
The exact timing of his return is still unknown.
“We won’t know the exact timeframe (for his return) until after two weeks,” said an SSG official.
The loss of Kim Sung-hyun puts a heavy burden on rookie Park Ji-hwan’s shoulders. Park was selected by SSG in the first round (10th overall) of the 2024 rookie draft.
He is batting 1-for-5 with eight RBIs in nine games this season. Park made his first start against KT on Sept. 26.
Lee said, “I have a lot of worries. First of all, (Park) Ji-hwan is going to go out. (Ahn) Sang-hyun is also being checked closely, but he’s not quite up to par yet. (Kim) Chan-hyung-i is in the first team, but I think we need to continue to see the situation.” “Ji Hwan-i might be too much for him physically, so we’re trying to use him while checking his physical condition,” Lee added.
As for why he was particularly worried about Ji-hwan’s physical strength, Lee said, “High school players have physical strength because they play baseball on the weekends, but in the pros, they train consistently and practice more than in high school. Our second team practices a lot. We can make adjustments and reduce the amount of practice for the starters, but we can’t afford to do that for the backups or players who need to establish themselves. These players have to look to the future, so I think it’s right to adjust the number of games and increase the amount of practice. That’s what we call physical fitness,” he explained.
Meanwhile, SSG won 5-2 against KT on the 26th.
Starting pitcher Oh Won-seok pitched 5⅓ innings with seven strikeouts and two earned runs, followed by Lee I-roon (⅔ innings of scoreless relief), Noh Kyung-eun (one inning of scoreless relief), Cho Byung-hyun (one inning of scoreless relief), and Moon Seung-won (one inning of scoreless relief). At the plate, Choo Shin-soo had a three-hit performance, including his first home run of the season, and Lee Ji-young had a two-hit game.
After starting pitcher Uhm Sang-baek gave up four runs (three earned) in 6⅔ innings, Jeon Won-joo (⅓ innings, one run, 무료 슬롯 no walks) and Kim Min-soo (one inning, no runs) came in for KT. Moon Sang-cheol and Park Byung-ho had two-hit games, but were unable to help their team win. SSG won its 16th game of the season (1-12), while KT suffered its 19th loss of the season (1-10).
SSG will start Kim Kwang-hyun on Sunday, while KT will send William Cuevas to the mound.