NC Dinos Koo Chang-mo (26) is evaluated as a successor who will play the role of an ace in Korean baseball following Kim Gwang-hyun (35, SSSG Landers) and Yang Hyeon-jong (35, KIA Tigers). He also played a pivotal role in the 5th World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team. Ahead of this season, we can get a glimpse of his future value even in the fact that NC has signed a multi-year non-agent (FA) contract for up to 7 years and 13.2 billion won.메이저사이트
Koo Chang-mo has excellent ball speed at 150 km per hour, and the movement of changing balls such as sliders, curveballs and splitters is also excellent. Even last year, when he returned from surgery on his left ulna, he boasted an unchanging pitch, recording 11 wins and 5 losses in 19 games with an earned run average (ERA) of 2.10. He only won 1 win (3 losses) in 8 games, but his detailed records such as ERA (3.28), hit rate (0.216), and on-base per inning (WHIP 1.09) are largely flawless this season.
He was anxious about starting. He failed to fill 5 innings in his first 2 games. However, in the following 6 games, he regained a sense of stability with an ERA of 2.15, including 3 quality starts (QS, pitching with 3 earned runs or less in 6 or more starting innings). The more pitches he pitches, the more alive his pitching becomes. So far, there is no shortage of top-notch starting pitchers in the league.
Koo Chang-mo said, “In the first two games, my confidence was very low, and I had a lot of thoughts on the mound, so the results were not good.” He has good balance as well.”
But he’s still hungry. It is because of a long-cherished project that he has not yet achieved. That is ‘regular innings’. The regular season in the KBO League, in which each team plays 144 games, is 144 innings. It is also a basic virtue of a starting pitcher, and if it is not fulfilled, it will not be ranked in the ERA ranking, which is the core of the KBO pitcher award category.
Gu Chang-mo’s most innings in a season is 133 innings in the 2018 season, and even this was digested by going back and forth between selection and salvation. As he is evaluated as the league’s top starting pitcher, he has a strong sense of responsibility to fill the regulation innings in his current position. In his all season, he is cruising toward his first regulation innings since his debut, digesting 46.2 innings. He emphasized the importance of entering the regular innings, saying, “If you finish a season healthy rather than always with detailed goals, records will follow.”
“I can confidently say that I am a starting pitcher only when I complete the required innings.” It is a challenge presented by Koo Chang-mo, who wants to be properly recognized as a full-time starting pitcher.