Kiwoom Heroes Cho Sang-woo.
Cho Sang-woo (30, Kiwoom Heroes), who returned after a two-year hiatus, is working hard. For the team, which has been struggling due to anxiety over the finish, they are happy to see Cho Sang-woo's return, but Cho Sang-woo is firmly determined, saying, "I have to do well."
Cho Sang-woo is sweating hard at the team's spring camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
Cho Sang-woo lost a whopping 15kg ahead of spring camp and showed off his slim figure. “I wanted to prepare for the season with a lighter body, so I lost weight,” he said, laughing, adding, “I originally thought about 10kg, but as I continued to exercise, I lost a little more.”
He continued, “I think my current weight is just right. “We will continue to maintain it in spring camp,” he added.
Cho Sang-woo, who debuted in 2013, played until 2021 and then began his military service as a social worker. He participated in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and competed, but was unable to receive military service benefits as Korea failed to win a medal.
Cho Sang-woo, who worked at a nursing home in Guro-gu, Seoul for two years to fulfill his national defense duties, said he did not rest from exercise even during his service.
He said, “I wanted to show a good performance, so I worked out hard,” and added, “After I was discharged from the military, I threw a ball while doing personal training in Miyazaki, Japan. “He worked hard to build his body, so there is no need to worry about his sense of performance in practice.”
Cho Sang-woo mainly played as a bullpen pitcher before enlisting in the military. He once attempted to become a starting pitcher, but did not show good results, and has served as a built-in closing pitcher for three seasons since 2019. In 2020, he performed well with 5 wins, 3 losses, 33 saves, and an ERA of 2.15, becoming the relief king.
Cho Sang-woo said, “I’m not thinking about becoming a starting pitcher. “I think he will be a middle or closing pitcher, but I think the manager will decide,” he said, laughing, adding, “I feel more comfortable as a finishing pitcher because the situation in which he goes out is fixed.”
From Kiwoom’s perspective, it would be ideal for Cho Sang-woo to establish himself as the closing pitcher. This is because we had a difficult time due to back door anxiety during the two years that Cho Sang-woo was not around.
In 2022, when Kiwoom advanced to the Korean Series, it operated a group finishing system with Moon Seong-hyun, Kim Jae-woong, and Lee Seung-ho, but it did not have much fun. After going through trial and error in 2023, some stability was found thanks to the performance of veteran Lim Chang-min, who obtained free agent qualification after the season and transferred to the Samsung Lions.
Cho Sang-woo’s first season after his return is also important for him personally. Although it has been more than 10 years since his debut, due to twists and turns such as his injuries, he has to play two more seasons to become a free agent. In order to be well received in the market, he must show that he has the same competitiveness as before his return.
Cho Sang-woo said, “Anyway, I think that all opportunities come only if I do well. “I want to have a good season as I prepared hard,” he said.
He also has a desire to raise Kiwoom's ranking, which ranked last year.
He said, “I have become a veteran, but I cannot improve the performance of other players,” but expressed his determination, “As there are more young players, I will try to make all the players work together and do well.” 토토