In the 2023 season, the KIA Tigers could also play fall baseball. It had nine consecutive wins in the second half of the year, once surpassing second place. However, the runner lost his position and sat down. The critical inflection point was Park Chan-ho’s injury. He injured his finger ligament while headfirst sliding to live at first base against Samsung on Sept. 12.
It was a critical moment. After nine consecutive wins, Park lost two games in a row, but was on the rise again with three consecutive wins. KIA lost the game 9-10. Unable to hold the bat, Park had no choice but to wait as a pinch runner. With a batting average of .300, the ability to steal bases and boasts a wide range of defense as his main shortstop, Park’s absence was fatal.
The team lost seven games in a row as its offense and defense flaws were clearly revealed. It instantly lost its 12 wins and two losses in the previous record. Park Chan-ho returned to the starting lineup by holding the bat after a two-week hiatus, but his team fell to sixth place and failed to create momentum for rebound any longer. The lineup collapsed as the main guns Na Sung-bum (thigh) and Choi Hyung-woo (crachial fracture) were left out due to injury.
KIA had banned sliding to the first base under the direction of its coach Kim Jong-guk. There were also bylaws imposing substantial fines. Due to the high risk of injury, the team took measures to prevent such injuries. However, Park instinctively threw himself to survive despite knowing the fact. The result was a critical crisis for his team. Park had to pay a fine.
Sliding at the first base caused another injury. Kim suffered ligament damage and fracture in his left thumb while sliding at the first base to prevent a double play in the match against Japan at the Asia Professional Championship (APBC) held in Tokyo in November. It was a serious injury that lasted for four months. The team lost all preparation time for the next season’s closing camp in November, the off-season period from December to January, and the spring camp in February. It remains to be seen whether Kim will play in next year’s opening game. 사설 토토사이트
Park Chan-ho and Kim Do-young play active base running. They steal a lot and play hard to advance one more base. In the second game of the season, Kim was out after running at third base for more than two months due to a fractured left foot. They are players who are highly concerned about injury. As they are key players who create chances, injuries inevitably lead to weakening of the team’s power.
Kim plans to strongly demand the ban on sliding to the first base next season. “Our players also know that if they make a mistake in sliding to the first base, they will get injured. We must settle down in a way that we don’t want to do without fail. We are still considering what measures we will take (to prevent sliding to the first base). We will talk with our coaches to come up with a way to ban the ban,” Kim said.
That form could increase the amount of fines, and through constant education, the word “first base sliding” could not come to mind. At least, Park Chan-ho and Kim Do-young are unlikely to throw themselves again because they have experienced the aftereffects of sliding to first base. The same will be true of their colleagues who watched the accident. At least, it seems that they will not see sliding to first base in next year’s Tigers game.