Go Woo-seok (25, LG Twins) suffered the pain of losing to Japan at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Since then, Korea’s best closer has grown even more, and Japan is also on alert.
Japanese media Full Count said on the 21st (Korean time), “Korea’s right-hander (Ko Woo-seok), who throws 158 km per hour, has sworn revenge on Japan.”
Go Woo-seok was hit by Yamato Tetsuto (31, Yakult) in the 8th inning, 2-2 tie in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, with three RBIs and doubles that split left and middle. The match ended with Korea losing 2-5, and Japan later advanced to the final and won the gold medal.
Overcoming the painful memories of that time, Go Woo-seok stood up. At the press conference held on the 16th, he said, “My skills were lacking in the Olympics. After the match against Japan, I thought I needed to grow more, and I want to prove that my efforts were not in vain.” 스포츠토토
It wasn’t a lie. Ko Woo-seok finished 2021 with 1 win, 5 losses, 30 saves, and an average ERA of 2.17, and last year, he won the KBO League save king with 4 wins, 2 losses, 42 saves, and an average ERA of 1.48.
The media paid attention to the high-speed slider Ko Woo-seok was equipped with. Go Woo-seok was reborn as the best finisher in the league last year by significantly increasing his slider velocity and actively using it.
Full Count said, “The average fastball speed of Ko Woo-seok is 152.4 km per hour in 2021 and 152.5 km in 2022, so there is no big difference. , a significant increase to 24.2%, and last year’s slider hit rate was only 0.148.”
He said, “In the Olympics, it was just used to show the breaking ball, but since last year, it has been showing competitiveness with the breaking ball itself.” I was looking forward to meeting you.