The American professional baseball Major League (MLB) also paid tribute to the return of Koo Dae-sung (53), who is known as the “undefeated great star”, to the mound.
On the 7th (Korean time), MLB.com, the official homepage of the US Major League, shed light on Koo Dae-seong, who returned to active play at the age of 50, under the title of ’53-year-old pitcher who might throw forever’. MLB.com expressed surprise, “Ko Dae-sung debuted in 1993 and is still throwing the ball today.”
On the 19th of last month, Koo Dae-seong appeared as a bullpen pitcher in a match against the Adelaide Giants as a member of Geelong Korea of the Australian Professional Baseball (ABL) and showed a perfect pitch, striking out two in one inning. He subsequently appeared in two more games, finishing the season with two runs in three games 2 and 1/3 innings. At the age of 53, it was a comeback game that was indistinguishable from his age. This is also the record for the oldest in Australian professional baseball.
MLB.com posted a video of Koo Dae-sung’s strikeout and said, “It’s amazing. Even at the age of 53, Koo Dae-seong is still blocking batters well.” In addition, he introduced his activities in Korea, Japan, and the US major leagues.
In particular, he summoned a famous scene against Randy Johnson (60), a “big unit” who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 while playing for the New York Mets. At that time, Koo Dae-sung hit Johnson with a double, then dug into the home from second base when the follow-up hitter bunt and scored. MLB.com said along with the video, “An unforgettable memory for Mets fans.” 메이저사이트
MLB.com also highlighted the fact that Koo Dae-sung was strong against Japan to the extent of being the “Japanese killer.” Koo Dae-seong played as a bullpen pitcher in the 1st World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2006 and scored 1 run in 8 innings, leading Korea to advance to the semifinals.
MLB.com said, “Korea beat Japan in the 2006 WBC round 1, and Koo Dae-sung’s pitching supported it.” “Koo Dae-sung has been active in the Japan Pacific League (2001-2004) since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and is known as the ‘Japanese killer’. known,” he explained.
Koo Dae-seong said in a video interview, “The WBC is a great tournament for baseball fans. It helps spread the love of baseball and its role in society around the world.”
Koo Dae-seong, who announced his retirement in 2019, recently stood on the mound again wearing the Geelong Korea uniform. Geelong Korea manager Lee Byeong-gyu asked Koo Dae-seong to return when pitchers were lacking.
In his comeback match, Koo Dae-sung’s maximum velocity was only around 120 km/h, but he still showed tricky pitching with his unique pitching form and exquisite control ability. Koo Dae-seong said, “The ball is so slow that batters don’t seem to know what to do.” He continued, “My goal is to throw the ball as long as possible. I want to use my arm for what I love wherever I go,” he stressed, “my left arm is still fresh.”