Go Young-pyo, KBO’s best ball control, even had ABS wings

Ko Young-pyo 33, the native ace of the KT Wiz in the Korean pro baseball league, received a homer in his first appearance at an exhibition game, but he displayed his signature sense of stability. Except for the third inning when he allowed a homer, he pitched three outs and retired in the remaining four innings. Under the newly introduced ABS system, Ko Young-pyo’s ball control was even more remarkable.

At an exhibition game against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Saturday, Ko started the game, and allowed three hits one homer in five innings, six strikeouts and three runs. He was impeccable, except for a three-run homerun he gave to Jonathan Peraza in the third inning.

Ko Young-pyo, who was originally able to become an FA after this season, stayed on the team early on with a multi-year contract with KT. He became the hero of KT’s first non-FA multi-year contract with a total of 10.7 billion won 9.5 billion won for guarantee and 1.2 billion won for option for five years. He has been recognized for his value as a top-rated starting pitcher in the KBO league for three years from 2021.

In his first appearance at an exhibition game on the day, Ko displayed stability just like Ko. Ko started the game by leaving the game with a grounder to the first base, a fly ball to the third base, and a grounder to shortstop against Ahn Chi-hong. In the second inning, Ko grounded out Noh Si-hwan to the second base, struck out Moon Hyun-bin swinging, and grounded Choi In-ho to the shortstop.

Lim Jong-chan, the first runner in the third inning, also grounded out to the first base, but was given consecutive hits by Lee Jae-won and Lee Do-yoon to build up a runner. Jeong Eun-won’s grounder to the second base led to a three-run homerun to right-center off Peraza with two outs and runners on the first and third bases. He hit a low 116 km changeup on the second pitch, but as if Peraza had brought in a target, he swung it full swing. The ball flew well over the fence in right-center. A 130-meter long home run. It wasn’t a real pitch, but Peraza did a great job.

Ko Young-pyo, who struck out An Chi-hong on three pitches and ended the inning immediately after hitting a tiebreaking three-run homer, struck out Noh Si-hwan and Choi In-ho on three outs in the fourth inning. Against Noh, the sixth pitch was completely opposite, but as he passed the zone, he struck out a rookie. In the fifth inning, he struck out Lee Jae-won on three pitches in a row, blocking him with three outs. Except for the third inning, he allowed three outs in all four innings.

With just 56 pitches in five innings, Ko threw a combination of up to 141km fastballs 24 balls, changeups 16 balls, curves 14 and sliders 2. With the newly introduced ABS in the KBO League this year, Ko’s control of left and right corners shone even more. With 1.19 walks per nine innings over the past three years, Ko is expected to wield even greater power as he has wings called ABS, the fewest among 134 pitchers in the league who threw more than 100 innings during the period.

After the game, Ko said, “I focused on adapting to the mound after a long absence and tried to throw as many strikes as possible. My physical condition was good for my first time. I allowed a home run, but Hanwha batters have been playing well lately. I pitched well and I think I pitched well, too,” in complimenting Peraza’s home run.

Regarding ABS, Ko Young-pyo then said, “I had a lot of questions because it was my first time doing it. By throwing a lateral pitch to the side, I checked to see which part of the strike zone it took. As I threw, I felt that two to three balls were different from the previous strike zone. I think the standard of height and height has definitely changed.” 안전 토토사이트

Ko Young-pyo, whose first and last appearance in the exhibition game, will enter the regular season after playing his last game through a second-tier practice game next week.