"42 Years Old" Veteran Left-hander Ko Hyo-joon Joins Doosan's Bullpool
"42 Years Old" Veteran Left-hander Ko Hyo-joon Joins Doosan's Bullpool
Blog Article
Doosan recruited a 42-year-old veteran bullpen pitcher just a month away from the season's opening.스포츠토토
The Doosan Bears announced in a press release on the 17th that they signed a total of 100 million won (annual salary 80 million + incentive 20 million won) with Ko Hyo-joon, a 42-year-old veteran who spent 23 years on the professional stage. Ko Hyo-joon, who became a member of Doosan, said after signing the contract, "I sincerely thank the Doosan Bears for giving me the opportunity to extend my active role. I will do my best to burn the last flame in the Doosan Bears uniform."
Ko Hyo-joon, who started his professional career by joining the Lotte Giants in 2002, is a veteran left-hander who has played for 23 years through five teams, including the SK Wyverns, KIA Tigers, Lotte, LG Twins, and SSG Landers. Ko Hyo-joon, who had a record of 47 wins, 54 losses, 4 saves, 56 holds, and an ERA of 5.27 in 601 games, was released from SSG after the end of last year's season and was on the verge of retirement, but he continued his career by signing with Doosan dramatically.
Choi Hyang-nam-Song Eun-beom, success story of contract during season
Every year at the end of the season, each club announces a list of players to be released. More than 10 new players will join the team through rookie drafts and training player contracts, so the existing players have to be sorted out. Veteran players who have passed their prime must be included first in the list of players released, but the veteran players released by the club sometimes find other teams and are forced to end their active careers.
Players who fail to find a new team before each team leaves the spring camp naturally retire, but some players who are willing to extend their active careers seek a new team even after the opening of the season. The most representative player was Choi Hyang-nam, who debuted with the Haitai Tigers in 1990 and had 28 wins from 1997 to 1999 after moving to the LG Twins, and returned to the Kia Tigers in 2004 and played in the Minor League in 2006.
Choi returned to the KBO League after signing a contract with Lotte ahead of the 2007 season, and returned to the U.S. in 2009 to win nine titles in Triple-A. Choi, who returned to Lotte in 2011, was on the verge of retirement after being released due to an elbow injury, but signed with Kia in June 2012 and continued his active career. Choi made nine saves in 2012, burning his last flame and ending his career after playing in the independent league and the Australian league.
Right-hander Song Eun-beom (Samsung Lions), who played a leading role in the SK dynasty and was a gold medalist at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, is also continuing his active career through a contract during the season. Song Eun-beom, who played as a right-hander ace representing the team during his SK years, did not show his skills during his heyday through KIA, Hanwha Eagles, and LG. It was Song's last heyday when he recorded 7 wins, 4 losses, 1 save, 10 holds, 2.50 in 68 games in 2018, when Hanwha entered autumn baseball.
Song Eun-beom, whose ball power has declined, was released after taking the mound in only four games in 2023, when LG won the Korean Series, and failed to find a team until the start of the 2024 season. However, Song Eun-beom, who signed an annual salary of 50 million won with Samsung in July 2024, pitched in nine games in the second half of the season and showed better-than-expected performance with one run (average earned run of 1.08) in 8.1 innings. Song Eun-beom, whose annual salary has been raised to 60 million won this year, has allowed three runs (average earned run of 4.50) in six innings in five games.
Left-hander in 24 Years Will Doosan's Left Waist Be a 'Activist'
After joining Lotte in 2002 as the sixth overall pick in the second round of the rookie draft, he was released by Lotte in a year and moved to SK. Ko, who was moving up and down the first and second divisions at SK due to ups and downs, had 11 wins in 2009, his first full-time season in the first division, and spent the best season since his debut as a pro. Ko has pitched in more than 100 innings for three consecutive years until 2011, recording 24 wins as a left-hander swingman for SK.
Ko Hyo-joon, who joined the military as a social service worker after the 2011 season, did not show as much ball power as he did before joining the military after the call-up was lifted, but he wore a KIA uniform through a trade in July 2016. Ko Hyo-joon won his first championship ring after his professional debut in 2017, but returned to Lotte through the second draft after the season was over. Ko Hyo-joon, who pitched in 75 games in 2019, recorded the most 15 holds in the team and qualified as an FA, but only signed a one-year contract.
Ko Hyo-joon, who was released from Lotte after the 2020 season, returned to Incheon, where he had his prime in 2022 after going through LG in 2021, and won his second Korean Series championship ring by recording 1 win and 7 holds 3.72 in 45 games. However, Ko was sluggish in 26 games last year with two wins, one loss and five holds of 8.18 and SSG gave up renewing his contract with Ko. After seeking to extend his active duty through individual training after being released, Ko dramatically found a new team by signing a contract with Doosan on Wednesday.
Doosan's Lee Byung-hun, who pitched in 77 games last year with 6 wins, 1 loss, 1 save, 22 holds and 2.89 holds, was sluggish with 1 hold 5.79 in 8 games this season and was canceled from the first-team entry on the 13th. Another left-hander, bullpen Kim Ho-joon, is also only showing disappointing performance with 1 loss and 1 hold 10.80 in 10 games. In addition, Choi Seung-yong, who played as an all-weather pitcher until last year, is playing as a starter this year, so Doosan's bullpen currently has no left-hander to play for.
Therefore, if veteran player Ko Hyo-joon, who is in his 24th year as a pro, plays a role in blocking one or two left-handed hitters at the match point, it can be a great help to Doosan's bullpen. For Ko Hyo-joon, it is a good environment to burn the "last flame" as an opportunity to take a leap forward with the hope of Doosan's mound in the face of retirement. As Choi Hyang-nam in 2012 and Song Eun-beom last year did, will Ko Hyo-joon in 2025 also be able to use a reversal of veteran pitchers he signed during the season.