A 20-year-old shortstop has been sidelined due to recurrent shoulder dislocation, with a four-month recovery period expected.
Samsung’s Lee Jae-hyun, an infielder who has been suffering from a dislocated left shoulder, will finally go under the knife.
Lee Jae-hyun, who has been suffering from a dislocated left shoulder all season long, was diagnosed with a habitual dislocation that required surgery after being examined at a hospital on the 16th. Lee, who is scheduled to undergo surgery at a hospital in Seoul on March 23, is expected to take at least four months to rehabilitate and return to the field.
Lee, who started his professional career last year after graduating from Seoul High School and being drafted by Samsung, batted .233 with seven home runs, 54 RBIs and 23 runs scored in 75 games in his rookie year.
Notably, he hit more home runs than any of the 10 rookies who joined the organization last year, and he is tied for the second-most home runs by a high school rookie in franchise history, behind only Lee Seung-yeop (13) in 1995.
Lee earned a spot on the opening day roster and received regular playing time, but was removed from the first team roster on May 31 due to a sore right thigh. He returned to the first team on July 3 against Changwon NC, but was sidelined for a while on July 27 against Pohang Hanwha with a right thumb injury.
Reflecting on his rookie year, Lee said, “Playing on the first team stage made me want to continue playing (in the first team) and work harder. I tried not to think too much about my personal performance (as it was my first year as a professional). I kept talking about it, but my biggest regret is that I got injured,” he said. “I realized that if I lose my concentration even a little bit, I could get injured at any time,” he added, emphasizing that it is most important to play full-time without injury.
In 143 games this season as the starting shortstop, Lee batted .244 (114-for-458) with 12 home runs, 60 RBI, 61 runs scored and five stolen bases. 먹튀검증 His hitting stats were noticeably better, with triple-digit hits and double-digit home runs for the first time in his career. He was especially hot in the month of August, batting 3-for-56 (20 RBI) with three home runs and 12 RBI.
Manager Park Jin-man, who earned the moniker of “the national shortstop” during his playing days, said of Lee Jae-hyun, “It’s great for a second-year shortstop to do as well as I did. He has become much more skillful and experienced than last year,” Park said with a smile.
He continued, “I’m sure there’s a lot of physical pressure on him this season, playing a lot of games, but he’s handling it well and building his own career. It’s not easy for a second-year player to show such stable play, but Lee Jae-hyun continues to grow.”
Park Jin-man added, “I wasn’t as experienced as Lee Jae-hyun in my second year. I was very nervous and he was much better than me.”
Lee was named to the preliminary roster for the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), which will be held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan for four days starting next month, but his chances of making the squad were cut short by shoulder surgery.