'This can't be happening' — Thigh injury forces another lineup change; Legendary KBO catcher also ruled out, why? [Jamsil Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

The KBO League's Doosan Bears made another change to their starting lineup. Veteran catcher Yang Eui-ji, whose recent condition has been poor, was excluded from the starting lineup. Additionally, infielder Ahn Jae-seok was removed from the first-division roster due to a thigh injury.

Doosan will face the SSG Landers in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium at 5 p.m. on the 9th.

On this day, Doosan set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Chan-ho (shortstop), Park Ji-hoon (third baseman), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Daz Cameron (right fielder), Kim Min-seok (designated hitter), Kang Seung-ho (first baseman), Lee Yu-chan (left fielder), Yoon Jun-ho (catcher), and Jeong Soobin (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Kwak Bin.

Changes were also made to the first-division roster. Instead of removing infielder Ahn Jae-seok, veteran infielder Kang Seung-ho was called up to the first division.

There was a reason. Ahn Jae-seok suffered an injury. A Doosan official stated, "Ahn Jae-seok experienced thigh pain during base running in the Jamsil SSG game the previous day (the 8th). According to a detailed examination on the 9th, he was diagnosed with a minor tear in his left thigh muscle. He is scheduled to rest for at least four days."

Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung, the team's commander, explained regarding Ahn Jae-seok's removal prior to the game, "His thigh was sore yesterday. After today's examination, the medical staff advised that he should refrain from running for about a week. That is why we removed him."

Continuing on the injury situation, he added, "A hit ball that was caught in the gap turned into a double. At the moment of batting, his weight shifted backward, and he suddenly lunged forward, resulting in the injury. We believe his batting is fine, but since the hospital diagnosis came out this way, we had to exclude him. It seems to be less severe than expected." He further noted, "Regarding the schedule a week from now, the training department will have him play two games within ten days. If his physical condition is good, he can be called up."

Additionally, 'KBO League's living legend' Yang Eui-ji was excluded from the starting lineup. Yang Eui-ji is currently recording the following statistics for this season: batting average 0.205 (122 at-bats, 25 hits), 2 home runs, 5 doubles, 16 RBIs, 10 runs scored, 17 walks, 18 strikeouts, slugging percentage 0.295, on-base percentage 0.322, OPS (on-base plus slugging) 0.617, and batting average with runners in scoring position 0.219. His batting average over the last 10 games is 0.189. He has gone hitless in four consecutive games with four at-bats.

Manager Kim spoke about Yang Eui-ji, saying, "He feels very sorry himself, and psychologically, when a player feels pressured, they tend to struggle in the batter's box. He finds it hard to look me in the eye. He feels very guilty toward the team as well, so I believe he needs to step back at times like this. For today, we plan to give him complete rest."

Meanwhile, facing Doosan, SSG set its starting lineup in the following order: Park Sung-han (shortstop), Jeong Jun-jae (second baseman), Choi Jeong (third baseman), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Heredia (left fielder), Otegon (first baseman), Choi Ji-hoon (center fielder), Jo Hyung-woo (catcher), and Choi Jun-woo (right fielder). The starting pitcher is Kojiro.

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*This content was translated by AI.