On March 29, NC announced the results of Kim Young-kyu’s medical examination after he returned home from spring training with elbow pain while preparing to become a starting pitcher. “As a result of the examination, there was no special abnormality and he was diagnosed with a mild sprain,” the NC said, “He will focus on treatment in the rehabilitation group from March 1 and schedule future training.”
Thank goodness. On March 27, Kim Young-gyu felt a slight discomfort in his elbow and returned home early for a medical checkup. The examination revealed no major abnormalities, allowing him to prepare for the season with peace of mind.
Kim, who was drafted in the eighth round of the second round of the 2018 KBO Draft out of Gwangju Il-Go, had his best season last year. In 63 games and 61⅔ innings, he went 2-4 with 24 saves and a 3.06 ERA, solidifying himself as a must-win pitcher. 안전놀이터 Add to that a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games and a stellar performance at the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), and he’s become a fixture in the national left-handed pitching lineup.
He became an integral part of the NC’s pitching staff and even received military service benefits for his Asian Games gold medal.
Kim’s career is only going to blossom from here. Based on his performance last year, his salary has risen vertically. After earning 140 million won last year, Kim will earn 225 million won this year, an increase of 85 million won (61%). He became the highest-paid non-free agent player in the club, excluding free agents and multi-year contracts.
However, since last year’s offseason camp, manager Kang Myung-hwon had been thinking of a new role for Kim. It was to be a starting pitcher. Kim was no stranger to the starting role. On March 27, 2019, he made his debut against Changwon KT and started as the starting pitcher. On that day, he pitched six innings with five hits, three walks, one strikeout, and one run.
On September 27, 2019, he threw a complete game shutout against Jamsil LG with nine innings, seven hits, eight strikeouts, and no walks, making him the first pitcher to throw a complete game shutout and the youngest pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in franchise history. Born on February 10, 2000, Kim Young-kyu was only 19 years old at the time, making him the first pitcher born in the 2000s to complete a complete game.
In his last start for LG Electronics in Jamsil on June 9, 2021
Kim started 31 of his 222 career games. His record as a starting pitcher was 10-7 with a 5.39 ERA in 31 games.
The first reason Kang envisioned Young-kyu’s transition was the lack of a native starter. Koo Chang-mo, who was supposed to serve as the left-handed ace, was injured last year and joined the commercial organization. Last year, Koo Chang-mo and other homegrown pitchers suffered from a series of injuries and inconsistencies, making it difficult for the team to organize a proper homegrown starting rotation. Shin Min-hyuk stepped in at the end of the season. However, the lack of stability in the starting rotation throughout last season prevented NC from climbing higher in the standings. Kim Young-kyu was selected as the player to solve this problem.
But there was a catch. Kim Young-gyu was being treated for elbow fatigue at the end of last year’s season. He had to be ready to play at any time in the starting lineup and was also participating in international competitions. 카지노사이트 추천 The higher the fatigue level, the greater the risk of injury. This was a concern for coach Kang Kwon-hwa. This was the second reason he decided to switch Kim Young-gyu’s starting role.
“We need a homegrown starter,” Kang said, “and the risk of injury is greater when you’re in the bullpen. I think it’s necessary to manage pitch counts and innings while pitching as a starter,” he said, explaining the reasoning behind moving Kim to the starting rotation. However, it is difficult to reduce the cumulative fatigue and injury risk in a short period of time.
The transition to starting pitching will make it easier to manage the risk of injury. However, once the risk has been exposed, it will need to be managed more carefully and closely.