It was a dreadful day for foreign pitcher James Nail who played “Nail Art” for the KIA Tigers. Nail was hit on the chin by the opponent team’s pitch during the game, and suffered severe bleeding and serious injury. With Nail expected to suffer a long-term injury, the biggest challenge for Kia, which is seeking to win the V12 championship overall, has also come to face.
KIA won 2-0 in the match against the Changwon NC Dinos on Monday. KIA firmly maintained its leading position in the league with 71 wins, two draws and 47 losses in this season. The gap was 6.5 games shorter than the second-ranked Samsung Lions, who lost on the same day.
On this day, KIA faced NC starting pitcher Shin Min-hyuk with the starting batting order leading to Choi Won-joong (center fielder), Han Jun-su (designated hitter), Kim Do-young (third baseman), Socrates (left fielder), Na Sung-bum (right fielder), Kim Sun-bin (second baseman), Lee Woo-sung (first baseman), Kim Tae-gun (captor), and Park Chan-ho (striker).
Both teams remained in a “zero” mode until the fourth inning. KIA starter Nail started the game with three outs and runners on the first and second bases in the bottom of the first inning, and held Kim Hyung-joon at the risk of losing a point in the left field with two outs and runners on the first and second bases in the bottom of the second inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Nail, who passed the inning without much crisis, gave up a walk to Kim Sung-wook after two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, but ended the inning on her own as a first-base checker.
KIA scored first in the top of the fifth inning. Leadoff hitter Kim Sun-bin stole second base after a hit to the middle to create an opportunity to score. With two outs and a runner on the second base, Park Chan-ho hit a timely hit to the left to give the lead.
Nail allowed hits and walks to Kim Joo-won and Park Min-woo, respectively, in the bottom of the fifth inning. However, with runners on the first and second bases with two outs, Nail induced Seo to ground out to shortstop, meeting the requirement for his 12th win of the season.
However, a nightmare-like moment came to her. Nail immediately covered her face after being hit near the chin by leadoff hitter Davidson’s hit in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nail put her glove on the ground and immediately ran to the dugout. For a moment, only a calm silence enveloped the Changwon NC Park. Davidson, who watched the nail injury, was replaced with a shocked look.
Kia put Kwak Do-gyu on the mound immediately. Since then, Kia has maintained its lead until the end of the game by operating a must-win group consisting of Kwak Do-gyu (1.1 innings), Jeon Sang-hyun (1.2 innings), and Jeong Hae-young (1 inning). KIA scored the decisive run with Choi Won-joon’s sacrifice fly ball to the center field in the top of the ninth inning with one out and runners on the first and third bases.
However, Kia has no choice but to pay more attention to the extent of Nail’s injury than its victory on the day. Nail has played in 26 games this season, winning 12 games and losing five with an earned run average of 2.53 138 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.27. If Nail becomes difficult to play in the remaining regular seasons, it will be a more critical blow to Kia, which already experienced a series of departures from its starting lineup.
“I’m worried about my nail injury,” KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said after the game. Lee couldn’t hide his mixed expression right after the nail injury. An official at Kia also reportedly said, “Nail player is in a very bad situation.”
If the nail injury is prolonged, Kia will be in deep trouble. The official expat replacement deadline (August 15) has already passed. It is impossible to recruit new foreign pitchers who can play in the postseason.
However, it is possible to recruit temporary replacement foreign pitchers who will fill the vacancy until the last day of the regular season. With 24 games left in the regular season, Nail had up to five more starts to play. If temporary replacement is hired due to urgent action, variables can be reduced until the regular season title is won. 안전놀이터
Kia has memories of recruiting foreign pitchers since August 15 and utilizing them until the end of the regular season. This is an example of Bo Takahashi in the 2021 season. After Aaron Brooks was suddenly kicked out in August due to unfavorable circumstances, the Kia team hired Takahashi on August 26 with a total of 160,000 dollars. Takahashi’s contract renewal fell through with the record of one win and three losses with a 4.91 46 strikeouts and 16 walks with a WHIP of 1.58 in seven games during the 2021 season.
Of course, the reality is that it is not easy to find a player who can only play for four to five weeks as a quality pitcher. As the remaining games are limited, if the team’s starting pitchers are distributed to the maximum, there is a high possibility that the team will keep its title during the regular season. The team is faced with difficulties in many ways. Attention is focusing on what judgment Kia will make on the risk of Nail’s long-term departure.
