Will another “two days off” tiebreaker hero be born in three years since 2021.
Ko Young-pyo, the native ace of KT Wiz in professional baseball, took a surprise relief appearance in the final game of the season against the Kiwoom Heroes in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 28th and led the team to a 10-7 victory and joint fifth place with four strikeouts, one run and 48 pitches in five innings.
In the top of the fourth inning when his team was losing 1-6, Ko took the mound after Sovereignty with two outs and runners on the first and second bases. He took the mound as relief pitcher for the first time in 545 days after the game against the Suwon LG Twins on April 2, 2023. KT manager Lee Kang-chul had announced plans to deploy Ko, who had been resting after the game against the Suwon SSG Landers on Sunday as part of his all-out campaign before the game. It was also a concept that Go, who is likely to start if his tiebreaker succeeds, will throw a bullpen session on the mound.
Along with taking the mound, Ko settled the crisis by striking out Kim Gun-hee. He then pitched a perfect game of three outs on five pitches in the top of the fifth inning, three outs on 12 pitches in the top of the sixth inning, six outs in the top of the seventh inning, and 11 outs in the top of the eighth inning, and continued his batting streak of 13 consecutive batters until he was hit to the left by leadoff hitter Park Soo-jong in the top of the ninth inning. Meanwhile, his batters gained strength and faced the top of the ninth inning with a 10-6 lead. Manager Lee, who is in desperate need of a victory, pushed ahead with Ko until the ninth inning.
In the first base with no outs, faced by Park Soo-jong’s hit, Ko Young-pyo hit Kim Tae-jin to fly to center field, Lee Ju-hyung to ground out to second base, and changed the situation to two outs and two outs. He was then replaced by closer Park Young-hyun to finish the game. KT won 10-7 to secure a joint fifth place, and Ko Young-pyo tasted the relief win for the first time in 2,965 days since the match against the Gwangju KIA Tigers on Aug. 16, 2016.
Ko Young-pyo, whom I met after the game, said, “I feel good because I won. I was fortunate to be able to put on a good pitch,” adding, “I went down with one out count on the mound, and the coach told me to prepare because it could last a long time. From the next inning, the balance continued well and I was able to throw long pitches. Since there was no tomorrow, continuing to use players in good condition can increase the probability of winning. I was in good condition, so I was able to contribute to the victory.”
In the first year of his five-year multi-year contract worth 10.7 billion won (approx. After playing in two games during this season, Ko was out of the lineup for more than two months due to elbow injury, and displayed frequent ups and downs even after his return to the mound, failing to contribute to his team. Having displayed good pitching in 28 games with 12 wins and 7 losses and an ERA of 2.78 last year, he left a regret of 6 wins and 8 losses and an ERA of 4.95 in 18 games this year. The number of innings pitched also plummeted from 174 ⅔ innings to 100 innings.
Ko said, “Personally, I feel sorry for this season. I didn’t play many innings. I had some difficulties adapting to various changes in the league. I also felt sorry that my ball power had fallen off during the season,” adding, “It was also a season when I felt that injury was very dangerous. I will look back on this season and make corrections.”
Still, he regained his ace form by winning two games and losing two games with an earned run average of 2.74 in four games in September, including a surprise victory in relief in the final game. “Today’s game showed good balance and I could feel the power of the ball,” Ko said. “(Jang) Sung-woo must have felt the same way, as he demanded to mix the balls mainly for fastballs. As the season continues to progress, I feel that I am constantly in balance. I felt that I was injured and started to get better late.”
Ko’s next mission is to start as a starting pitcher for the tiebreaker. If the team wins the match against the Incheon SSG Landers-Kium Heroes on Thursday, it will tie for fifth place, and the first-ever fifth-place match in the KBO League will take place on March 1. Coach Lee Kang-chul has picked Ko as a starting pitcher. Despite the sluggish performance, Ko showed strong performance in four games against the SSG this year, with three wins and one loss with an ERA of 2.08. He also showed strong performance in three games and an ERA of 2.05 last year.
Ko Young-pyo said, “The coach kept watching the situation and told me to be ready because I’m strong in SSG. That’s why you said one inning of the game today, but I ended up throwing it for a long time. When the situation changes, the player has to adapt to it at that time.”
If Ko will play in the fifth place match on October 1, he will have to take the mound only after two days off on October 29 and 30. Of course, he pitched only 48 pitches on October 28, but he was responsible for five innings alone anyway. “You might think it’s a problem, but then I have to create a condition where I can throw well. I have that will, and I can go out and do well,” Ko promised.
After winning the first-place match in the history of the 안전놀이터 KBO League three years ago, KT won the Korean Series and achieved its first combined championship. William Cuevas started the game after only two days of rest during the tiebreaker period, and became a hero by pitching seven scoreless innings.
As time has passed, a situation quite similar to 2021 is unfolding. Attention is focusing on whether Ko Young-pyo can become the second Cuevas if the tiebreaker is successful.