‘Muscle Pain’ Ko Woo-seok, ended up not being able to throw a pitch and ended the tournament
Go Woo-seok, who was judged due to muscle pain in a practice game ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), unfortunately ended the tournament without being able to pitch even once.
The Korean national baseball team, led by head coach Lee Kang-cheol, won the WBC final round 1 group B match against China by a cold game 22-2 in the 5th inning held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 13th. However, Korea, which lost against Australia and Japan, failed to advance to the quarterfinals regardless of the results of the match, and was humiliated by being eliminated in the first round three times in a row.
It was a contest with many twists and turns. Among them, the injury of finisher Ko Woo-seok was also a variable. Ko Woo-seok took the mound in an official practice match against the Orix Buffaloes held in Osaka on the 6th prior to the tournament, but after only two outcounts, he complained of shoulder discomfort and came down the mound.안전놀이터
Although it was not considered a major injury, the national team had Go Woo-seok undergo a thorough examination at a WBC-designated hospital in case of any unforeseen circumstances. As a result of the examination, it was found that there was no major problem with simple muscle pain around his shoulder. He thought there would be no difficulty in participating in this competition.
However, ahead of his first game against Australia on the 9th, coach Lee Kang-cheol announced that Ko Woo-seok was ‘unable to participate’, and the same was true before the match against Japan. Director Lee said, “I’ll try to think about it when I go up to the next round”, but that opportunity did not come to Korea, which could not overcome the wall in the first round.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the revenge against Japan and Korea, remarks about the match against Shohei Ohtani, and even the commentary of coach Lee Jong-beom, the ‘artisan adult’, attracted a lot of attention to Go Woo-seok ahead of this tournament. However, Ko Woo-seok had to end the tournament more regretfully than anyone else without even showing his skills properly. It was also a pity for the national team, which did not even use the league’s strongest finishing card.
