“I’m happy to be able to play baseball.”
KT Wiz infielder Jang Jun-won, 28, came to KT from the LG Twins via trade on May 21 last year. Since coming to KT, 꽁머니 Jang has been a solid presence, winning the heart of KT manager Lee Kang-cheol. He has been in the spotlight more than any other player since being selected with the 23rd pick in the 2014 LG 2nd Round.
But the heavens were not kind. Jang Jun-won was injured on July 22 last year against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles. While chasing down a hit by Jung Eun-won, he suffered a severe twisting injury to his right knee. Upon further examination, he was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
The injury to Jang Jun-won, who had become the centerpiece of KT’s offense after the trade, broke everyone’s hearts. “It’s a shame because his defense was good and his bat was good,” KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said the day after the injury.
Jang has been faithful in his rehabilitation. An ACL injury requires at least a year of rehabilitation, but Jang worked harder than anyone else to get back on the field as quickly as possible. On April 30, he returned to action against Samsung in the Futures League. After finding his feet in the Futures League, Jang received a call-up to the first team on May 16.
Looking back on his rehabilitation, Jang says, “I tried not to watch baseball during my rehabilitation, but I couldn’t help but watch it. I wanted to play fall baseball with my teammates. I worked really hard on my rehab, and the trainers helped me a lot. My wife was also very supportive, so I think I did well. But rehab is really boring. You can’t do it twice,” he said.
However, he hasn’t performed well since his return. He had his first career three-hit game on July 17 against Samsung, and he’s been hitting over .300 in his last 10 games, but his league performance hasn’t been great. In 26 games, he is batting .136 with six hits, six RBIs and four runs scored.
“The manager gave me a chance, but I didn’t take it,” Jang said. I need to improve my form and show what I can do,” he said.
“When I came back, I had to get rid of the image of a rehabilitation player and play like a first-team player, but I didn’t show a good performance. It was intimidating 메이저사이트 주소 to feel small and not look good. I will be more bold,” he added.
Although he’s slowing down now, he’s happy to be able to play baseball after overcoming his injury.
“I’m happy just to be able to play baseball,” said Jang Jun-won. I didn’t think it was a big surgery, but everyone said it was,” he laughs, adding, “I had a lot of thoughts about whether I could perform well, but the people around me supported me well, so I was able to look ahead. I’ve made a quick comeback, and I’m determined to do my best in the future.”