KIA Tigers Park Chan-ho suffered an injury.
KIA coach Kim Jong-guk reported Chan-ho Park’s injury news ahead of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League home game against the Lotte Giants at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 13th.
On the 12th, Chan-Ho Park came to bat with one out and one base on first base in the 5th inning against Samsung in Daegu. After hitting a ground ball to shortstop, he sprinted to first base and slid headfirst. In the process, something went wrong with my finger. Chan-Ho Park finished the game after being replaced by pinch hitter Chang-Jin Lee in the 7th inning.
As a result of a detailed examination on the 13th, it was diagnosed that the ligament of the fourth finger of the left hand was damaged. There was also an opinion that treatment for about 3 weeks was needed.
Coach Kim Jong-guk said, “(Park) Chan-ho said, ‘It’s not to the point where he needs surgery, so he can be a pinch runner or a substitute defender.’ I think there’s no agent like Chan-ho, so I’m going to keep him in the entry list. However, starting appearances will be difficult for the time being.” revealed. Coach Kim explained, “You need to check your fingers through treatment and rest. The training department will take care of it,” and added, “We plan to do fungo and running together. Once hitting is possible, we will proceed slowly and step by step.”
Chan-Ho Park was having a career-high season this year. He played in all 115 games played by KIA. He had a batting average of 0.302 (125 hits in 414 at bats) with 3 home runs, 48 RBIs, 64 runs, and 29 stolen bases. He also took center stage in defense as a shortstop, taking responsibility for 962⅓ innings (13 errors). He also went 3 innings (1 error) as a second baseman.
This is why the commander’s disappointment inevitably grows. Manager Kim said, “I told you not to slide head first at first base,” and “There is a video review, so you can make an accurate decision even without sliding. You can slide in a hurry or without realizing it, but there are many cases where serious injuries occur.” He lamented, “In the league, head-first sliding to first base is considered taboo.”
Instead of Park Chan-ho, Kim Do-young will be entrusted with the leadoff role. Kim Do-young has a season batting average of 0.302 (68 hits in 225 at-bats) with 5 home runs and 34 RBIs. He was in good shape with a batting average of 0.317 (13 hits in 41 at-bats) in the last 10 games.
Manager Kim said, “You just have to keep doing what you do now. I hope that you only focus on fighting with the pitcher and getting on base regardless of the batting order at the plate.” He added, “He’s also improved a lot mentally. He’s still doing a good job.”안전놀이터
On this day, KIA had Kim Do-young (shortstop) – Lee Woo-sung (right fielder) – Na Seong-beom (designated hitter) – Choi Hyeong-woo (left fielder) – Kim Seon-bin (second baseman) – Socrates (center fielder) – Hwang Dae-in (first baseman) – Kim Tae-gun (catcher) – Choi Jeong-yong. (Third baseman) formed the starting lineup. The starting pitcher is Yang Hyun-jong.