“I really wanted to throw hard just once…”

Hanwha right-handed pitcher Kim Jong-soo, 30, underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow last May. It was his fourth elbow surgery in his baseball career. He first went under the knife in 2014, two years into his rookie year, for elbow ligament ligation surgery, and had two more elbow surgeries in the summer of 2017 after returning from military service. He underwent a second ligament reconstruction and bone chip removal surgery.

After two prolonged rehabilitation sessions, Kim realized his dream of making his first-team debut in late 2018 and pitched in the first-team bullpen for four years from 2019 to 2022. In five seasons in the first team, he had a record of 193 games (177⅔ innings) with a 7-6 record, two saves, 19 holds, a 5.12 ERA, and 155 strikeouts. His best season came in 2022, when he went 3-4 with a 4.40 ERA and 6 saves in 52 games (45 innings) with 45 strikeouts. He anchored the bullpen with a solid, if unspectacular, fastball in the mid-90s.

However,

His elbow began to bother him at the end of the 2022 season, and he was sidelined during pre-season exhibition games in 2023 with a recurrence of elbow pain, which led to another surgery and a tedious rehabilitation. Despite numerous surgeries and rehabilitation sessions, the battle with herself was not easy. Although it was a milder bone fragment surgery than a ligament tear, he had several setbacks during the rehabilitation process.

“It wasn’t an MCL (ligament reconstruction), so I should have finished rehab in five to six months, but it took longer than I expected. It took me a year and two months to throw a ball again, and it felt like a long time,” he said. 토토사이트 ”There were a lot of tough times in the middle. Training coach Kim Jae-min, Futures manager Lee Dae-jin, coach Park Jung-jin, and senior Jung Woo-ram helped me a lot, especially Lee Dae-jin, who told me about his experience of going to the U.S. and having surgery by himself. At first, I was full of negative thoughts, but thanks to everyone’s help, I got better,” he said.

The pain was recurring and the rehabilitation process was long, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to throw the ball again. In frustration, he even considered giving up his right-handed overhand and switching to a sidearm pitch. “I wanted to throw hard just once, and I wanted to throw well for at least one game, so I thought about switching to the sidearm. I told my coach about it,” he said. ”When I was thinking about it, the pain suddenly disappeared and I was able to throw the ball with excitement.”

Jong-soo returned to action in mid-June, starting in the Futures League, and finished the season pain-free.

He pitched back-to-back and multi-inning games, going 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA, one save, 10 holds, and 38 strikeouts in 30 games (31⅔ innings). He tied for the Futures League lead in holds and helped Hanwha win the Northern League title. After the season, he participated in the Phoenix Education League in Miyazaki, Japan, where he pitched 8⅔ innings in seven games.

“When I came back in June, I felt a little weird when I threw,” said Kim, who has since been recovering in Seosan. It was hard to throw an inning at first because I had a long hiatus, but my stamina gradually improved and my changeup came back.” ”I think this year was a preparation for next year. Now I’m totally focused on next year. Our pitching staff is really strong, and I want to compete with them.”

Starting next year, Hanwha will begin a new era at a new ballpark in Daejeon, tentatively named Baseball Dream Park. The team will also change its BI and uniforms. After a long rehabilitation tunnel, Kim Jong-soo is looking to make a comeback in a new uniform at the new stadium. “I’m looking forward to the new ballpark. The bullpen is said to be double-decker, and it will be beautiful,” said Kim, who smiled. ”I will be thrilled to be in the first team and throw the ball again. I want to show my face to the fans who have forgotten me and let them know that I am alive.”