“I hope the other players come back soon, but I think of (Park) Ji-hwan.”
SSG Landers high school rookie Park Ji-hwan, 19, returned to the first team roster on April 8 after a 39-day absence. He was hit in the back of his left hand by a 142-kilometer fastball thrown by Hanwha’s Jang Ji-soo in the ninth inning of an April 30 game against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon, South Korea, and was replaced after complaining of pain. After a medical examination, he was diagnosed with a microfracture of the fifth metacarpal bone in the back of his left hand, and was immediately removed from the lineup. At the time, 바카라사이트 the team’s seniors were very saddened by the rookie’s unexpected injury. They were especially sad because he was hit by a pitcher’s ball and suffered a fracture.
Park returned to the field after about a month. Initially, he thought it would take longer. The metacarpal bone, where the injury occurred, is an area where bones don’t heal quickly, even if it’s a microfracture, so SSG thought it would be mid-June before he could return.
However, his recovery was faster than expected.
Park started playing in Futures League games on June 4, while veteran Kim Sung-hyun, who suffered the same injury on April 22, has yet to fully recover. When club officials heard about Park’s return to the Futures, they laughed and said, “His bones are growing faster because he’s younger.”
Manager Lee Sung-yong announced that he will call up Park as early as June 11, or possibly the week of June 18. The rookie was coming off a fracture, so there was no rush. However, there was no reason to be slow to call up the rookie, 파워볼게임 who quickly regained his form with two hits in his return to the Futures League. He joined the Busan squad on June 8 and played both games of a doubleheader on June 9 when the first game was rained out.
It was his first game back in the first team in 39 days, but he impressed from the first at-bat. Starting in the ninth spot at second base, Park hit a single up the middle against Lotte starter Park Se-woong in the top of the second inning, and followed it up with a home run in his second at-bat in the top of the fourth. Facing Park again, Park drove a three-pitch 145-kilometer fastball over the right-field fence on a 1B1S with two outs. It was the 19-year-old high school rookie’s first professional home run at Sajik Stadium, where the height of the outfield fence has made home runs tricky to hit, but he did it with bat speed and control.
The hit and the home run came as soon as he returned from injury, negating any worries he might have had about his on-field feel.
When Park returned to the dugout after hitting his debut home run, manager Lee Sung-yong, who was standing at the entrance of the dugout, couldn’t hide the smile on his face.
He was the player the manager had been waiting for the most. “Actually, I want Ji-hwan to come back sooner rather than later,” said Lee, 바카라사이트 추천 who was discussing the timing of the recent injuries. While SSG’s second base has been in competition mode this season without a clear-cut starter, Lee has been impressed with the talent that rookie Park Ji-hwan showed in April.
An unexpected injury has left a gap, but there is still plenty of time for him to play. Could Park be the eventual winner of the SSG second base competition this season? For now, his comeback was perfect.