The Lotte Giants have been struck by the injury bug again. Ko Seung-min, who has been playing leadoff and first base, has been confirmed out for the first half of the season 먹튀검증.
Go Seung-min started against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 6th, but was replaced in the 6th inning. In the top of the fifth inning, he hit a hard grounder to the second baseman and made a head-first slide to first base, resulting in an out. He was replaced by Park Seung-wook, who complained of a sore finger.
Eventually, Go Seung-min was ruled out for the first half after a medical examination. Lotte announced on the 7th before the game against Sajik LG, “After a medical examination at Good Samsun Hospital, he suffered a partial tear of the inner ligament of his left thumb. It is expected that it will take about four weeks to rehabilitate.”
In the pitching staff, Na Gyun-an and Choi Jun-yong recovered from their injuries, and Noh Jin-hyuk returned to the outfield. However, the team lost another key player to injury. “Seung-min Ko has been doing a good job defensively and we’re starting to see some good things on offense, so I think we’re going to have to find different ways to get through it as a team,” Sutton said.
There is some skepticism about the head-first slide to first base. However, Sutton defended Ko’s play as gritty, saying it’s a player’s survival instinct: “I think there’s more risk of injury with a head-first slide at home plate than with a head-first slide at first base. “Also, whether it’s faster to get to first base with your feet or with a head-first slide, I think that’s something that people can disagree on and that’s something that we can talk about,” he said.
“Head-first sliding to first base is an instinct. I think it’s a reaction as an athlete. You want to get on base somehow, you want to make a commitment, and you want to do your best. It’s not something you do because someone tells you to do it, it’s just something that comes naturally. There is a risk of injury, and it’s unfortunate if you get injured, but that’s the player’s decision.”
In place of Ko Seung-min, Ji Ji-wan was called up to the first team roster. With the addition of Yoo Kang-nam and Son Sung-bin, the first team now has three catchers. Recently, Ji-wan also played first base in the Futures League. The first team could see him play first base. “He’s been hitting well in the second team,” Sutton said. “We called him up to give us some offensive depth. We’re going to use him as a pinch hitter against left-handed bullpen pitchers. He has first base depth in the first team, so we called him up for offensive reasons rather than defensive reasons.”