"He also seems to be confident, asking me to wait a bit."
The NC Dinos are eagerly awaiting the return of their left-handed ace Koo Chang-mo, who is being discharged from military service this year. The native ace led the team to the overall championship in 2020. However, injuries always came with the title of 'glass body'. He dominated the first half of that championship season with a fatigue fracture in his left arm, but he disappeared in the second half. However, he made a perfect comeback in the Korean Series, becoming a key contributor to the championship. Unfortunately, the following year, he underwent surgery for a fatigue fracture in his left ulnar bone, resulting in a hiatus of over a year until 2022.
However, in 2023, pain occurred again in the fatigue fracture area. His selection for the Hangzhou Asian Games team fell through, and he had to undergo another surgery. Subsequently, he enlisted in the Army Athletic Corps (military service) and underwent rehabilitation.
He was expected to be immediately activated to the first team upon his discharge on June 17 this year. However, Koo Chang-mo sustained an unexpected injury. It wasn't from his pitching, but from being hit by a batted ball. On April 2, he was hit by a line drive during a Futures League game against Samsung, which necessitated managing pain thereafter. This is the reason Koo Chang-mo had not pitched in the Futures League for over two months.
Lee Ho-jun, the manager, was receiving occasional reports on Koo Chang-mo. However, he did not hastily set any plans. The condition of Koo Chang-mo was important. Even as his discharge date approached, the reason why he did not reveal specific plans was that. Nevertheless, he secretly hoped that Koo would be ready to pitch immediately after his discharge. "I thought it was good that he could pitch starting the 18th (the day after discharge) since it was against LG, which has many left-handed batters," noted Lee Ho-jun, despite not receiving any special reports.
However, ultimately, a definitive report on Koo Chang-mo came in a week before his discharge. After a direct call, it was confirmed that he wouldn't be able to pitch immediately after his discharge. Lee Ho-jun expressed his regret but understood the situation, considering Koo had undergone a long rehabilitation.
Still, on the 12th, Koo Chang-mo completed his return debut against Lotte in the Futures League. He recorded 1 inning, 12 pitches, 1 hit allowed, 2 strikeouts, and no runs. It was noted that 11 of those pitches were strikes. He reportedly reached a velocity of up to 145 km.
Lee Ho-jun commented on Koo Chang-mo’s solid 1 inning pitched, saying, "I don't know if he's in pain or not," while chuckling. He added, "For now, he says there is no pain. But it's been a long time since he pitched. He threw 45 pitches in the bullpen and around 10 pitches in the game. We have to wait as we build him up during this time." He explained, "If everything goes according to plan without injuries, he can return after the first half ends for the second half. But if he feels a sharp pain while building up, it could take twice as long. In that case, the season might end again."
For now, there have been no special reports after pitching the day before, implying no injury concerns. Last year, when Lee Ho-jun took over as manager, Koo Chang-mo expressed his confidence, saying, "If we are in the top 5 at the time of my discharge, I will make it to the 1st place." Although Koo was unable to fulfill that promise, he is preparing to return in time for the second half, fully committed.
Lee Ho-jun stated, "I don’t think it will take long. Koo is also confident in his words, saying, 'Please wait a bit longer.'" He emphasized, "We cannot use Chang-mo as a middleman or a one-point pitcher. We have to use him as a starter. It is right to wait until his pitch count increases to a certain level before using him."
Once he returns, he is likely to use a ten-day rotation. The manager noted, "Since he says he is not in pain right now, if he can gradually increase his pitch count to around 80, we will call him up to the first team. I plan for him to throw about 5 innings before removing him from the roster again to pitch again ten days later."
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