Lee Eui-ri's ball is fierce!"... Yang Hyun-jong also admired, and 'blue light' was turned on to return in June
Lee Eui-ri's ball is fierce!"... Yang Hyun-jong also admired, and 'blue light' was turned on to return in June
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KIA Tigers left-hander fireballer Lee Eui-ri is preparing to return to the mound smoothly.메이저사이트
Lee Eui-ri held his fifth bullpen pitching in the spring camp at the Great Park Ballpark in Irvine, Orange County, California on the 8th (local time). Pitcher coach Jung Jae-hoon, bullpen coach Lee Dong-gul and training coach Park Chang-min checked the ball power and pitching balance.
"Today was my fifth bullpen pitcher since the start of the spring camp," Lee Eui-ri said in an interview with reporters on the spot after pitching in the bullpen. "It's different from other pitchers raising their pace because I'm on a rehabilitation schedule. However, I feel like I'm in good shape, and the surgery site doesn't hurt. I think it's better to think that time is the answer and keep it safe."
Lee Eui-ri underwent reconstruction (tommy zone surgery) of the medial ligament in his left elbow and bone fragment removal in June last year. Since his debut as a pro in 2021, he has been a key starting pitcher for Kia until the 2023 season, but had to wait and see the team win overall from outside the ground last year.
Fortunately, Lee Eui-ri is recovering and rehabilitating successfully. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho is unlikely to have any major problems returning to the first division in June as expected before the start of the U.S. spring camp in the middle of last month.
Lee Eui-ri has a different pitching schedule from other pitchers during the spring camp. He does not build his body in time for the opening of the regular season on March 22.
Careful management of training parts is supported even when pitching in the bullpen. After spraying 10 to 15 pitches, he put on a brace on his left arm, rested for about 10 minutes, and started pitching again.
There is still a lot of time before Lee Eui-ri plays in the real game, but just Lee's throwing the ball makes the entire KIA team excited. Many players moved to Lee as soon as they finished training to watch Lee's bullpen pitching.
The same was true of Yang Hyeon-jong, Lee's role model and living legend of the Tigers. He repeatedly praised Lee's ball power. He praised her for killing the ball once, giving her energy.
Kia has rotation from first to fourth starting pitchers including ace James Nail, new foreign pitcher Adam Oler, native ace Yang Hyeon-jong and left-hander Young-gun and Yoon Young-cheol. Hwang Dong-ha and Kim Do-hyun are fiercely competing with each other for the fifth starting pitcher.
KIA will build the strongest starting rotation of 10 clubs if it successfully returns to Lee Eui-ri in June. It is evaluated that it will have enough power to challenge for the second consecutive year to win the Korean Series for the first time in nine years since the Doosan Bears in the 2015-2016 season.
Lee Eui-ri is focusing only on getting rid of his injury and returning to the mound for the first team. He is committed to shedding his impatience and sweating silently while calmly looking at June.
Lee Eui-ri said, "I don't think I should achieve some results this year at all," and stressed, "I'm trying to focus only on returning to my healthy body as much as possible and contributing to the team."
"Personally, I try not to think about advancing the timing of my return. I have a break in the middle after completing my spring camp schedule, so I'm raising my pace a little faster now. I'll come back healthy and show my fans a better side of me," he said.