"Decision was made after reporting to the top"... The ball is now in LG's hands.
LG Twins closer Go Woo-seok (25) finally announced his intention to challenge for the major league. Now the ball is in the hands of the LG Twins. LG general manager Cha Myeong-seok said, “After reporting to the above, we decided to provide an answer to Go Woo-seok within a few days.”
LG general manager Cha Myeong-seok met with Ko Woo-seok's agent, Ricoh Agency, on the afternoon of the 16th. At this event, Go Woo-seok expressed his desire to advance to the Major League to the LG club. After hearing this, Director Cha Myeong-seok said, “I understand,” and decided to report it to the higher-ups (group) and then respond.
In a phone call with Star News on the afternoon of the 16th, General Manager Cha said, "Go Woo-seok has expressed his desire to try to advance to the major leagues through the posting system. I said I understand. As of now, there is nothing I can decide. After reporting to the higher-ups, “We decided to give Go Woo-seok an answer within a few days,” he said.
Previously, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 15th, "On the 14th, we received a request from the Major League (MLB) secretariat to check the status of LG Go Woo-seok and Kiwoom Lee Jeong-hoo." He then said, “We have notified that the players in question belong to the LG Twins and Kiwoom Heroes, respectively.”
The Major League Baseball office's identity request inquiry literally means simply confirming the official identity of the player in question. Therefore, checking the status request does not necessarily guarantee a contract with a major league club.
In fact, Lee Jeong-hoo has already announced his intention to challenge the Major League after the 2022 season. I played the 2023 season thinking it would be the last year before advancing to the major leagues. But Go Woo-seok is a little different. He has never clearly expressed his intention to expand overseas. In such a situation, the fact that the Major League Secretariat requested an identity check can ultimately be seen as meaning that there is a club showing interest in Go Woo-seok.
Go Woo-seok qualified to advance overseas at the end of this season. He filled 100 days registered in the KBO League in the 2017 season, 175 days in the 2018 season, 192 days in the 2019 season, 153 days in the 2020 season, 183 days in the 2021 season, 193 days in the 2022 season, and 176 days in the 2023 season. In addition, 60 days from participating in the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 tournament, 10 days from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, 10 days from the World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament last March, and 25 days from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Each player gets additional work and can advance to the major leagues through the posting system. Go Woo-seok, who will qualify as a free agent (FA) after completing the 2024 season, can currently go to the United States only through the posting system. Therefore, in order to achieve his dream, permission from the LG club is essential.
he American media is also showing great interest. Major League Trade Rumors (MLBTR), which mainly covers major league transfer news, said on the 16th, "A status check is an official procedure that major league clubs conduct when they are interested in a player with potential posting," and added, "LG is a “Despite the interest in Go Woo-seok, we have not yet publicly announced that we will be posting Go Woo-seok to major league clubs,” he explained.
The media continued, "25-year-old Go Woo-seok closed out the Korean Series for the LG Twins, who won the championship for the first time in 29 years this season. Go Woo-seok played as LG's closing pitcher for the past five seasons, making 139 saves, a 30.2% strikeout rate, and a 10% strikeout rate. He had a walk rate of 60% and a ground ball induction rate of 60%, and his ERA was 2.39. Ko Woo-seok did not appear in many games due to a back injury in the 2023 season, but he still had an ERA of 3.86, a strikeout rate of 31.1%, and a strikeout rate of 11.6 in 44 innings. “He showed an incredible ground ball induction rate of 65.8% along with a % walk rate.”
MLBTR said, "Once again, to be clear, a request for a status check does not constitute a definitive announcement that the player will soon advance to the major leagues. Despite clear interest from major league clubs, the LG Twins have not yet publicly expressed their intention to post Go Woo-seok. For example, Na Seong-beom, who played for the NC Dinos in the past, applied for posting two years ago, but ultimately returned to his original team after failing to reach an agreement. Also, Na Seong-beom, who played for the NC Dinos two years ago, also failed to negotiate and was transferred to the original team. “He returned to his team. Na Seong-beom is currently playing for the KIA Tigers.”
Go Woo-seok, who has already received military service benefits, uses a fastball that exceeds 150 km. He can be a difficult pitcher for the opposing team. There is interest in whether Go Woo-seok's fastball will work in the major leagues. The media said, “Go is still an interesting name to keep on the radar for MLB fans,” and added, “Go Woo-seok is quite young, like Lee Jung-hoo and Yoshi Nobu Yamamoto. "In the KBO League, he had a fast ball reaching mid-90 mph (144.8 km). In this Korean Series, he consistently hit a speed of 94 to 96 mph (approximately 151.3 to 154.5 km)," he said.
The medi also mentioned the special relationship between Go Woo-seok and Lee Jung-hoo. Go Woo-seok became a family member last January when he got married to Lee Jeong-hoo's younger sister, Lee Ga-hyeon. Lee Jeong-hoo's father is Lee Jong-beom, the base running coach of the LG Twins, who left a mark in Korean baseball history. It would be a great event if ‘brother-in-law’ Go Woo-seok and ‘brother-in-law’ Lee Jeong-hoo play the major league stage side by side. MLBTR said, "Go Woo-seok and Lee Jeong-hoo are brother-in-law and brother-in-law, but they have no special connection with advancing to the major leagues. If the two players play on the same team, they may prefer to cheer on each other from close quarters. However, this is pure speculation. He also emphasized, “When recruiting free agents, the most important thing for a player is the contract period and amount.”
LG Go Woo-seok, who graduated from Galsan Elementary School, Yangcheon Middle School, and Chungam High School, joined the LG Twins as a first-round pick in 2017 and is active as the LG Twins' closer. He played in 354 games over 7 seasons until this season, recording 19 wins, 26 losses, 139 saves, 6 holds, and an ERA of 3.18. While he pitched a total of 368⅓ innings in his personal career, he recorded 305 hits (29 home runs), 163 walks, 401 strikeouts, and 145 runs (130 earned runs). In the 2022 season, he was named the save king with 42 saves. He appeared in 44 games this season, recording 3 wins, 8 losses, 15 saves, and an ERA of 3.68. The Major League can be said to be the greatest stage that every baseball player dreams of. Will Ko Woo-seok, who has already established himself as the best closing pitcher in the KBO, be able to hit the ball on the mound in the major leagues next season?
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