Kiwoom lefty Lee Young-jun (31) had a rollercoaster-like season this year after returning from elbow surgery. He did not show great performance in the regular season, which started a little late, and he was not included in the semi-playoff entry, which was the team’s first stage of fall baseball. However, Lee Yeongjun, who did not give up, proudly made his name in the playoff entry. Lee Yeongjun looked back and said, “It was a season that was both fortunate and unfortunate.”
During last year’s spring camp, Lee Young-joon developed elbow pain. In April, he underwent surgery on his left elbow and missed the entire season. After about a year of rehabilitation, Lee Young-joon returned to the first team in June. He had a 4.29 ERA with 2 wins, 2 losses and 4 holds in 21 innings in 26 regular season games. Lee Young-jun said, “It was a season that was really lacking in terms of records. He said, “I wanted to keep throwing well every time I went up, but it’s a pity that it didn’t work out better than I thought.”
Kiwoom advanced to the postseason by finishing third in the regular season, but Lee Young-joon, who did not make it to the entry, had to swallow his regrets. Lee Young-jun said, “While announcing the entry for the semi-playoffs, coach Kim Chang-hyun (senior) told me to ‘build your body in case you don’t know’.”
In a playoff against LG, which was full of left-handed hitters, Lee Yeong-joon made a relief mound in the bottom of the 8th inning when Kiwoom was losing 3-6 in the first game, allowing only one hit and pitching a scoreless pitch. Game 2 came on the mound at the most important moment. He took the mound at the bottom of the 5th inning when Kiwoom was leading 7-5 with a base loaded with one out. He allowed a sacrifice fly to pinch hitter Lee Jae-won, but the follow-up Park Hae-min caught a fly and ended the inning. Lee Yeongjun said that this moment was the most memorable of the year. He said, “If I hadn’t stopped it at that time, the tie would have been reversed, and if I had lost two in a row, I could have given up the series itself.” 메이저사이트
Although he joined KT in 2014, his first team debut was in 2017 at Kiwoom. As a bullpen pitcher, he has appeared in 119 games and pitched 104.2 innings, recording 6 wins, 6 losses and 30 holds with an ERA of 4.47. Although he is of considerable age and seniority, he has never played a season full-time. Lee Young-joon said, “If I look at it calmly, I have never had a season properly.”
This year, which was like a roller coaster, ends with a wedding. The bride-to-be Kim Hye-rim (31) met last year through a friend just before her elbow surgery. He was like a relief pitcher to Lee Young-joon, who tried to stay away from baseball for the past year while rehabilitating and feeling upset. Lee Young-joon said, “I must have watched the life of a baseball player from the side for the first time this year, but thank you very much for helping me well without showing any difficulty.” Lee Young-joon will hold a wedding ceremony at the Eliena Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 17th.