On the 15th, Koh Young-pyo (32, KT) put his luggage in the locker room at the training ground to be used by the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team. The national team will start off-season training on the 16th at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, where KT and KIA held their spring camp. On the 15th, before entering the national team’s accommodation, Koh Young-pyo, who completed his last training at KT, moved his luggage to the national team’s locker room with So-jun So, Byeong-ho Park, and Baek-ho Kang (above KT), and realized the Taegeuk mark again.
Through this WBC, Ko Young-pyo wore his second Taegeuk mark. The honor of the national team, which was not so lucky, came in a row following the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
Koh Young-pyo, who played as an incomplete and lonely starter at a time when KT seemed to be unable to get out of the bottom forever, transformed into a strong starter in 2021, the first year of his return after serving in the military, and became the main player in KT’s unified victory. He went to the Tokyo Olympics held in July of that year and started and fought well against the United States and Japan. The national team’s tournament itself was regarded as a failure as they missed out on medals, but the discovery of several players, including Koh Young-pyo, who played the role of an actual ace, was regarded as a harvest.
Koh Young-pyo said, “The Olympics was an opportunity for me to grow up to have a good season that year.” He continued, “In the first half of the year, I didn’t feel like the mechanism was complete, but I could feel it getting better and better while throwing at the Olympics.” After the Olympics, it was very good in the second half, but I was left with regret how good it would have been if the Olympics had been held in that form.”
Ko Young-pyo, who threw over 160 innings (166.2 innings) for the first time that year and won more than 10 wins (11), earned 4 wins with an ERA of 1.89 by throwing 80.2 innings in only 12 games played since the Olympics. The regret of having to give the best pitch at the end of the Olympics was full in my heart after the season. Ko Young-pyo said, “It seems that his heart gets heavier as his annual salary increases. He has expectations in the reason he receives a lot, and he has to show that much, but I think the same is true as a national representative. He thinks the expectations have grown that much. I feel like I have to go and do really well,” he said. 먹튀검증
In the WBC wearing the Taegeuk mark for the second time, Koh Young-pyo’s goal is to shake off that regret. Koh Young-pyo, who raised his pitch through bullpen pitching three times at the KT camp, said, “I feel good about my body and the ball.” Ahead of the national team training, he said, “I need to be prepared in terms of condition and technique, but I will make sure that I can go on the mound with my changeup and condition as complete as possible in line with the competition.”
Two years ago, Ko Young-pyo had just finished his military service and went to the Olympics in the process of ‘challenging’ to become a full-time selection again. Now, Koh Young-pyo is a starting pitcher who has achieved the highest level of performance in the league for two consecutive years and has become a KT native ace and has become the national team again. His annual salary this year is 430 million won, more than three times the amount two years ago (120 million won). After passing the first round group stage at Tokyo Dome, Japan, and reaching the quarterfinals, the second round, and reaching the semifinals, they will board a chartered flight provided by the WBC Organizing Committee and head to Miami, USA. ‘Going to America’ is the ultimate goal of the national team this time. Koh Young-pyo headed to the national team’s accommodation, vowing, “I will definitely try the chartered flight.”
