Kia Tigers pitcher Ko Young-chang, an 11-year member of the original club and a Gwangju native, has decided to retire from active duty. The decision to leave the team he's been with for so long was certainly not easy. However, he recognized his limitations and decided to hang up his glove and move on to the next chapter of his baseball career.
On November 2, KIA announced that it had decided not to renew the contracts of four players, including pitcher Ko Young-chang, Nam Ha-joon, Song Hoo-seop, and Park Il-hoon, for the 2024 season. It also requested the KBO to remove pitcher Na Yong-ki, catcher Bae Hyun-ho, infielders Kim Yong-wan and Park Seung-hoon, and outfielder Doo Seok. 카지노사이트가이드
KIA also informed the KBO that it will not re-sign pitching coach Jung Myung-won. Chung wore the KIA uniform in the 2021 season under former manager Cho Kye-hyun. After serving as the pitching coach for the first team in 2021, Chung took over as the head coach of the Future Team in 2022 and focused on development. In 2023, Chung was promoted back to first-team pitching coach, but midway through the season, he switched roles with Seo Jae-heng to become the reserve pitching coach, leaving the team at the end of the 2023 season.
The most prominent player on the list is Ko Young-chang. Born in 1989 and drafted by the team in the sixth round (53rd overall) of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, Ko made his first-team debut in 2018 after a long stint in the second team.
His breakout season came in 2019. He appeared in 55 games (54 innings) in 2019, posting a 1-3 record, one save, 10 holds, and a 3.50 ERA as a mainstay in the team's bullpen.
In 2020, Ko struggled in 48 games with a 1-1 record, one save, and a 6.83 ERA in two appearances. His role in the first team diminished somewhat over the course of the 2021 (24 games) and 2022 (27 games) seasons, and he finished the 2023 season without a single first-team appearance. In the Futures League in 2023, Ko went 1-1 with a 5.64 ERA, 16 strikeouts and 15 walks in 38 games (44.2 innings pitched).
Ko had already informed the organization at the end of the season that he would retire from active play. When contacted after the announcement of his release on November 2, he said, "I played for one team for 11 years, which was a long time and a short time. Thanks to the support of the KIA fans, I was able to play baseball with gratitude. There are now many good juniors under me, and I decided that I was no longer competitive, so I informed the club of my intention to retire at the end of the season. The only motivation for me to join was (Park) Jun-pyo (laughs). When I saw juniors who were much older than me joining the team, I felt that a lot of time had passed."
Ko recalls the 2019 season, when he achieved double-digit holds for the first and last time. "At that time, I was wondering if I could continue my career, but I met Coach Seo Jae-heng and it was a turning point. I learned a two-seam fastball and threw it, and in 2019, I had my best performance since my debut. I still dream about that time when I pitched four years ago (laughs). I don't know if I'll ever have that kind of excitement and fun again," he laughed.
It was also with great pride that Ko retired as a Tigers one-club man. "Being a native of Gwangju, I was even happier to be able to make my professional debut and retire in a KIA Tigers jersey, which I have supported since I was a child," he said. It was a great honor to be able to introduce the name 'Ko Young-chang' to KIA fans."
For the time being, Ko plans to rest with his family and prepare for his next chapter in baseball as a coach. "Thanks to my family for their understanding and support, I was able to come this far. Now I'm going to prepare for a new life as a coach. What I couldn't do for the KIA fans, I believe the outstanding juniors will do for me. To the KIA fans who have supported me for 11 years, I want to say thank you very much, even though I won't be able to say it on the field."