via 스포츠동아.
Major League Baseball's official site on the 12th profiled Josh Lindblom, a 29-year-old pitcher signed by Pittsburgh in December after two years with the Lotte Giants.
He learned some conversational Korean, came to appreciate the food, took part in team events and soaked in the unique baseball culture for two years. He pitched pretty well, too, starting 61 games with a 4.33 ERA in the hitter-friendly KBO. He became a fan favorite in a foreign country.Lindblom was briefly in the organization in 2014. He returned to the US because of his infant daughter, who requires special medical attention.
"We loved everything about it," he said. "I can't say enough about our experience over there. No words can describe the way they accepted us. It was unbelievable. … It was probably one of the best, if not the best experience of my career."
On July 1, after one of those routine checkups, the top pediatric cardiologist in South Korea told the Lindbloms their daughter would be born with a rare congenital heart defect: Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome. The right side of her heart didn't develop properly.. . .
Monroe was born on Oct. 20. She had her first open-heart surgery a week later, on Oct. 27. It won't be her last. She'll need another operation this summer, maybe one more after that.
You'd never know it by looking at her, Lindblom says. She's a beautiful, growing baby. But for now, he says, Monroe is "day to day." For her and her parents, some of those days are better than others.
"Essentially, she still has half a heart," Lindblom said. "Every day's a battle. You wake up and you're just thankful that she's alive."
