NC Dinos infielder Choi Bo-sung had a busy day.

NC added Choi to its first-team roster in place of Kim Han-byul ahead of the 2023 KBO Baseball League’s away game against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on May 25.

Choi was playing in a Futures League game against the Samsung Lions Futures (second team) at Masan Baseball Stadium from 11 a.m. He was called up to the first team at the last minute and arrived at Sajik Baseball Stadium around 2-3 p.m. Why did he have such a busy day?

NC Dinos’ Choi Bo-sung was called up to the first team after playing a Futures League game on the 25th. Photo courtesy of NC 스포츠토토.
“Kim Han-byul was injured, and we were going to wait a few days to make a decision, but today we received a report that she was in a very bad condition,” said Kang In-hwa, the head coach of the NC Dinos. “So we had to substitute Choi Boseong during the game and put him on the roster.”

“She had an ankle sprain, but her recovery was a little slow, so we had to substitute her,” Kang said about Kim Han-byul’s injury and condition.

In NC’s game against Lotte at the same venue the previous day (24), left-hander Choi Sung-young pitched five innings of five-hit ball with four strikeouts and one walk to lead NC to a 3-1 victory. It was the first time in 1018 days that Choi had earned a start since August 9, 2020, against the Gwangju KIA Tigers.

However, Choi was not happy after the game. He felt bad for giving up so many hits.

Nevertheless, Kang said, “I didn’t see anything bad. I was disappointed that I wasn’t aggressive, but I understand. It’s been a long time since he’s started, so he’s probably trying to show what he can do on the mound. It’s a pitcher’s mindset to try to make it a little more difficult. Other than a lot of strikeouts, I think he did his job,” he said, expressing his unwavering trust in Choi Sung-young.

NC will send out right-hander Lee Yong-jun to start the game. He has been dominating the starting lineup this year with back-to-back strong performances. However, in his last start, against the Changwon Samsung Lions (4-5) on Sept. 19, he was not as good, allowing five runs on seven hits, three home runs, two walks and four strikeouts in 3.2 innings.

Manager Kang Myung-ho said, “(Yong-jun) has good memories of his last start against Lotte (April 23 in Changwon). He pitched well (six innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts and no walks). It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get the win in the end, but I think he’ll pitch with a fresh mind today and give us a good performance.”

Meanwhile, NC’s starting lineup was Son Asub (designated hitter), Park Min-woo (second base), Park Gun-woo (right field), Jason Martin (center field), Kwon Hee-dong (left field), Park Se-hyuk (catcher), Seo Ho-cheol (third base), Kim Joo-won (shortstop), and Do Tae-hoon (first base). NC, which is currently tied with Lotte at one game apiece, will try to win the series with this game.