"He was a player who watched American dramas without subtitles every day." He was such a persistent KIA left-hander who was admired by his high school senior... He has hope even after a 'minimum one-year absence.'

"He was a player who watched American dramas without subtitles every day." He was such a persistent KIA left-hander who was admired by his high school senior... He has hope even after a 'minimum one-year absence.'

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On a baseball-free Monday, the Kia Tigers received a devastating news from Seoul. Left-hander Kwak Do-gyu (21) has been diagnosed with elbow surgery. It is a major surgery that will require at least a year of rehabilitation, but there are also people who have hope because it is "he."스포츠토토

The KIA team said on the 14th, "Kwak Do-kyu underwent an MRI examination at Sejong Sports Orthopedic Clinic. He was diagnosed with left flexor muscle and ligament damage, and will undergo reconstructive surgery of the medial collateral ligament later."

This is a scenario that was expected to some extent. Kwak Do-gyu was removed from the first team entry on the 12th after being replaced in the match against Gwangju SSG Landers on the 11th. At that time, the KIA team conducted the first screening of Kwak Do-gyu at a good hospital in Gwangju and was diagnosed with flexor muscle damage. An MRI scan taken at Sejong Sports Orthopedic Surgery in Seoul also showed damage to the flexor muscles and ligaments in the left main ganglion. The damage to the flexor muscles in the forearm is often considered a precursor to the elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John Surgery). Unlike in the past, Tommy John Surgery is expected to take about a year to a year and a half due to the shortening of his rehabilitation period, but even so, it is hard to guarantee his return to the 2026 season.

It is also a huge negative factor for KIA. After graduating from a high school, Kwak was designated as the 42nd overall pick in the fifth round of the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft. Last year, in his second year as a member of the Korean pro baseball team after going through trial and error, he became a must-winner with 71 games, 4 wins, 2 losses, 2 saves, 16 holds average of 3.56 ERA, and 64 strikeouts in 55 ⅔ innings. With his unique spirit as a rookie, he also marked 0 ERA in four games, two wins and no losses, and joined the national team at the 2024 Premier 12 tournament.

There was a player who foresaw Kwak's success early on. It was Kim Doo-hyun (22), one year his senior. Kim was also nominated by Kia as No. 106 in the 11th round of the KBO Rookie Draft in 2024, and was a teammate. Kim Doo-hyun, whom we met at Incheon International Airport during his departure for the wrap-up camp last year, expressed his commitment and mentioned Kwak Do-gyu as his junior.

Kim Doo-hyun said, "(Kwak) Dogyu has been really different from others since he was young. "I've seen him since high school, but I'm also a player who sees and learns a lot," he said. "Dogyu is a person who constantly digs into one thing whenever he does something. For example, Dokyu speaks English quite a lot now, but he watched American dramas every day without subtitles because he was a senior in high school. I also ate six eggs every day to grow my body."

Indeed, Kwak was one of Kia's promising players who was serious about baseball. Kwak was the one who checked his pitching every day, checked his body balance and pelvis movements even in his worst condition, and recorded that again. As Kwak was such, the Kia team provided opportunities that were given to only a few players, including the Australian Baseball League (ABL) and the U.S. drive line. Although Kwak is expected to take a leave of absence for at least one year, this is why some expect Kwak after his return to the team.
KIA is on fire right now. Having grabbed the overall title by banking on its overwhelming performance last year, Kia is now in an unfamiliar situation, ranking ninth in the league with seven wins and 12 losses due to injuries to its main players and lackluster bullpen. In particular, the club is also struggling because its performance is poor with an ERA of 6.48 (10th in the league) despite no special injuries to bullpen pitchers other than Kwak Do-kyu.

Meanwhile, Kia announced the decision to undergo surgery on Kwak Do-gyu, and updated other injured players including Kim Sun-bin (36) and Kim Do-young (22). Kim Do-young, who left the game due to a left hamstring injury while running the bases on April 22, delays his return a little more. "Kim Do-young underwent MRI examination again at Good Hospital following his visit on the 3rd. He was diagnosed that his injury did not completely improve after cross-checking with MRI images of Sejong Sports Orthopedic Surgery. He will focus on rehabilitation and treatment for about a week and then undergo another checkup," the Kia team said.

Fortunately, Kim had to leave the team due to muscle damage inside his left calf. "After double-checking the MRI images of Sun-bin Kim's injury area, he was found to have improved and no problem in technical training," Kia said. "He will play in the Futures League after two to three days of technical training."