'If you're frustrated, the manager should take the mound!' Did I really pitch 2,204⅔ innings until age 40 for nothing? National team sidearm pitcher marvels: "Our manager is still more flexible than I am."

*This content was translated by AI.

"Our manager is still more flexible than I am."

National team sidearm pitcher Ko Young-pyo (35, KT Wiz) was once again amazed by the remarkable flexibility of manager Lee Kang-cheol (60), who helped him bounce back.

Ko Young-pyo led KT to an 11-3 victory on the 28th at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season away game against Doosan Bears, pitching six innings (95 pitches), allowing eight hits, issuing two walks, striking out six batters, and giving up two earned runs. For Ko Young-pyo personally, this was his first win in 51 days and eight games since the match against Busan Lotte Giants last month. As a result, Ko Young-pyo recorded two wins and four losses in 10 games with an ERA of 5.07, 55 innings pitched, 10 walks, and 64 strikeouts.

Ahead of this season, Ko Young-pyo aimed to increase his body flexibility to throw harder pitches. He believed it would also help when facing world-class players after being selected for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC). However, the results were not good. His dismal statistics—5.40 ERA in five games in April, a batting average against of 0.330, and a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.72—spoke for themselves.

After the game, Ko Young-pyo told reporters, "After last season ended, I tried a few things. The coaches always told me to 'do what you've been doing,' but I wanted to take on a challenge. I tried to improve my body elasticity and increase my velocity. As a result, my velocity became slightly faster. Even during the WBC, my changeup, which usually reached the high 110s km/h, reached the early 120s km/h, and its drop and movement were different from before."

He added, "Ko Young-pyo is a pitcher whose foundation is the changeup. I'm a pitcher who mixes fastballs and curveballs to get through innings, so if the completion level of the changeup drops, it becomes really difficult. Even today (the 28th), in the early innings, my changeup was hit repeatedly by Cameron, (Jung) Soobin, and Lee Yu-chan, and that part was tough."

Ko Young-pyo is known as one of the league's top mentors, with players of all generations and types seeking his advice at least once. Last year, left-handed pitcher Oh Won-seok, who joined KT, grew by receiving advice from Ko Young-pyo, a right-handed sidearm pitcher, on various aspects such as the slide step.

However, as Ko Young-pyo himself approaches being the league's most senior player, there was no one he could turn to for advice. Ko Young-pyo said, "The part where I tried to increase my velocity didn't suit me. I'm a pitcher who should throw using my lower body, but it put a lot of strain on my upper body. So I'm now returning to a pitching style focused on my lower body. I experienced failure that way, and I think I'm going through difficulties in that process." He opened up about his unspoken concerns.

But KT had manager Lee Kang-cheol, a senior sidearm pitcher and the commander who had watched him for the longest time. Lee Kang-cheol was signed as the first-round pick by the Haitai Tigers (now KIA Tigers) in 1989 and led the Tigers during their golden era. He broke the prejudice that sidearm pitchers cannot last long due to lower back overload and pitched until the age of 40 in Korean years. Even during the 1980s, 1990s, and mid-2000s, when injury management was not systematic, he recorded 602 games, 152 wins, 112 losses, 33 holds, 53 saves, and an ERA of 3.29. His 65 complete-game wins (6th in the league) and 18 shutouts (5th in the league) are now untouchable records.

On this day, the broadcast also captured a scene where manager Lee Kang-cheol was saying something to Ko Young-pyo after he came down after six innings. Ko Young-pyo said, "The manager asked, 'How did it feel after trying (the change)?' The day before yesterday (the 26th), the manager watched me pitch from the side and advised me to use my lower body more. I tried that today, and the manager said it looked good. I also felt many positive aspects."

He continued, "To be specific, I kept trying to throw hard, which broke my rhythm. When the rhythm breaks, even a powerful pitch loses its speed mid-flight. In the case of the changeup, it should drop as it comes in, but when it loses speed, it enters flatly." He added, "The manager told me to use my lower body more and throw the ball long and straight. I think it will take some time to fully absorb this into my style."

He expressed gratitude to manager Lee Kang-cheol. Ko Young-pyo said, "The manager and coaches point things out to me from time to time. I might be a somewhat difficult senior to my teammates. It's hard for juniors to say such things to me, and I think (Woo) Gyu-min is also cautious about approaching me first." He then added with a smile, "Lately, I find it difficult too. I know it in my head, but my body doesn't follow. I think this is something many veteran players experience as they age, and it's really tough."

He also shared another fact that made him marvel anew at manager Lee Kang-cheol in the process of receiving guidance. As Ko Young-pyo said, the fans' joke, "If you're frustrated, the manager should take the mound," is not without reason.

Ko Young-pyo laughed, "The manager is still more flexible than I am. Sidearm pitchers are generally perceived as flexible because they throw smoothly like flowing water. But I've been throwing since I was young, so my form is smooth, but if we look only at flexibility, that's not the case. The manager is truly flexible; just watching him move his body in the sauna shows it. His balance is also excellent, and it seems to be something he was born with."

Even without a new challenge, he is the ace of KT, who achieved 13 wins in a single season and earned the national team emblem. Putting his regrets aside, Ko Young-pyo is now seeking answers in the pitching form that once made him a national team sidearm pitcher. When asked if he plans to challenge a mechanism correction again after the season, he said firmly, "No. Since the data already showed failure, I now want to solidify the form of Ko Young-pyo as a pitcher. Instead of just increasing velocity like others, I want to throw the ball in my own way."

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*This content was translated by AI.