Release 4 times → Crisis of retirement → Veteran Ko Hyo-joon, who joined Doosan in '83', pitched 1 consecutive innings of KK without losing a point... Should I ease coach Lee Seung-yeop's 'bulpen concerns'

Release 4 times → Crisis of retirement → Veteran Ko Hyo-joon, who joined Doosan in '83', pitched 1 consecutive innings of KK without losing a point... Should I ease coach Lee Seung-yeop's 'bulpen concerns'

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Doosan Bears veteran pitcher Ko Hyo-joon (42), who overcame the retirement crisis to burn the last flame, pitched cleanly in his second game appearance.먹튀검증

Ko Hyo-joon pitched as Doosan's second pitcher in a game against the Hanwha Eagles of the 2025 Mediheal KBO Futures League held at Bears Park in Icheon on the 26th, and pitched one hit, two strikeouts and no runs in one inning. The two teams exchanged 22 hits, and the Hanwha Eagles beat Doosan 13-8.

Ko Hyo-joon, who successfully played his first game since joining Doosan with two strikeouts and perfect pitches in one inning of the game against the Goyang Heroes (Kium 2nd Division) on the 23rd, took the mound again in three days.

Ko Hyo-joon, who took over the mound by starter Park Yeon-jun in the top of the third inning when Doosan was trailing 0-5, threw a 143km/h fastball to leadoff hitter Park Sang-eon for two consecutive pitches to make a 0-2 advantageous count, then stole the timing with a 133km/h slider and made his first out count with a ground ball to shortstop.

Ko garnered a strike on the first pitch with a fastball against the next batter, Jeong Min-gyu, and induced a foul on the second pitch with a slider to secure 0-2 advantage. He then drew a swing and miss with a fork ball on the third pitch to secure two outs.

In the absence of a runner with two outs, Ko Hyo-joon, who threw two consecutive balls against Lee Min-jae, induced a fly ball to center field with a 143km/h fastball on the third pitch. Second baseman, shortstop, and center fielder gathered to catch the ball, but no one caught the ball and became a Texas hit due to lack of teamwork.

With two outs and runners on the first base, Go continued his pitching without wavering. Making the ball count 1-2 against Song Ho-jung, Go ended the first inning of his pitching by swinging and striking out with a big curveball six times in a row. On the day, Go pitched aggressively, with the strike rate reaching 80 percent (12 pitches out of 15 pitches). Fast ball speed ranged from 142 km to 144 km/h, and showed off his heavy pitching that batters were unable to hit straight.

Ko Hyo-joon, who entered the professional stage as the sixth pick in the second round of the 2002 Rookie Draft by the Lotte Giants, has played for the SK Wyverns, KIA Tigers, Darcy Lotte, LG Twins, and SSG Landers. He is a veteran pitcher who played in 601 games in the KBO League until last year, recording 47 wins, 54 losses, four saves, 56 holds, an ERA of 5.27 and 895 strikeouts in 890 innings.

Ko Hyo-joon was released four times (2002, Lotte in 2020, LG in 2021, SSG in 2024) during his 22 years as a professional career until last year. Ko Hyo-joon, who was released by LG after the end of the 2021 season, overcame the risk of retirement and wore an SSG uniform after going through a tryout test. He succeeded in reviving with a 3.72 ERA with one win and seven holds in 45 games in the 2022 season, and showed his competitive edge with a 4.50 ERA with four wins, one loss and 13 holds in 73 games in the 2023 season when he was 40.

Having shown sluggish performance in 26 games last year with two wins, one loss and five holds average of 8.18 per hour, Ko suffered the fourth loss as a professional player at SSG. However, he did not have any setbacks. Having shown strong commitment to extend his active duty, he continued to train individually last winter and maintained physical condition to throw balls over 140 kilometers per hour.

Hard work has paid off. Doosan officially announced on the 17th that it has signed a contract with pitcher Ko Hyo-joon for a total of W100 million (W80 million per year, W20 million in incentives).

"Ko is a veteran with 23 years of experience. We have decided that he will contribute to the bullpen session," a Doosan Bears official said. Ko Hyo-joon said, "I sincerely thank the Doosan Bears for giving me the opportunity to extend my active role. I will do my best to burn the last flame in my Doosan Bears uniform."

His performance in the two Futures League games was enough to give him a passing score. He pitched two innings in two games, and recorded four strikeouts without any walks. One hit was just unlucky.

Ko Hyo-joon can be registered in the first team from May 1, when he can be converted into an official player. Doosan currently has only one left-hander, Kim Ho-joon, on its roster for the first team. Lee Byung-hun, who played an active part in last year's must-win group, was on the injured list on the 13th and left. Will Ko Hyo-joon, a veteran left-hander who has been through all his life, be the key to solving manager Lee Seung-yeop's concerns about bullpen management.