First MLB season ended early due to shoulder injury
The moment Lee Jeong-hoo suffered a shoulder injury
Shoulder surgery schedule for Lee Jeong-hoo (25, San Francisco Giants) has been scheduled.
The San Francisco team of the Major League Baseball (MLB) announced on the 1st (Korean time), “Lee Jung-hoo will undergo surgery in Los Angeles on Tuesday (4th local time).“
Lee Jung-hoo revealed his ‘decision to have surgery’ on the 18th of last month.
Lee Jung-hoo, who entered the MLB this year, jumped to catch Jamer Candelario’s batted ball in the top of the first inning of a home game against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, USA on May 13, and hit the fence hard.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed ‘structural damage’ to Lee Jeong-hoo’s left shoulder, and after meeting with several medical staff, he decided to undergo surgery.
Rehabilitation after surgery took about six months, and Lee Jung-hoo ended his first MLB season with a batting average of 0.262 (38 hits in 145 at-bats), 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 2 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.641 in 37 games.
The surgeon is Dr. Neil Elatrace, a world-renowned sports surgeon.
He is famous among domestic baseball fans as the doctor who performed shoulder and elbow surgery on Ryu Hyun-jin (currently Hanwha Eagles).
Not only MLB, but many sports stars around the world have entrusted their surgeries to Dr. Elatrace.
Last year, MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) underwent elbow surgery by Dr. Elatrace.
Lee Jeong-hoo had experience returning to the field quickly after undergoing shoulder surgery.
On June 19, 2018, while playing for the Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom) in the KBO League of the Korean Professional Baseball League, Lee Jeong-hoo injured his left shoulder while sliding in a game against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil and was diagnosed with a ‘rupture of the labrum.‘
Although Lee Jeong-hoo returned to the field after a month of pulling back on the rehabilitation clock, he injured his left shoulder again while throwing his body to catch the ball while on defense in the bottom of the 9th inning of the second game of the semi-playoff game against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on October 20 of that year.
Ultimately, Lee Jeong-hoo underwent left shoulder anteroinferior labral repair surgery in November 2018.
After undergoing surgery, Lee Jeong-hoo accelerated his rehabilitation, completing rehabilitation in 4 months, faster than the 6 months expected before surgery, and played the opening game of the 2019 regular season as normal.
Since then, Lee Jung-hoo has reigned as the best hitter in the KBO League without suffering any aftereffects from shoulder surgery.
This year, he achieved his dream of becoming a big leaguer by signing a six-year, $113 million contract with San Francisco.
His first MLB season ended too briefly, but even if he returns in 2025, Lee Jung-hoo can play for five more seasons in San Francisco.
The San Francisco team said, “We decided to quickly perform surgery on Lee Jeong-hoo to ensure his complete recovery.”
Lee Jung-hoo decided to undergo surgery on the 18th and pledged, “I had the same surgery in 2018, and since then I have played healthily in the KBO League. I will recall my happy times in MLB, work hard to rehabilitate, and come back strong again.” 토토사이트
