Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who is battling an ankle injury, gave his thoughts on March
Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who is battling an ankle injury, gave his thoughts on March next year.
In an interview with MK Sports at the World Series Media Day held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 24th (Korea time), Edman shared his thoughts on the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March next year.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said, adding, “The ankle problem will definitely be a variable in making a decision,” adding, “The ankle problem will decide whether to play or not.”
사진 확대 Edman admitted that he was still not free from ankle problems. Photo (Toronto, Canada) = Correspondent Kim Jae-ho
Born to a Korean mother and an American father, he participated in the competition four years ago under the national flag. It is unclear whether or not to participate in this competition.
The biggest problem is injury. An ankle injury has plagued him all season. Currently, the game continues to play, but he has not been able to play outfield defense.
He said, “I feel better now. At the end of the season, he was a little slow to recover, but he is getting better little by little as he plays the playoffs,” he said.
He continued, “It was difficult. “I’ve never been 100% throughout the season,” he said, acknowledging that he couldn’t escape from an ankle injury throughout the season. “I sprained my ankle three or four times and got hurt. It was very difficult, and I had to run while managing. Even now, I am still preparing for the game with a lot of treatment,” he said, acknowledging that he is still not free.
사진 확대 Edman is showing good performance this postseason despite his ankle injury. Photo = AP= Courtesy of Yonhap News
The reason why you can play even though you are not completely out of pain is because this stage is the World Series.
“I’m really excited,” he continued, “Many people play baseball, but there are many players who have never played in the World Series. And I’ve been on this stage for two years in a row. I feel truly blessed by this opportunity. It’s going to be a lot of fun. “There’s nothing like playing in the World Series,” he said with emphasis.
He has 10 hits in 35 at-bats (0.286 batting average) and two home runs and six RBIs in nine postseason games this time, saying, “Luckily, I feel okay now. There are only a few games left. After that, I will have three to four months to recover,” he said, adding that he will do his best for the rest of the series.
“I feel good right now, but I wouldn’t play with the mindset of enduring the rest of the game. I’m in a really good condition now. Of course, it’s good to be able to rest for a while now if you run for another week or so,” he continued.
사진 확대 Edman’s ankle injury is expected to be an important variable in deciding whether to participate in the WBC in March next year. Photo = MK Sports DB
As much as he played with injuries, his offseason after the World Series may be different than usual. He also agreed with this opinion, saying, “It will be very different from usual.” “It will take a lot of recovery. I’m not looking too far, but I’m going to look at the status after the season is over,” he said.
Again the question returns to WBC. Will an ankle injury frustrate his WBC appearance?
“We’ll have to see how it feels in March,” he said. In any case, it is clear that I will have an impact on my decision,” he said, stressing that the ankle issue will be an important variable in deciding whether to play or not.
Edman said at the meeting, “I also spoke with the national team coach. “The national team is also aware of the situation related to my injury,” he said, adding that he has been discussing the issue with the South Korean national team.
[Toronto (Canada) = KIM JAE HO, MK Sports Correspondent]
