In 2024, KIA had its best year, achieving a grand unified championship that engulfed both the regular season and the Korean Series. It was a season in which the results and the process can be highly appreciated in that veteran players not only showed off their strong performance, but also won the championship by overcoming many crises due to the clear growth of young players.스포츠토토
However, not everyone cheered. Some players quietly ended the season in disappointment. The star was left-hander Lee Eui-ri (22) of the Kia Tigers, who is undoubtedly the next-generation native ace. Although his growth received high expectations, he ended up on the operating table after being hamstrung by elbow pain from the start of the season. He pitched in only four games this season. KIA had to scramble to fill the gap between Lee and Lee.
Lee Eui-ri, who graduated from Gwangju Jeil High School and received the first nomination by KIA in 2021, was in the spotlight as a left-hander ace who will lead the future of the Korean national baseball team as well as KIA with 10 wins in 29 games in 2022 and 11 wins in 28 games in 2023. Although there were some ups and downs in control of the ball, his strong pitching that could hit 150 kilometers per hour as a starter received great attention. With the foundation, he was evaluated to grow into an ace someday if his ball control and game management improved. It was just a matter of time to get there.
However, he encountered a rock in the process. After pitching in only three games in the 2024 season, Lee was put on the rehabilitation team due to elbow pain. After rehabilitation that lasted about a month and a half, he returned to the NC Dinosaurs on May 29, but elbow pain persisted after this game, eventually being put on a surgery table. He underwent Tommy John Surgery to repair ligaments in his damaged elbow, and finished the season as it was.
Rather, if he had gotten surgery due to a problem after the end of the 2023 season, he would have been able to wait normally for the opening of the 2025 season, although it would have been regrettable. I started the season believing that there would be no major problems, but the timing of the surgery that I visited was also a bit unfair. Usually, Tommy John Surgery meant one to one and a half years. Since the surgery was performed in June, it was right to set it as June 2025 at the earliest, and conservatively, to set it as the time to return to the 1st team. Some even said that considering the adaptation period, a full-fledged rash could start in 2026. He was not wrong.
After the surgery, Lee had to undergo rehabilitation in both facilities and centers, and watch his teammates win the regular season and the Korean Series one after another. If they were together, it would have been of great help to their personal career, regardless of their contributions, but they couldn't. So, did they really clench their teeth? Lee's rehabilitation is going smoothly, and some hope that he will be able to return to the team faster than expected.
"Lee Eui-ri has recently started a phased pitching program (ITP). He is currently in rehabilitation in Jeju Island," said Shim Jae-hak, Kia's general manager. This means that he is now in the process of throwing a ball after completing his basic rehabilitation. The ITP proceeds step by step from short distance to long distance. After completing this step, he increases the intensity by half-pitching and bullpen pitching, and if there is no problem, he will gradually increase the number of innings in rehabilitation games. Since Lee is a starting resource, it is normal for Lee to take more time to return to the team, but the rehabilitation process continues smoothly without going far beyond the expectations of the team.
"We are setting the time in June when we will enter the first team after completing our rehabilitation (with the current schedule)," General Manager Shim said, expressing his expectation, "The speed of rehabilitation is faster than expected." Of course, there may be many variables in the process going forward, but if we enter the first team at the end of June and play the rotation normally, we can be a huge boost to the KIA mound. Of course, high expectations are inevitable for Lee Eui-ri's pitch, which has relieved all the psychological burdens on his elbow.
Meanwhile, Yoon Young-chul, another promising left-hander who suffered a back injury in the middle of this year's season, is also continuing to strengthen his team. "I saw him meet and train, but he seems to have no problem. I checked and he is carrying out all of his normal schedules," Shim said. Kia has given a green light to run its starting lineup in the future, with even new young players including Hwang Dong-ha and Kim Do-hyun showing possibilities during the injury period of the two players. With competition also expected, attention is focusing on whether Lee Eui-ri, who was a key figure in this year's Korean Series, will be able to become the main character in 2025.