KBO's home run leader likely out for season with ankle injury

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- The most dangerous home run hitter in South Korean baseball this season will likely miss the rest of the year with an ankle injury.

KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul said Sunday that his slugging first baseman, Park Byung-ho, is "probably done for the year," after tweaking his right ankle during Saturday's game against the Kiwoom Heroes.

Park is leading the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with 33 home runs, nine more than Jose Pirela of the Samsung Lions.

"He will be re-evaluated, but since he has suffered some ligament damage, it's going to be difficult for him to recover within the next month or two," Lee told reporters at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, before the Wiz lost to the Heroes 5-0.

Park sustained the injury while trying to stretch a single to a double. Instead of sliding feet or head first, Park went into the bag standing up and was ruled safe. But his right foot got jammed against the side of the base on the play, and Park was carried off in an ambulance moments later.

"It would have been better off if he had just been tagged out," Lee said. "It's really a shame he was hurt on that play."

Park was in the midst of a renaissance season at 36. After batting only .227 with 20 home runs last year for the Heroes, Park was not brought back as a free agent. The Wiz swooped in and gave him a three-year deal, and Park responded with 33 homers -- most since 2019 -- with a .273/.348/.546 line.

Despite Sunday's loss, the Wiz remained firmly in a playoff position -- in fourth place at 69-54-2 (wins-losses-ties), half a game back of the Heroes for third. The Wiz won the first Korean Series title in franchise history last year and will try to become the first back-to-back champions since the 2015-2016 Doosan Bears.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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