Lee Young-ha (26, Dusan), who exuded a friendly image with her good looks last season, has returned to the field looking haggard. He must have suffered a lot of emotional distress after being falsely accused.
Doosan coach Lee Seung-yup reinstated right-hander Lee Young-ha, who was cleared of bullying charges, to the first-team roster ahead of the eighth game of the season against KT at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on 3 March.
Lee, who was charged with school violence last summer, was acquitted on 31 May after a lengthy nine-month court battle, citing insufficient evidence. Lee headed straight to Jamsil Stadium to sign a contract for the 2023 season for 160 million won, a 40 million won cut from last year, and was called up to the first team on the same day after playing one game in the Futures League. Set-up man Chung Chul-won’s expulsion from the WBC for drinking alcohol led to a delayed registration. 스포츠토토
“I think I need to get over the jet lag first,” said Lee, who was wearing training clothes instead of a suit in front of the press. It’s been a long time since I played in the Futures League, so I woke up this morning,” he said, adding, “I feel good. All my teammates welcomed me and we had a lot of fun. (Park) Chi-kook is my favourite, and I think it’s even better because there are a lot of fans in the first team,” he smiles.
His face was haggard from the hardships he had endured. It was a completely different atmosphere from last year, when she had a flattering image. “I lost weight,” said Lee Young-ha. I was planning to lose weight, but I had something to worry about, so I lost more than I thought.” “Actually, I was planning to lose about 3-4kg, but as the time went on, I unintentionally lost about 8kg. Thanks to that, my body has improved. Everyone said my face looked better. Now that I’ve prepared well, I just need to perform well on the field,” he said.
Lee, who was once a 17-win ace in the starting rotation, will be in the bullpen. Manager Lee Seung-yeop said, “Due to the lack of preparation, we will use him in the middle for now.” In response, Lee said, “I’m not greedy this year. I want to throw a lot in the bullpen, and I want to win a lot. The coach asked me about the position this morning, but I’m not sure yet. My goal is to do well and win right now,” he explained.
He also thanked the Doosan fans who have been waiting for his return. “I believe the fans will love me if I pitch well again. Anyway, I was caught up in a bad story, so I felt and learnt a lot during that time. It was a good time. I think the fans will like me even more if I do well after this,” he said.
Lee made a successful comeback on the day, receiving a warm welcome from the Doosan away fans. He pitched one inning of one-hit ball against SSG in Jamsil on 13 August last year, 294 days after taking the mound for the first team. He used two pitches, a fastball and a slider that reached a maximum speed of 149 kilometres, to adapt to the first team mound.