It's not an All-Star Game, KS, it's not polite...KIA left-hander ace returns, thanks, worries, and cheers for junior left-hander at Kook University
Jul 19, 2025
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KIA Tigers left-hander ace Lee Eui-ri is finally back healthy. Lee Eui-ri looked back on the past year when he spent rehabilitation with reporters amid the cancellation of the Gwangju NC Dinos match due to rain on the 18th. Lee Eui-ri is scheduled to start against Gwangju NC on the 20th and play his return match.
Lee Eui-ri was put on the operating table in June last year when KIA won the integrated championship. The elbow pain was unusual, and Tommy John surgery was inevitable. It was the result of joining KIA with the first nomination in 2021 and throwing without skipping the starting rotation for four years. But that was the winning season.
In last year's Korean Series, KIA players expressed their regret for not being with Lee Eui-ri. The most active was left-handed must-win group Kwak Do-gyu. Kwak Do-gyu drew attention by growing rapidly in a short period of time, including playing for the national team last year, and he pitched in four Korean Series games, winning two games and losing four scoreless innings, making a big contribution to the championship. In the meantime, he took the mound in Game 5 of the Korean Series against the Samsung Lions in Gwangju on October 28 last year, pitched one scoreless inning, and then immediately released the button on his uniform as he came down the mound. This is to show a T-shirt with Lee Eui-ri and No. 48 inside the uniform. It was a bold performance on the stage where they competed for the trophy.
Lee Eui-ri looked back at the moment ahead of his return to the mound and said, "It's not polite to the opposing team. "It's not an All-Star game, but the Korean Series." I thought he might look at Do-gyu from a negative perspective. I think Do-gyu would have done that because he thought he could throw well on his own, and I respect that. I think Dogyu is cool. However, at the time, I just thought that I would like you to take a bad look at Do-gyu."
The junior who enthusiastically cheered Lee Eui-ri's return is not in the first team now. Kwak Do-gyu also went to the operating table this year due to an elbow problem. Due to damage to flexor and ligaments, he underwent Tommy John surgery and folded the season early.
Lee Eui-ri encouraged Kwak Do-gyu, whom he met while rehabilitating, to take good care of himself. Lee Eui-ri "I heard that the surgery was long. Still, Dogyu is a solid friend, so he seems to be doing what he wants to do now. I believe I'll do well because I don't think I'm going to get stressed out.'
I just felt sorry for the timing, but I thought it was a surgery that I had to undergo once, and I held it calm for the past year.
Lee Eui-ri "I've been talking in the hospital since I was 20 years old. If you're sick, do surgery, and if you're not sick, keep going. I just felt like it was time. I think I've endured it for a long time as a starting pitcher. (But increasingly) I felt a little slow to recover during the five-day break. This was especially true in 2024."
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Lee Eui-ri said, "Last year, when there was a home game for the first team, thanks to your rehabilitation in the first team. In the off-season, (Kim) Min-ju helped a lot. Minju seems to be a fun and funny friend. In winter, KT (the late) Youngpyo was in Jeju Island when I tried to go to Jeju Island. Thank you for helping me a lot when I asked for help" he said.
The advice of KT Wiz Cho Hyung-joon, who has experience in Tommy John surgery, was also very helpful.
Lee Eui-ri said, "We usually eat together and are close. (Small) Hyungjun told me not to do it in a hurry. (When the rehabilitation process was stopped once) I could've done it to refer to it then, but when I listened to Hyungjun, he said he took 6 weeks off. If I put up with it, I thought I would rest longer, so I stopped it quickly."
He is perfectly ready to stand on the mound again.
Lee Eui-ri said, "(While taking the mound in the second division) I think I'm buying some now because I'm definitely playing baseball. I think I'm having fun on the mound, and I'm trying to erase a lot of thoughts. It's a shame that a year has already passed. Still, he's prepared well, so he's full of confidence. I'm in a good condition right now (because of the rain cancellation) but it's a shame. My goal in the second half is to win. As a player, winning is a goal every year. I will melt into the team well so that I can win and show good results."
KIA manager Lee Bum-ho stressed that Lee Eui-ri's true return season is 2026. It meant that Lee Eui-ri would not force him to throw the ball in order to achieve his performance this year.
Lee Eui-ri went one step further and said he would throw the ball healthy so that he could play baseball until the age of 45.
Lee Eui-ri said, "I want to play baseball until I'm 45 years old. You have to do it well to be 45 years old. There's no specific reason why I chose 45 years old. I thought that would be just right. When I see (Choi) Hyung-woo, he's good at everything. It's my role model. Take good care of yourself and exercise a lot according to your condition. To be honest, it doesn't make sense to maintain steady skills until now. I respect you for doing that,' he said, vowing to become a long-time player to succeed Choi.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
