“It’s a competitive world….”
Gwangju Champions Field on Nov. 15. KIA Tigers’ Lee Woo-sung (29) was hit in the hamstring by a ball thrown by Doosan Bears pitcher Kim Myung-shin (30) in the bottom of the eighth inning.
After collapsing in the batter’s box, Lee attempted to continue playing after stepping on first base, but after seeing the follow-up batter’s first pitch, he was eventually replaced by a pinch-hitter to end the game.
Lee was forced to rest. Before the game on the 16th, KIA manager Kim Jong-guk said, “I don’t think he’ll be able to play for two or three days. I think he got hit yesterday,” he said.
Lee Woo-sung said, “I was hit in the hamstring muscle area, where there are not many muscles. It’s like a little cramp when I run,” Lee explained his condition.
Kim Myung-shin looked at Lee Woo-sung with a worried expression after the dune. He apologized for being substituted.
Kim’s worries didn’t end after the match. He texted Lee Woo-sung after the match to see how he was doing. Lee Woo-sung said he was fine, but in the morning, he checked in with him again. “He called me this morning and asked if I was okay, and I said I was,” Lee said. “We’ve gotten along well since I was at Doosan, and we’ve stayed in touch. I apologized yesterday, but he said it was okay because it’s a competitive world.”안전놀이터
The two have known each other since middle school. Although Kim Myung-shin is a year older, they would often meet up at paid matches.
“We’re in the same grade. We’ve been playing against each other since middle school. I also remember meeting him in the finals. Lee Woo-sung was an ace pitcher at the time,” he recalls.
On the dune situation, Kim said, “In the first at-bat, (Lee) was hitting well, hitting a grand slam. So I was trying to get a pitch in the corner of the strike zone, but it went too deep.”
Kim Myung-shin said, “We’ve been playing really well lately, and I’m really sorry that the dune came out,” adding, “I hope we can continue to play well together.”
Lee Woo-sung said, “I hope we do well until the end.”
Meanwhile, while Doosan won the 15th game 8-6, the 16th game was rained out. KIA changed its starting pitcher on the 17th from Hwang Dong-ha to Thomas Pannoni. Doosan kept Raul Alcantara, who was announced on the 16th, on the mound on the 17th.