Even at the age of over 1,000 people, Dae-seong Koo (54), who climbed the mound, reached the Major League (MLB).
On the 21st, the official MLB social network (SNS) account posted a video of Koo Dae-sung pitching for Geelong Korea, introducing “(Man) the 53-year-old pitcher is still throwing the ball.” 안전놀이터
The video footage shows Koo Dae-sung on the mound on the 19th wearing the Geelong Korea uniform of the Australian Professional Baseball League (ABL). Koo Dae-sung took the mound at the bottom of the 8th inning when he was losing 0-7 against the Adelaide Giants and turned three batters into a triple.
His highest velocity was only 117 km/h, but his sharp slider and confident fastball that pierced his body with confidence remained the same as when he was called the Great Undefeated. In particular, against Ryan January, the third hitter, he even caught a looking strikeout with a ball deep inside his body.
MLB praised the pitcher, saying, “The 53-year-old pitcher is still pitching.”
Koo Dae-seong, who made his professional debut in 1993 as a member of the Binggrae Eagles (predecessor of the Hanwha Eagles), was one of the leading closers in Korean professional baseball. He went 67-71 with 18 holds and 214 saves in 569 career games, with an earned run average of 2.85. After moving to the Orix Buffaloes in 2001 and transforming into a starting pitcher, he signed a contract with the New York Mets in 2005 and posted an ERA of 3.91 in 23 innings in 33 games.
It wasn’t a spectacular performance, but he entered the pitcher’s plate against Randy Johnson, who was the best pitcher of the time, and made a double, a sacrifice bunt, and a home run. He suffered an injury in the home scoring situation and did not last long in his MLB career, but his performance in the game at the time drew attention from fans at home and abroad.