What a bolt out of the blue. The Doosan Bears, which boasts of perfect preparation for the season more than ever, faced a huge negative factor with its native ace and third starter injured just a day before the opening of the season. The alternative is Choi Won-joon, who failed the competition for the fifth starter, but he should show off his performance in the 2021 season when he won 12 games until Kwak returns. 

An official from the Doosan Bears in the professional baseball league announced the opening entry of the KBO League 2025 season on the afternoon of the 21st and reported the departure of Kwak Bin, a native ace from the most wins. 메이저사이트

An official from Doosan said, "Kwakbin complained of pain in his left side while pitching in the Futures League," adding, "He was diagnosed with damage to his internal abdominal muscles after a hospital examination." 

Kwak Bin, who was scheduled to start against the Suwon KT Wiz on the 25th, played the final mock test against the Goyang Heroes in the Futures League on the 19th. He faced 18 batters in five innings and pitched one hit, six strikeouts, three outs and 69 pitches without allowing a run, and was ready to play in the third game since the opening, with breaking balls such as curves, sliders, and changeups under the maximum speed of 149km.

Unfortunately, the injury occurred during the match on the day. He felt pain in his left side while pitching against the Goyang batters, and learned the result of his diagnosis that his internal oblique muscle was partially damaged during a thorough examination at a hospital on Tuesday. With the re-examination scheduled early next month, Kwak will not be able to join the lineup until mid-April at the earliest. 

Through the first and second spring camps, coach Lee Seung-yeop confirmed the rotation of starting pitchers, which will consist of Colerbin, Zachlog, Kwakbin, Choi Seung-yong and Kim Yoo-sung. Colerbin, who are considered the best foreign pitchers duo of all time, and Zachlog will take charge of one-two punch, and Kwakbin, who won the title of most wins last year, will become the center of rotation in Korea. In addition, he showed tremendous trust in Kwakbin, informing him that he will play in the match against KT in Suwon on Saturday. Kwak was the "wizards killer" who left KT with five wins, no loss and an earned run average of 1.51 in six games last year. 

However, with just one day left before the opening day of the season, the three starting pitchers have to leave the battlefield, which inevitably leads to the deployment of Plan B. With the Korean ace's side torn, the team's strength in starting pitchers has also become inevitable. Trusting Kwak's stamina, coach Lee Seung-yeop had planned to take the mound twice a week against the KT Wiz on next week and the Samsung Lions on next week, but suddenly, there were holes in the two starting positions next week. Assuming that Kwak will return to the mound in mid-April, he needs a pitcher who will play the role of starting pitcher at least six times including next week. 

At this point, the No. 1 alternative is Choi Won-jun, who was pushed out of the competition for starting five pitchers with Kim Yu-sung. Choi, who was a native ace before Kwak Bin, spent his money during the off-season to attend the U.S. academy, shouting out desperately, and had a sweaty performance in two exhibition games with one win, no loss, and an ERA of 1.29, but failed to make it to the starting line-up due to Kim Yu-sung's struggle for ball power. Manager Lee Seung-yeop also envisioned a plan to use Choi as a must-win team instead of Choi Ji-gang who is training for the second division, but chances are high that he will return to the starting lineup due to Kwak's departure. 

Fortunately, Choi was not excluded from the competition due to his lack of skills. Although he showed better performance than last year, he failed to take the position due to the emergence of a stronger competitor. In other words, Choi can fully play the role of substitute for Kwak.

Yang Eui-ji, Doosan's captain and main catcher, said in a media day, "(Kim) Yoo-sung had good pitching, but (Choi) Won-jun was also very good. I think the coach must have had a real headache. Choi Won-joon also raised his speed to 147 kilometers, so I think he will be competitive enough." 

Meanwhile, Doosan failed to join the opening entry as Choi Won-joon and Hong Gun-hee, a must-win group, were also diagnosed with damage to the inner ligament of the right elbow. Hong Gun-hee, who injured her elbow during pitching training on the 16th, was scheduled for a re-examination early next month along with Kwak Bin. Doosan has found it difficult to operate 100% of its power from the front door to the back door.