Until two years ago, when he changed his uniform as a trade, he was a top left pitcher. A young pitcher in his mid-twenties was selected for the national team, experienced international competitions, and won the Korean Series. He can play both starting and middle, so he can play the role of an all-around key in any team.
Expectations were so high. The moment LG recruited him through a trade with Doosan in March 2021, LG seemed to be stepping on the accelerator to win. The scenario LG set up at the time was to replace a native starting pitcher who was not well prepared at the beginning of the season and play an active part in the Pilseungjo when the starting lineup returns to normal.
But nothing has become a reality. LG has not been able to rise to the top for two years, and the trade effect has been minimal. At the beginning of last year, he showed off his heyday and seemed to be part of the strongest bullpen, but he was injured while changing positions and put the ball down again. This is the story of Ham Deok-joo (28), who has been forgotten and rarely seen in the first team. Ham Deok-joo, who is currently participating in spring camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, revealed his past work and his future goals.
The reason I couldn’t see him for two years was in his elbow. In 2021, the first year of his transfer to LG, a piece of his elbow bone had to be removed. In 2022, when he returned after bone fragment removal surgery, he could not properly play the season due to muscle pain in his elbow.
Ham Deok-joo said on the 4th (Korean time), “I had surgery to remove a bone fragment from my elbow, and my left elbow, which I thought would be perfect, was in pain again. As a result of the diagnosis, it was said that it was muscle pain, but the only way to get better was to rest. So I took a break from around May of last year to September. He looked back, saying, “I think it became too greedy to say that he would try to prepare for selection in the 2nd team even though his elbow is bad.”
Since May 11th, he has not been able to come up to the first team, and he has not even met the qualifications of a free agent (FA). A year ago, he played a big role as a reserve free agent and drew a blueprint to catch two rabbits by winning the team, but nothing was done. Ham Deok-ju, who failed to fill the registration days, can become a free agent after the 2023 season.
Drop everything and start over from ‘0’. When asked about his position this season, Ham Deok-ju said, “I am a pitcher who has not shown anything for two years. 스포츠토토 There is no fixed position, and I just think that you have to build one by one from zero. First of all, the preparation process is not a selection process, so you can think of it as an intermediate pitcher.”
Regarding the reason for preferring the selection during the past Doosan days, “In the case of Doosan, the pitching of the middle pitcher is not constant. During his time at Doosan, his position changed a lot while he was in the middle. On the other hand, the starting schedule is as clear as any other team. He knew when to start and wanted to get on the mound, and that made him want to start.” He continued, “I don’t feel like I have to be selected now. Last year, I thought that I wanted to be the starter because I was a bit uneasy about the native starters, but it turned out badly. Now, rather than claiming selection, I have to show what I can do without getting sick first.”
It is a resolution to face internal competition like a rookie, forgetting the national team career and preliminary free agency in my head. Ham Deok-joo said, “As everyone knows, our team’s mound is really strong. In LG, any team in the first team can become a first-team pitcher,” he said. “Now I am in a position to fight for the last spot in the first-team pitching staff. start at the bottom However, I will not stay at the bottom, but I will go up one step at a time. More than anything, I just want to play baseball without getting sick. Really. He raised his voice, saying, “I want to have fun playing baseball on the first team stage rather than a position or FA.”