Ko Woo-seok, who finally stepped on the MLB mound, was thrilled and thrilled, adding, "It felt really difficult and far away..."

*This content was translated by AI.

For Ko Woo-seok (28, minor under the Detroit Tigers), Rondipo Park in Miami was a dream stage. It was the home stadium of the Miami Marlins, where he was involved, but he never took the mound in an official game. However, he took the mound as a member of another team wearing a national team uniform and saved one inning without losing a point to compensate for his disappointment.

Ko Woo-suk pitched as the eighth pitcher against the Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinals at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida at 7:30 a.m. on the 14th (Korea time) and pitched one scoreless inning. As a result, Ko Woo-seok showed compliance with not scoring an earned run in all three games in this WBC. It was the only losing game against Taiwan at Tokyo Dome on the 8th that he allowed one run (unearned) in one ⅔ inning.

Ko Woo-seok's face was full of regret after the game on the 14th. This was because the national team lost to a cold game in the seventh inning with 0-10. Ko Woo-seok said, "I'm satisfied with reaching the quarterfinals. But even though he was a strong opponent today, everyone in the team is reflecting on losing the cold game," he said. He added, "We are deeply aware of what needs to be supplemented and feel that we need to develop ourselves."

Ko Woo-seok then drew the line, saying, "Many people have asked if this tournament is important (in terms of the showcase) ahead of the tournament, but it doesn't mean much to me personally." He meant it by saying, "I only thought about putting on a national team uniform and performing well."

There were also references to Rondipo Park. Ko Woo-seok tried to enter the Major League as a member of Miami in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but it failed in the end. He said, "I thought I could really go once in 2024 and 2025, but it felt really difficult and far away." "I was so grateful to the players for coming like this, but on the other hand, I'm sorry that I didn't do well because I lacked (in my team)," he said, expressing his honest feelings.

Although the team suffered from the Dominican Republic's strong batting lineup, Ko Woo-suk made it clear that he would use it as a springboard for growth. He whipped himself, saying, "It would be a lie to say there was no impact on the time difference, but as a professional player, I should have put that excuse aside and played in my best condition." He also expressed his strong desire to win, saying, "The opposing hitters were so good, but if I go to the next competition, I want to win at least once."

Finally, Ko Woo-seok left the ballpark with the determination, "It's a good thing to do well, but I'll find things to do better and improve myself in the future." Now, Ko Woo-seok is expected to return to his team, the Detroit Tigers, and compete for a major league call-up during the first half.

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*This content was translated by AI.