Lee Min-ho announced on his SNS Instagram on the 9th that he had to undergo surgery twice this month. The reason why he failed to recover his fastball speed seems to have been due to an arm problem.
Lee Min-ho’s average fastball speed was 145.5 km per hour in 26 games last year, but this year it fell to 142.2 km while taking the mound in five games. He came out 145km in his first appearance of the season, but his ball fell after a flexor injury in his right arm and failed to recover after a while. The average fastball speed in the last first division appearance remained at 140km.
Lee Min-ho expressed his sorry feelings to the fans. “I prepared well to transfer my injury to rehabilitation early this season, but it didn’t come out as much as it did when my ball speed was low and my arm function was good throughout the season. “It’s a really important season, so I prepared hard to give it a try, but my original performance didn’t come out, so I decided to have surgery as soon as the Futures League season was over.” he wrote.
Also, “Many fans have supported and looked forward to it this year, but I’m sorry that I didn’t show good performance. Tomorrow (10th) and two weeks later, I will do my best to rehabilitate and show better performance than before. Thank you,” he said.
Lee Min-ho made me look forward to this year, his fourth year in his first appearance of the season. On April 5 against Kiwoom, he lost the game by allowing two runs in five ⅓ innings, but he remained unperturbed after losing a point due to an error and maintained his pace until the replacement.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also showed good pitching. On April 6, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “I thought Lee Min-ho could collapse in the first inning, but rather, he took the players by heartening them.” I felt like I had grown up,” he said. 스포츠토토
He said, “I used to look embarrassed. But seeing him fix it made me look forward to it. The use of various pitches that appeared during the exhibition games continued. I have a belief that the ups and downs will not be as severe as last year,” he explained.
However, it took time to show the changed Lee Min-ho again. Lee Min-ho was away from the first division for nearly two months due to flexor muscle pain in his forearm before preparing for his second appearance. After returning, he failed to show Lee Min-ho in the first game of the season.
In his return match on May 30, he allowed one run in three ⅓ against Lotte. In three games in June, he lost one game and had an 8.18 ERA, and in the remaining June 22 against NC with the last appearance in the first division, he allowed three runs in just one inning and was substituted.
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop decided to cancel the first-tier entry on June 23, believing that Lee Min-ho’s physical condition had fallen to an extent that he could not remain in the first team. I thought I had to rehabilitate for at least a month.
Lee Min-ho returned to action in the Futures League match against Sangmu on July 28, but ended the season without playing in the first division game. He lost two games and had a 5.03 ERA in five games. In the Futures League, he played in eight games, recording three wins, one loss and a 3.58 ERA.