Is this the end of a pitcher’s relationship with Korea who won 11 games in the first half alone? How should we view the delicate war of nerves surrounding the medical checks of foreign pitchers?
LG Twins Adam Plutko was the best pitcher until the first half of the season. Plutko, who played in 28 games last year and posted a record of 15 wins, 5 losses, and an ERA of 2.39, successfully renewed his contract, and stood tall as the best pitcher in the league along with Eric Peddy (NC) in the first half of this year. He had 11 wins, 1 loss, and an ERA of 2.21 in 17 games in the first half alone. The main contributor to LG’s rise to the sole lead was Plutco.
In a situation where Casey Kelly faltered somewhat, Plutko played the role of ‘ace’ perfectly, minimizing the impact of the 4th and 5th starting pitchers shaking. LG also fully acknowledged Plutco’s contribution.
The problem started right before the All-Star break started. It was meant to be a rest, but due to Plutko’s injury and COVID-19 infection, the schedule for the second half of the season was gradually postponed. Plutko, who made his first appearance in the second half of the season on July 25th, took another break and returned in mid-August, pitched in three games, but that was the last. His regular season appearances ended after a game against NC Dinos on August 26 (4 innings, 1 run allowed).
After the pelvic contusion was discovered, the time for family reunion was postponed, and it is expected that Plutko will eventually say goodbye. Plutko is currently not playing catch, and the gap in practice is too long. The LG club discussed with Plutco, who is having difficulty even pitching in the Korean Series, and came together to part ways.
irector Yeom Kyung-yeop had expressed his displeasure toward Plutko several times on set from early on. The LG team was also embarrassed. His appearance on the mound was postponed at the start of the second half for various reasons, and no clear answer was given regarding his return after the end of August. His key point is that Plutko trusts the opinions of medical staff in his home country,메이저놀이터 the United States, more than the opinions of medical staff in Korea. In other words, domestic experts looked at Plutko’s current condition and diagnosed that there would be no problem in resuming pitching, but the player trusted the comments of American medical staff who received feedback by sending documents rather than the diagnosis of domestic medical staff, and stopped pitching. .
In the case of former SSG Landers pitcher Enny Romero, who was kicked out due to shoulder pain without appearing in a single game since the start of this season, the situation was different from Plutko, but the trend was similar. He complained of shoulder pain during the second camp appearance in Okinawa, Japan, and when there was no improvement, he left alone for the United States instead of Korea to check his condition with his doctor and complete his rehabilitation program. Ironically, when SSG recruited Romero, they decided to sign the contract after hearing medical opinions from experts in various countries, including Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republic (Romero’s home country).
Of course, athletes must take care of their bodies more than anyone else. As the condition of his body is directly linked to the ‘ransom’, he has no choice but to become sensitive. However, it is a different story that foreign players playing in the KBO league fundamentally have a fundamental distrust of the level of domestic medical care. In addition to Plutko, there have often been cases of foreign players who have had big or small conflicts with their clubs due to differences in the opinions of their personal doctors in the United States and the results of medical examinations in Korea. Clubs also do not want conflicts with players to be revealed, so they keep quiet and cover up news of absences with appropriate reasons. However, considering the impact that an ‘ace’ pitcher like Plutko has on the team, there is a possibility that there will be explicit conditions or options when signing foreign player contracts in the future. It’s not easy, but some level of safety measures seems necessary.