Champion slugger and KBO MVP to miss start of season

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Champion slugger and KBO MVP to miss start of season

Kang Baek-ho [YONHAP]

Kang Baek-ho [YONHAP]

 
KBO champions KT Wiz will start the 2022 season without first baseman Kang Baek-ho, following an off-field injury that has left the slugger with a broken toe.
 
The Wiz announced Monday that Kang, the 2018 Rookie of the Year, is expected to be out for a month after breaking his toe falling down a flight of stairs.
 
Kang is an offensive powerhouse, sitting third in the KBO last year with a .347 batting average and tied for second with 102 RBIs. He finished the season with 179 hits and 16 home runs and his absence is likely to be keenly felt over the first few weeks of the new season.
 
Kang's position at first place will be filled by Park Byung-ho, who joins the Suwon, Gyeonggi club from the Kiwoom Heroes this season.
 
Kang isn't the only key player set to miss out on the start of the 2022 season, with Doosan Bears ace and 2021 regular season MVP Ariel Miranda also likely to be sidelined with shoulder issues.
 
Ariel Miranda [NEWS1]

Ariel Miranda [NEWS1]

 
According to reports last week, Miranda, who finished the 2021 season with 14 wins and five losses and a 2.33 ERA, complained of shoulder discomfort during spring training. The Bears opted to rest the ace, with a plan to trial his arm at some point this week before determining when he can return to the roster.
 
"It doesn't look as if he will be ready for the opening weekend because of his shoulder discomfort," Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung was quoted as saying on Yonhap.
 
Had he been fit, Miranda, who holds the KBO record for the most strikeouts in a single season, likely would have started the Bears' opening game against the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Saturday.
 
Lotte Giants pitcher Glenn Sparkman isn't expected to miss out on the start of the 2022 season, but he was forced to sit out spring training after contracting Covid-19 shortly before training began.
 
After covering from Covid-19, Sparkman complained of side pains and spent the rest of the preseason recovering. According to reports, he is expected to make his first start at some point in the second week of KBO action. 

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
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