“I thought we met for the first time today.”
SSG Landers lost 2-4 against Suwon KT Wiz on the 18th. The team lost unfortunately, but there was actually an interesting situation. It was a confrontation between Go Young-pyo and Choo Shin-soo.
Koh Young-pyo, who came to the mound as KT’s starting pitcher먹튀검증, is a submarine pitcher representing the league. In the case of an underhand pitcher with a unique pitching form, there are many cases in which foreign players who usually play in the major leagues have a hard time with their opponent. Choo Shin-soo, who is Korean but has been active in the major leagues for a long time, is the same.
In particular, he was particularly weak against Go Young-pyo. In the past two seasons since moving to the KBO League, Choo Shin-soo recorded no hits in 10 at-bats against Ko Young-pyo. He had no hits and no walks. He struck out only seven. If he meets only Go Young-pyo, it means he has not got the timing right at all.
And the first confrontation of the 2023 season between Choo Shin-soo and Ko Young-pyo was quickly concluded. But this time, Choo Shin-soo laughed for the first time. The hit came out from the first at-bat. Choo Shin-soo, who started as the lead batter in the top of the first inning, hit the 4th pitch in 1b2s and hit the middle right, and it was refreshing from the start. In the second at-bat in the 3rd inning, Ko Young-pyo got a ball that hit his body with a search for his ninth pitch.
Choo Shin-soo, who came back as the lead batter in the third at-bat in the 6th inning, added a single hit to the center field by attacking the first two-seam fastball this time. In the fourth at-bat in the 7th inning, he was caught with a ground ball to first base. On this day, Choo Shin-soo’s performance against Ko Young-pyo was 3 at-bats, 2 hits and 1 walk. Koh Young-pyo pitched well with 2 runs in 7 innings and became the winning pitcher, but it means that he struggled against Choo Shin-soo.
What changes have there been? When asked why, Choo Shin-soo smiled and replied, “I thought we met for the first time today.” Choo Shin-soo said, “I think the opponent’s record against a pitcher is like mind control. When I meet a good pitcher, I believe that I can hit anytime even if I am 2S. And when I meet a weak pitcher, I don’t think about my past opponent’s record at all. I try not to,” he said. Then he looked back and said, “I didn’t prepare anything special or changed anything this time. It seems that the psychological part that I believe in myself worked the most.”
But you can’t hide your good mood. Choo Shin-soo laughed, saying, “Actually, during the game, I told (opponent catcher) Jang Seong-woo, ‘It’s my birthday today.'”