Was it true that he thought he would fly away? Koo Chang-mo (28) of Sangmu, who pitched in only two games due to injury last year, showed off great pitching from the start this year.메이저사이트

Koo Chang-mo took the mound as a starting pitcher in a home game against the Samsung Lions in the 2025 Mediheal KBO Futures League at Mungyeong Baseball Stadium in North Gyeongsang Province on the 19th.

Koo continued to pitch without much crisis throughout the game. He had a left-handed hit by Kim Jae-hyuk after one out in the top of the first inning, but struck out Kim Young-woong, who had 28 home runs in the first division last year, by swinging. No. 4 Lee Chang-yong also did not lose a point as he struck out the rookie.

Later, Koo allowed three outs and three outs in both the second and third innings. He displayed bold play to Samsung batters in a fast count. In the meantime, Sangmu batters provided nine runs against Choi Won-tae, the starting pitcher of the 7 billion FA, by scoring Lee Jae-won's first timely hit and Ryu Hyun-in's three-run homer in the third inning.

Koo Chang-mo, who threw well, recorded his first run in the fourth inning. He struck out Kim Jae-hyuk with a foul fly and Kim Young-woong, but gave up a 130-meter home run to Lee Chang-yong that flew over the left fence. Still, he closed the inning by striking out Yoon Jeong-bin, and did not yield a run in the fifth inning even after being doubled by Shim Jae-hoon after one out.

Before handing over the mound to Lee in the sixth inning, Koo had 58 pitches during five innings, allowing three hits (one homer), no outs, eight strikeouts, and one run. His bold pitching stood out, as he threw 44 strikes, or 75.9 percent of his total pitches. As Sangmu won 12-5, Koo garnered his first win of the season.

Koo Chang-mo, who will be discharged from Sangmu in June, played only two games last year. After undergoing surgery on his left arm before joining the military, he made his comeback in a game against his hometown NC Dinos in Masan on Sept. 24 last year. In two Futures League games, he gave up three hits and one walk, and recorded one strikeout.

Nevertheless, Koo took the mound in a practice game with overseas teams before this season to check his physical condition, and took the mound easily during the regular season. This is good news not only for Sangmu but also for NC.

Koo Chang-mo, who led the team to a combined championship in 2020 with a whopping performance of 9 wins, no losses, and a 1.74 ERA, began to suffer from left elbow inflammation in the second half of that year. The following year, he was out for the season due to fatigue fractures in his left arm forearm, and in 2022, he returned in late May to record 11-5 with a 2.10 ERA in 19 games.

As a result, NC signed an extension contract of up to seven years and 13.2 billion won (10.2 million U.S. dollars), expressing high expectations. However, he left the club in the 2023 season after being diagnosed with a fatigue fracture of his left arm, and failed to make the long-awaited entry into the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Eventually, his injury recurred, and he chose to join the military.

Lee Ho-joon (49), who had been a player with Koo Chang-mo, was appointed as the head coach of NC while he was in the Sangmu baseball team. "When I talked to him on the phone on January 1st, he said, 'If you keep the 5th place until I come, I will make you the 1st place,' but I have to trust him," Lee said with a smile. "I heard there's nothing special and it's good. It's time to not get sick anymore and do well in baseball," he said.

Lee expects Koo Chang-mo as a starting resource. "If (former) Chang-mo and (Shin) Young-woo join us, a player who (Shin) Min-hyuk can join as a calculating player can take the lead as a fifth starting player," Lee said after taking the helm last year. "If you stay healthy, you will be a member of the national team. If you hang in there like Kim Kwang-hyun of SSG and Yang Hyun-jong of KIA, you will be a perfect first or third starting player," he said.

Park Min-woo (32), the NC captain who had a meal with Koo Chang-mo on the first day of the new year, said, "(I heard) he is in great shape. He said, "I think he is going to fly away." He smiled, "I'm not going to believe it," which can be taken as a sign that he has expectations for Koo Chang-mo.

Lee Yong-chan (36) and Choi Sung-young (28) are holding out for the NC Dinosaurs' one-two punch of Logan Allen (28) and Riley Thompson (29). On top of that, Shin Young-woo (21) and Shin Min-hyuk (26) are also set to join the team after recovering from injury. However, while there is no noticeable sense of starting in Korea, Koo Chang-mo's healthy return is a hopeful sign for NC.