Mindset is important.
KT Wiz starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo is busy preparing for the playoffs. The goal, of course, is the highest place, the summit. He said, “Instead of being afraid of failure, we should expect success. That’s better for me and our team.” He added, “I will think positively and approach it with excitement. I will try not to worry or be anxious about things that haven’t happened yet.” said.
KT finished the regular season in second place and went straight to the playoffs. At the beginning of the season, the team was at the bottom due to a series of injured players, but there was a steep upward curve starting in June. Succeeded in a remarkable rebound.
Go Young-pyo said, “It was a difficult start, but the players played their roles well and persevered. The injured players also recovered quickly,” and added, “The atmosphere improved when (starting pitcher) William Cuevas returned as a substitute in the middle of the season. From then on, the atmosphere improved. “I think it showed KT’s unique strengths,” he said.
He continued, “I wanted to be first, but I also feel regretful. Still, considering that I came up from a low ranking, I think I overcame it well.” He continued, “In the pitching lineup, (So) Hyeong-jun and (Kim) Min-su were missing due to injuries, but Kim Young-hyun, Park Young-hyun, and Son Dong-hyun were out.” “My juniors have grown and I am happy that the team seems to have become stronger,” he added.
Go Young-pyo ended the season a little early. On the 3rd, during the game against KIA, he was hit on the right arm by a batted ball. He was unable to pitch further due to the aftermath. The pain radiated to his shoulder. He swallowed his regrets and devoted himself to recovery. He said, “It was the first time I was hit by a ball on my pitching arm. My shoulder hurt and the discomfort was greater than I thought,” and “I thought it would be okay and didn’t worry too much. I just thought, ‘How can I do better in the postseason?’ “He said.
On the 26th, their own Blue and White match was held at his home stadium, Suwon KT Wiz Park. Go Young-pyo took the mound as a starter and pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, no walks, 5 strikeouts, and no runs. The total number of pitches is 62. The maximum speed of the fastball was 137 km/h, and the average speed was 134 km/h. We also checked his main weapons, change-ups and curveballs. Overall, it was a passing grade.
His personal third postseason appearance is ahead. In the 2021 Korean Series, he appeared as a middle-tier pitcher. He pitched 4⅔ innings in 3 games and posted an ERA of 3.86 with 2 holds. He contributed to KT’s first integrated championship since its founding. Last year, he appeared as a starting pitcher in the semi-playoffs. He appeared in one game and performed poorly, allowing 5 runs (4 earned runs) in 2⅓ innings. This year, I will work hard to regain my pride.
Go Young-pyo said, “I always felt like I lost strength or concentration around September or October because it was the end of the season. Last year, I wanted to do well because it was a big game, but my body didn’t keep up because I was tired. I had a lot of regrets.” He added, “That’s also an experience.” “Because I experienced failure, I have confidence that I will be able to play a better game this time,” he said.
He continued, “I wanted to showcase the good pitching I had in the regular season in the postseason, so I thought about a way to do it. As I was trying to do better, I felt like I was putting pressure on myself and not showing off my skills. This year, I will treat it as the same game and do what I did before.” “I will just have fun with the determination to ‘work hard to pitch.’ I will focus only on helping KT win and do my best,” he sa
Just do it like the regular season. He pitched in 28 games and 174⅔ innings this year, recording 12 wins, 7 losses and an average ERA of 2.78. He is tied for 5th in league wins, 6th in ERA, and 7th in innings. True to his nickname ‘High Quality’, he tied for second place with 21 quality starts (6 innings or more, 3 earned runs or less). Quality Start Plus (7 or more innings and 3 or fewer earned runs as a starter) ranks first in the league with 17. What’s even more surprising is the walks. He struck out 114 batters while only giving up 19 walks. He leads the league with 0.98 walks per 9 innings. The difference was also large from 2nd place Raul Alcantara (Doosan)’s 1.64.
Ko Young-pyo said, “Personally, I care more about pitching timing, rhythm, and balance than records, but I wasn’t satisfied until the middle of the season. After that, I gradually got better,” and “I felt like I got my pitching back in the second half. ERA, QS+, etc. were good. “The score was good compared to what I threw,” he explained.
Regarding walks, “I pitch with the mindset of, ‘I shouldn’t give it to you.’ I’m the type of pitcher who makes balls in play and induces base hits, so I tried to attack batters by throwing balls into the strike zone as much as possible.” He added, “Naturally, walks decreased, but strikeouts also decreased.” “It decreased. I acknowledged and accepted it as a result of the goal I set.” Go Young-pyo’s strikeouts decreased from 156 last year to 114 this year. He raised his voice, saying, “I want to increase the number of strikeouts and reduce the number of hits. As an athlete, you must continuously aspire for better results.”
He entered ‘fall baseball mode’ in earnest. Ko Young-pyo said, “There is nothing special. Since we cannot give up first runs, we will pitch to suppress the number of runs conceded.” He emphasized, “The goal is to win. I experienced it as a relief pitcher in 2021, so I want to play a good role as a starter this year and experience winning once again.”
The key player chosen by Go Young-pyo is pitcher Eom Sang-baek. He left the force after the KIA game on August 22nd. He was diagnosed with microfractures in his ribs. He will make his comeback in the postseason. Go Young-pyo said, “We are a team with strong starting players. We were able to get this far thanks to (Bae) Je-seong and (Eom) Sang-baek holding on after Hyeong-jun was out due to elbow surgery.” He added, “Sang-baek will see what he will do in the fall. “The key is whether or not he can show his physical condition. He is a pitcher who can both be a starter and a bullpen player, so I think he will be of great help to manager (Lee Kang-cheol) as well,” he said.토토사이트
KT’s playoff opponent is NC Dinos. NC, ranked 4th in the regular season, defeated Doosan Bears, ranked 5th, in one game in the wild card game. In the best-of-five semi-playoffs, they won three consecutive games against SSG Landers, ranked third in the season. They are on a 4-game winning streak in the postseason this year.
The playoffs will also be held in a best-of-five format. The first game will be held on the 30th, and the second game will be held on the 31st in Suwon, KT’s home stadium. The 3rd and 4th games are scheduled for Changwon on the 2nd and 3rd of next month. If the 5th game is held, it will be clashed in Suwon on the 5th of next month.