Ko Woo-seok’s intention to post was delivered to 30 major league clubs on December 4 last year (U.S. Eastern Time). Ko Woo-seok was free to hate 30 major league clubs for 30 days, but no news of the contract was heard until the 3rd (7 a.m. on January 4th, Korean time), the deadline for posting.
However, Ko delivered good news at the most dramatic moment. With two days to go before the deadline for posting, he reached an agreement on the terms of his contract with the San Diego Padres and immediately boarded a flight bound for the U.S. He passed the medical examination and signed the contract.
There is a reason why the San Diego Padres started recruiting Ko Woo-suk somewhat belatedly. The San Diego Padres first sought to sign Yuki Matsui, once the best closing pitcher in the Japanese pro baseball, as a priority to reinforce the mound in the Stove League.
Left-hander Yuki Matsui, born in 1995, joined the Rakuden Golden Eagles in 2014 and is a veteran with a 2.40 ERA in 10 NPB seasons, 501 games, 659 ⅔ innings, 25-46 236 saves and 68 holds until last year. 안전놀이터 추천
In the 2023 season, 59 games, 57 ⅓ innings, 2-3 losses, 39 saves, eight holds, and a 1.57 ERA, took a career high and challenged the Major League stage, and San Diego, which was the most active player, embraced Matsui.
After recruiting Matsui, San Diego started to beef up its manpower. It approached Ko, who had already been closely monitoring him through scout Nam Gung-hoon, and signed a contract that both the player and the club could be satisfied with.
“Our club’s off-season recruitment stance was to finish Yuki Matsui first and then watch other candidates,” scout Nam Gung-hoon said. “I was connected to Ko Woo-suk after signing a contract with Matsui, and it was when the posting deadline was two days away. The delay of Ko’s flight to the U.S. was a variable, and I was very surprised because this was a variable that neither I nor the club expected.”
“The biggest point that appealed to (A.J. Preller) was the curveball. Recently, bullpen pitchers in the Major League throw fastballs that are close to 100 miles (160 kilometers) long. I thought curveball was more attractive than fastball,” scout Nam Gung-hoon said. “Based on the data on the rotational force of curveball, many people say that it would be better to catch batters.”
“I only had the standard of watching Ko face foreign hitters in the KBO,” he said. “I’ve seen many good players fail to cope with Ko’s breaking ball,” adding, “By editing related videos, I appealed to the club that Ko is strong against foreign hitters in the KBO.”