Injured Lions captain ready to sacrifice body in KBO postseason game

Despite walking with a visible limp during his recovery from a left knee injury, Samsung Lions captain Koo Ja-wook said Saturday he will be available as a pinch hitter in his team’s postseason game.

Koo suffered a left knee injury during a steal attempt in Game 2 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason against the LG Twins on Tuesday. He managed to score after staggering home and was immediately taken out of the game.

Koo traveled to Japan on Wednesday to receive treatment and rejoined the Lions late Friday. He arrived at Jamsil Baseball Stadium for Game 4 of this best-of-five series, all prepared to help his Lions when or if they need him.

A win will send the Lions to the Korean Series for the first time in nine years.

“I feel so much better now,” Koo said at his pregame press conference. “I am not yet healthy enough to start and play a full game, but I will be prepared to go in when a situation calls for my appearance.”

Koo said he is mostly pain-free when he takes swing
s, but he is not yet able to run at full speed.

“”If it’s a key situation, I will give it my best shot. How my knee feels isn’t that important,” he said. “If we can win this game without needing me, then it’d be the best-case scenario for us. I know my teammates will do their best.”

Koo had initially been scheduled to return to Daegu, the Lions’ home city located 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after wrapping up his stay in Japan. However, the rain-induced postponement of Game 4 from Friday to Saturday afforded Koo an extra day of rest, and he chose to travel to Seoul instead to join the team.

“I wanted to be around the guys and at least be their cheerleader in the dugout,” Koo explained. “And because I started feeling so much better, I thought maybe there was a chance that I could get into a game here.”

As for the last-minute decision to receive treatment in Japan during the series, Koo said, “I wanted to cling to even the tiniest of possibilities that I could come back in this series. I didn’t want t
o just sit around and wait for the knee to heal and wanted to do everything I could to get ready.”

Koo played the first game of this series while battling migraine and nausea. He had three hits, including a key three-run homer, in a 10-4 victory, but was taken to a local hospital immediately after the game to get an IV shot.

Koo was the Lions’ most productive hitter during the regular season, leading them with a .343 batting average, 33 home runs, 115 RBIs and a 1.044 on-base plus slugging.

With the captain once again willing to play hurt, manager Park Jin-man said, “He is not yet 100 percent but we will have him ready as a pinch hitter if necessary.”

In Koo’s absence, veteran Kim Hun-gon will get the start in left field and bat fifth. Kim belted two homers in a 10-5 win in Game 2.

Source: Yonhap News Agency