Each professional baseball player has a song that makes use of their individuality. The song featured by NC lefty Changmo Koo (26) is “Meteor” by singer Changmo (old) of the same name. There is nothing more suitable for him than this song that opens with these lyrics along with a grand beat. Koo Chang-mo said, “I heard the lyrics while jumping out of the bullpen ahead of the 2020 Korean Series, and I got goosebumps when I heard this phrase. It is a song that touches the heart.”
After suffering from various injuries after his debut, I met him on the 16th in Changwon, who is dreaming of a perfect revival this year.
Remove ‘Gukdas’ and go to ‘Engu’
Since his debut in the 2016 season, Koo Chang-mo, who joined in 2015, has been expected to continue the lineage of Korean left-handers by using fastballs that exceed 150 km per hour, forkballs with large drops, and sliders. In the first half of the 2020 season, he played the role of an ace in the team with 9 wins and an average ERA of 1.55 without loss, and contributed to NC’s first integrated championship since its foundation in 2011 by fighting well in the Korean Series.
However, since 2019, when his skills were in full bloom, he has been plagued by injuries. Fans even made ‘disappearance posters’ of his frequent absences. Chang-mo Koo has never filled the required number of innings (144 innings) since he entered the professional league. He said that a pitcher who fills the regulation innings means that he has pitched consistently for a season without any minor injuries. Only when this is met can they compete for awards at various awards ceremonies.
Chang-mo Koo missed the entire 2021 season due to an injury, and last season, in May, he first stood on the mound. He started about two months later than other pitchers. Still, he appeared in 19 games (111 and 2/3 innings) and received a decent record of 11 wins, 5 losses, an earned run average of 2.10 and 108 strikeouts. He said, “Any record is meaningless until the regulation innings are filled. The record when he played a full season makes me curious too. Personally, I covet the King of Samjin,” he said. “My heart hurt the most when I was called Glass Body, Gukdas (Gu Changmo + Kukdas, the name of a snack that breaks easily). This is something I have to overcome. I am preparing well to be reborn as ‘Engoo (NC is happy thanks to Goo Chang-mo)’ without being sick anymore,” he said calmly. 먹튀검증
Although the team finished 6th in the 2022 season and missed the fall baseball ticket given to 5th place, Chang-mo Koo fired a flare of resurgence. Showing off his strength, he signed a large contract with the team last month for up to 7 years and a total of 13.2 billion won, and was also selected as a representative of the WBC (World Baseball Classic) to be held in March.
It will be the lineage of the left-hander of the national team”
Gu Chang-mo is not letting go of the WBC official ball these days. In mid-December of last year, he received a total of four official balls from the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) because he is practicing only with these balls.
The first ball is worn out, and he is holding the second ball before he knows it. He said, “It is very slippery, and the stitches do not protrude unlike the KBO official ball, so it is inconvenient to catch the ball.”
Because of his injury, Koo Chang-mo had no special relationship with his national team. He ultimately missed the 2019 Premier 12 tournament and the Tokyo 2021 Olympic team due to injury.
The first WBC is also an opportunity for revenge for him. In the first Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) in 2017, when he was the only one with the Taegeuk mark, he pitched in relief at the end of the 6th inning with a 4-1 lead against Japan held at the Tokyo Dome, but he allowed Yamakawa Hotaka a two-run home run and scored 7 to 8 It provided an excuse for a come-from-behind defeat. Koo Chang-mo said, “It is an unforgettable memory,” and “I heard that Yamakawa will also appear at this WBC. He seems to be relieved only if he sticks head-on and strikes out. He is the player I most want to face off against.” Korea, which is in Group B with Japan, will play against Japan on March 10th. This time, the venue is Tokyo Dome.
He wants to go as high as possible for his parents. Koo Chang-mo said, “I want to send my parents, who have not been able to take a trip abroad yet, starting with Japan, which is close to them, and going on a trip to the United States.” In the US, semi-finals and finals are held, which means that we will soon stand on the stage of the semi-finals. Then, he expressed his aspirations, saying, “I will put the first button well in the WBC and become Korea’s representative left-handed pitcher, succeeding Kim Gwang-hyun and Yang Hyeon-jong.”
After training pitching in Jeju until the end of January, Koo Chang-mo will participate in his team’s spring camp in Arizona, USA from February. Since the WBC national team training will also be held in Arizona from the 14th to the 27th of next month, he plans to join the team training. Coincidentally, celebrating his 26th birthday on the 17th, during training, he announced that he would focus on improving his condition in silence, saying, “It will be the same day.”
His debut song, which is ready to take off this year, ends with lyrics like these. “Finally I am here.”