“I thought I wanted to do it for a long time…” A
Lotte Giants official reported on the 6th that Kwon-soo Ahn had undergone surgery to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow. On the 8th, Ahn Kwon-soo will undergo surgery to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow at Cheongdam Rion Hospital. His return is expected to take about three months.
Even though Ahn Kwon-soo was talented enough to play as a starting pitcher for ‘Koshien’ during his high school years in Waseda, Japan, he was not selected by the clubs in the draft for a new player in the Japanese professional baseball team. Although he failed to achieve his professional dream, Ahn Kwon-soo did not let go of baseball, including taking part in independent leagues and social baseball. Then, an opportunity to play in the KBO League came.메이저사이트
Ahn Kwon-soo participated in a tryout held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon. However, because of his poor side at the time, he could not display 100% of his skills, and Ahn Kwon-soo, who judged that the possibility of being nominated in the KBO League rookie draft was not high, did not appear. But a miracle happened. The Doosan Bears called Ahn Kwon-soo’s name in the 99th overall in the 2nd round of 10th round.
In his first season in the Doosan uniform, Ahn Kwon-soo appeared in 68 games mainly as a large runner and large defensive ratio, recording a batting average of 0.270 (10 hits in 37 at-bats). The following year, the batting average slightly decreased to 0.238 (10 hits in 42 at-bats) in 87 games, but in 76 games in the 2022 season, he scored 71 hits, 20 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.297, showing his talent blossoming. However, after the season ended, the reality Ahn Kwon-soo faced was ‘release’.
In order for Ahn Kwon-soo to continue his career as a player in the KBO League, he has to solve the problem of ‘military service’, but Doosan decided to give younger players a chance. Although he suffered the pain of being released, Ahn Kwon-soo did not neglect the off-season. As a result, he came into contact with the Lotte Giants this time. It is a situation where Ahn Kwon-soo can only play for one year if he does not enlist in the military, but Lotte judged that he could help the team even for a short period of time.
Ahn Kwon-soo was like Lotte’s ‘energizer’ even before the season started. In particular, in the practice game held during the spring camp in Okinawa, Japan, he did not hesitate to play a role in raising the atmosphere to the extent that there was no time for Dougout to be quiet. Manager Larry Sutton expressed his satisfaction with Ahn Kwon-soo, who was well integrated into the team, with a big smile every day.
His performance at the beginning of the season was also good. Ahn Kwon-soo succeeded in gaining a spot in the outfield, playing in 22 games in April and playing an active role as the main character of Lotte’s ‘storm’, swinging a fire bat with a batting average of 0.318 with 27 hits, 2 homers, 12 RBIs, 10 points and 4 steals. However, at the end of April, when a bone fragment in the elbow that had been bothering Ahn Kwon-soo led to extreme pain, the good pace began to drop rapidly.
Ahn Kwon-soo’s physical condition was worse than expected. Coach Larry Sutton said, “There are three bone fragments in my elbow” prior to the match against the LG Twins in Jamsil on the 1st. At the time, Ahn Kwon-soo said of his physical condition, “Even hitting one hit is a miracle,” and finally decided to undergo bone fragment removal surgery on the 8th.
The reason Ahn Kwon-soo, who can only play this season without military service, chose surgery was because the pain in his elbow, which had rapidly deteriorated since April 30, was severe enough to interfere with everyday life beyond baseball. . It was not an easy decision as he did not have much time to stay in the KBO League.
Ahn Kwon-su, who contacted ‘My Daily’ on the 6th, was asked about the background of the surgery, saying, “It was not an easy decision to make. I thought I wanted to live a little longer…” and expressed regret.
Continuing, Ahn Kwon-su said, “I tried it for a month, but it didn’t get better. My batting form kept changing because of the pain in my elbow. I had to hit a fastball, but I was afraid to swing. I couldn’t hit a fastball because of the pain.” revealed
His elbow fracture surgery can return to the ground in two months if the rehabilitation speed is fast. Currently, Lotte is predicting that Ahn Kwon-soo will be able to return within three months. Obviously, the hiatus was painful, but Ahn Kwon-soo returned to the ground and vowed to help Lotte lift the championship trophy.
Ahn Kwon-soo said, “My goal is for the team to win. I’m sorry to miss the regular season, but my teammates are doing so well. I will try hard to rehabilitate as much as I can,” he said, stressing, “I want to show my hard work in front of Lotte fans once again.”