Park Gun-woo will be back anyway. The real question is Koo Chang-mo.
The Park Gun-woo situation was put to rest through the All-Star Game. It was a rainy season. The NC 2nd team’s home game against Lotte, which was scheduled to be played at Changwon Masan Stadium on the 7th, was canceled. The NC 1st team was also preparing to play Samsung at Changwon NC Park, but it was canceled. Park quickly went to the first team and met with manager Kang In-hwa.
When Park got a hit in the All-Star Game, he bent down 90 degrees to hand over his betting glove and protective gear to Kang, the first base coach. As a gesture of apology, Kang also patted Gun-woo on the butt during the player introductions. These are things that are hard to come by without prior communication.
Park is expected to return to the first team for the three-game series against Hanwha starting on the 21st. At the latest, he will be back for the three-game series against KIA at home starting on the 25th. After all, Park is NC’s center fielder and key outfielder. He’s coming back at the right time. It’s just a matter of playing good baseball and remembering the one-team mentality.
However, the biggest issue that could hinder NC’s second half is Koo Chang-mo. Koo has already been sidelined for two months due to a flexor muscle injury in his forearm. His last appearance was against LG Electronics in Jamsil on June 2, but he only faced one batter before being pulled. In fact, his last game was on May 17 against the Incheon SSG.
He’s not going to make it through the regulation innings again this year. Realistically, the challenge is to complete the season without any health risks. Since the end of the first half, Kang has been cautious in answering questions about the timing of Koo Chang-mo’s return. In the second half of the season, he must return, but pushing for a return date could put pressure on the player. At this point, we don’t know when he will return at all.
In the first season of a 6+1 year, 13.2 billion won multi-year contract, there is nothing NC can do at this point. They can only wait and see. There’s a difference between having him in the starting lineup and not having him. One thing is for sure, Koo Chang-mo hasn’t been able to change the outside world’s opinion of him this year. It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you can’t play, your value goes down. NC also enters the second half of the standings without a trump card.먹튀검증
It’s not just the NC that has to deal with this issue. The Hangzhou Asian Games baseball team could also be in trouble. The KBO’s Power Enhancement Committee took a gamble that Koo would be in good enough shape to throw a ball by the end of September, when the tournament begins, but the longer he’s out, the more anxious manager Ryu Jung-il must be.
At this point, the KBO is not considering replacing Koo Chang-mo. However, Ryu will be nervous about the timing and performance of Koo’s return. In the worst case scenario, he’ll have to think of a Plan B.