SSG Landers, who have a long way to go, is on high alert. Jihoon Choi (27), the main center fielder, will leave for at least two weeks due to a sudden thigh injury. What makes this news even more frustrating for fans is that Jihoon Choi’s search for an alternative has just begun.토토사이트
Jihoon Choi has been considered a player who will take charge of the center of the national team’s outfield for 10 years since it won its first national flag at the World Baseball Classic last year. Despite players’ fatigue, such expectations have been raised for three consecutive years including the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in September last year and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship in November last year. Among the fielders, only Jihoon Choi and Kim Hye-sung (Kium Heroes) participated in three consecutive games.
The strong will of the Korea Baseball Organization’s (KBO) power enhancement committee to gain experience in international competitions somehow turned out to be a positive direction. Realizing the gap with the world, he whipped himself even more and was told by SSG coach Lee Soo-yong that his eyes had changed. Jihoon Choi’s desire to improve his skills was manifested through many participations and active plays. He thoroughly managed his body under the supervision of the training part, and he never skipped games first.
However, it is not easy for any fielder to play 144 games without taking a rest. Players who have played in all games are counted in one hand during a season, and it is not reasonable to label them “iron man.” Coincidentally, center fielder Park Jihoon Choi and shortstop Park Sung-han, who are more physically depleted than other positions and highly important in defense, played a close game of iron man in the SSG. As of the end of the game on Tuesday, Park Sung-han pitched 968 Jihoon Choi innings in the Jihoon Choi, ranking first and second in defense innings not only in the SSG but also in the KBO league this year.
Among them, Jihoon Choi’s need to manage his physical stamina has been on the rise since June. His physical strength seemed to have adversely affected his batting performance, as he recorded 0.215 (20 hits in 93 times at bat) in 26 games of batting average in June. However, as veteran Oh Tae-gon played 42 innings and Guillermo Herredia 14 innings, there is almost no alternative to his absence from the Jihoon Choi. Thus, Jihoon Choi played in 116 of SSG’s 117 games this season before his injury.
In the end, things happened. Jihoon Choi felt pain in his left thigh during the base running at the top of the ninth inning against the LG Twins on Wednesday. After the end of the inning, he didn’t have much pain and ended his team’s losing streak by playing defense in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, Jihoon Choi felt pain again on the morning of Tuesday and headed to the hospital. As a result, he had a re-examination at least two weeks later due to micro-damage of his left large bowel muscles.
It cannot be concluded that the latest injury was caused by accumulated fatigue. However, it is regrettable that Jihoon Choi cannot come up with an alternative even before the end of the season. Asked by reporters who will fill the void left by Jihoon Choi at the match against LG Twins in Jamsil on Tuesday, Lee said, “I think we need to think in various ways. I think we need to look for it first. So I posted Chung Hyeon-seung and I think we need to think a little more about what to do with the center fielder.”
Jihoon Choi is definitely a player who cannot be replaced in the field of offense and defense. Currently, SSG has neither players who are good at defense in the center field nor players who can steal many bases. However, it is a matter for the team to seriously think about whether there is a backup or not even in a short period of two weeks. An injury of about two weeks can happen anytime considering the season. Regardless of whether the ball or the number of players has been downgraded, a backup should have been made near the end of the season.
It is also difficult to nurture center field players. However, if it was difficult to nurture and find alternatives, a more decisive decision and management were needed for key players’ physical strength. Players’ strong will sometimes had to be strengthened against the risk of injury in the distant future.
Moreover, this year is not the first time that Jihoon Choi needs to be backed up. It took Jihoon Choi three years to prove himself in the first team, and the need for backup was always emphasized whenever his batting pace fell or he was injured. Veteran Oh Tae-gon filled the first few years well, but the players’ physical skills gradually declined and there was another alternative.
The risk factor that seemed to be a ticking time bomb exploded just before the end of the regular season, which is the fiercest. In a way, it was a foreseen disaster. At the end of the game on Tuesday, SSG ranked fifth without a gap with KT Wiz with 57 wins, one draw and 60 losses. It is in an unstable position as it is close to the bottom, four games behind the fourth-ranked Doosan Bears and two games behind the seventh-ranked Hanwha Eagles. With 26 games to go until the end of the regular season, the two-week gap between the main center fielder and the ball is painful. Fans are paying attention to how SSG, which lost its Jihoon Choi, will endure and rebound during the remaining period.