Участник:10 billion life-changing non-FA. Ko Young-pyo, the first protagonist of KT's club, agreed to a five-year contract.'
Ko Young-pyo (33), the best native ace representing the KBO league, is expected to sign a multi-year contract with KT Wiz.
If Ko Young-pyo came to the FA market after the 2024 season, he could have gained huge popularity. In the end, it can be seen that KT took a preemptive move to block courtship by other teams early on.
"We are discussing positively about signing a multi-year contract with Ko Young-pyo," a source from KT Wiz said in a telephone interview with Star News on Sunday. "We are coordinating the amount and detailed options." If KT and Ko Young-pyo agree on details of the contract and sign the contract after going through medical tests, the official announcement of the team will likely be made. According to industry sources, the five-year contract period and the amount KT proposed to Ko Young-pyo is said to be worth more than 10 billion won (about 9.8 million U.S. dollars). If details such as options are added, the total contract amount is expected to exceed 10 billion won (about 9.8 million dollars). If Ko succeeds in signing a contract with KT, he will become the first non-FA multi-year contract holder in KT Wiz's history.
Although each club has a variable called salary cap, it is also worth noting that ace-class starting resources have continued to crack jackpots in the market recently. In October 2022, Lotte Giants signed a five-year, non-FA multi-year contract with native starter Park Se-woong for a total of 9 billion won (7 billion won per year, 2 billion won in options). Then in December of that year, NC Dinos signed a seven-year, non-FA multi-year contract with Koo Chang-mo for up to 13.2 billion won (if he fails to acquire FA qualifications after the end of the 2024 season).
After graduating from Daesung Elementary School, Dongsung Middle School, Hwasun High School, and Dongkuk University in Gwangju, Ko joined the KT Wiz as the No. 10 player overall in the first round of the second rookie draft in 2014. He will be in his 11th year as a pro next year. Ko Young-pyo, the founding member of KT Wiz, continues to be a KT one-club man. In the early days of his career, Ko was a pitcher who had not received much attention as he has today. When he graduated from Hwasun High School, he went to college without receiving a professional nomination. After playing a leading role in winning three competitions at Dongguk University in 2013, he joined KT in the 2014 season.
Ko Young-pyo made his debut in the first division of the KBO League in the 2015 season. He did not start from the first year after joining the league. He played in 46 games in the 2015 season, all of which were relief pitchers. He had three wins, four losses and an ERA of 5.68. He pitched a total of 57 innings, allowing 41 runs (36 earned runs) with 57 strikeouts and 68 hits (two homers) and 19 walks.
In the 2016 season, Ko successfully pitched more than 50 innings, almost the same as the previous season. He was still a bullpen pitcher. Along with Jang Si-hwan, who played for KT at the time, he was in charge of KT's waist as a must-win group. With a record of 2-4, 5-hold ERA of 5.59 in the 2016 season, he recorded 65 hits (six homers) with 19 walks and 10 hits, 62 strikeouts and 37 runs (35 earned runs) in 56 ⅓ innings.
Having played well in two seasons as a bullpen pitcher, Ko began to serve as a starting pitcher in earnest from the 2017 season. Having started in exhibition games, Ko took the mound as a surprise relief pitcher in the opening game against the SK Wyverns (currently SSG Landers), but later took the mound as a starting pitcher. Under the trust of Kim Jin-wook, former coach of KT Wiz at the time, Ko has continued to grow. His innings almost tripled as well. During a total of 141 ⅔ innings, he recorded 84 runs (80 earned runs) with 125 strikeouts, which were hit by 170 hits (13 homers) and 16 walks. His earned run average (ERA) of 8 wins, 12 losses, and one hold was 5.08. Notably, he pitched perfect pitching of six hits, two hits, and no runs in nine innings against LG on April 29, securing his first shutout victory in his career. Then, at the game against Doosan on August 20, he recorded five hits, one homer, one walk, and two hits in five ⅓ innings, and allowed one run (one earned run), and six strikeouts, which was hit by six balls, to secure his second complete game. Perhaps due to the sudden attack, however, he no longer took the mound in September due to his shoulder inflammation, and ended the season with the game against SK on September 3.
Ko Young-pyo continued to play as a starter in the 2018 season. Having enjoyed the 2018 season by postponing his mandatory military service, he earned 115 million won (approx. In 25 games that year, Ko garnered six wins, nine losses and an earned run average of 5.13 (ERA). While playing 142 innings, more than in the previous season, in 2017, he had 134 strikeouts and 91 runs (81 earned runs) that fit his body with 175 hits (17 homers) and 25 walks. Most of all, he excelled in his ability to digest innings. On April 26, he pitched well against Lotte with four hits (one homer) and two walks, nine strikeouts and two runs (two earned) in nine innings, and successfully won the complete game. He pitched hard against KIA on May 24, allowing one run (one earned run) with 11 strikeouts that fit seven hits, one walk, and one body in nine innings, and successfully won his second complete game of this season, and on June 30, he pitched a ball with two hits, one walk, and two body-hit ball, three strikeouts that fit his body in five ⅔ innings against NC, and even garnered a lucky shutout as the game ended with a rainfall cold. However, he unfortunately failed to join the national team for the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, and eventually began to fulfill his duty of defense as a social service worker in January 2019 after the end of the season.