“I always thought that I could fail by going to the game and trying. But he couldn’t even try. so… ”
He was always brave. Even after making the worst blown save, he prepared for the next day with a bright appearance. He had a natural mentality and seemed more suited to a closer than anyone else. But even with a heart of steel, the pain of last March left a big scar. Woo-seok Ko (25), a finishing pitcher for LG, looked back at the moment when he was frustrated at participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and blushed.
It was a perfect comeback. On the 18th, Ko Woo-seok played a game that drew attention in about 6 weeks in the game against NC in Jamsil. On the 6th of last month, he returned to the mound after pitching due to shoulder pain in an evaluation match with the WBC national team and Japanese professional baseball Orix. And he made perfect pitching with 3 strikeouts in 1 inning with a maximum velocity of 156 km. His four-seam fastball, as well as his slider and curveball, were used to his heart’s content.메이저놀이터
Prior to the game on the 19th, Go Woo-seok said, “The restraint came out better than I thought. I am grateful to the coaches, training coaches, and players in the second team. He was very considerate and helpful. He was able to come up so well because there were many people who helped him in the 2nd division,” he said.
He continued, “I realized again this time how difficult the second group is. When I went to the Futures League expedition, the speed gun was not properly equipped and there were many poor appearances. Looking at the players in the second team, he took all his heart and motivated him,” he revealed.
When I turned the time back to early March, I couldn’t hide my regret. Go Woo-seok said, ‘I think the process of overcoming the setbacks in March must have been very difficult mentally. When he said that even though he was in poor physical condition, he was consistently photographed playing catch at the Tokyo Dome,’ he said, “At the time, I tried to throw it somehow. He would do anything to stand on the mound unconditionally. But it didn’t work. He continued to feel bad, so he couldn’t participate in the end.”
He said, “To be honest, I may not be able to go to the game and I may fail. He always thought it was okay to try and fail. Even if I failed, I would do better next time, so I used to have a great sense of goal whenever I failed.” “But this time I couldn’t even try. He couldn’t even try. so… He couldn’t continue the words and blushed his eyes.
Go Woo-seok continued the conversation and said, “That’s why he always trained hard. I couldn’t go out if I was sick, so I prepared thoroughly. Isn’t it always a competition? I can’t be sure that the Taegeuk mark is always sweet. If I go to the WBC and fail, I can admit it and become stronger, but I haven’t even tried,” he conveyed the nightmare he felt at the time.
He didn’t fall down like he always did. Rather than lowering his head and getting frustrated, he thought about the next thing and prepared again. He promised to come back stronger as he showed in his return match on the 18th.
Regarding the international stage, which could be the Hangzhou Asian Games in September at the earliest, Go Woo-seok said, “I have never thought of avoiding the Taegeuk mark just because the results were not good. It is always an honorable position and it is an exciting position,” he said.
In addition, “As I said before, I went to the 2nd Army during a difficult time and got my mind back. He felt again that there are still many players who exercise and play hard. Seeing the players in the second group doing their best even in difficult situations, I couldn’t help but work hard,” he explained.
Go Woo-seok still has a lot of balls left to throw. Hangzhou AG as well as WBC three years later. KBO also planned to renew the national team with Lee Jeong-hoo and Ko Woo-seok as the main players.
Go Woo-seok said, “I want to be faithful to both the national team and my team. LG, his team, gives me an annual salary that reflects the expectations of me. And the national team is a place where you have to do well. I want to do really well in both places in the future.”