The “Family of the Wind” has expanded into the Major League Baseball (MLB), becoming a “Big League Family.
On April 4 (KST), Ko Woo-seok signed a 2+1 year contract worth up to $7 million (approx. KRW 9.17 billion) with the San Diego Padres, taking his first step toward the big leagues.
A first-round pick of the LG Twins in 2017, Woo-suk quickly rose through the organization’s ranks, starting in 2019. In 2022, he won the save title with 42 saves.
After establishing himself as one of the KBO’s premier closers, Go set his sights on the big leagues this winter through the posting system. He signed with San Diego just before the 7 a.m. deadline on April 4, joining the MLB.
He became the seventh KBO player to make the jump to the big leagues via the posting system.
The sixth player to reach the MLB before Ko was Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants). Lee signed a six-year, $113 million contract with San Francisco last month.
With Lee’s signing, 안전놀이터 Go Woo-seok is now the second member of his family to sign an MLB contract.
Go Woo-seok and Lee Jung-hoo are part of a “baseball family” that represents the KBO.
Lee is the son of former LG coach Lee Jong-beom, a KBO legend. In January of last year, Go Woo-seok married Lee Ga-hyun, the daughter of Lee Jong-beom and Lee Jung-hoo’s younger sister.
The former coach, who founded a “baseball family,” is considered a legendary player. Known as the “Son of the Wind” for his quick feet and outstanding hitting ability, he played 1706 games in the KBO, batting .297 with 194 home runs, 730 RBIs, 1100 runs scored, and 510 stolen bases.
The dazzling former coach didn’t stop at the KBO either, as he also played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1998 to 2001 for the Junichi Dragons, batting .261 with 27 home runs, 99 RBIs, and 53 stolen bases in 311 games.
Lee inherited his father’s exceptional baseball DNA from his former coach.
After being recognized as the “grandson of the wind,” Lee was drafted by the Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom) in the first round in 2017 and won the Rookie of the Year award. He steadily improved and quickly became one of the top hitters in the KBO, winning five batting titles in 2022 and following in his father’s footsteps as Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The “Family of the Wind” gained even more attention when Go Woo-seok became the son-in-law of Lee’s former coach, Lee Jung-hoo. It’s rare to have both a save king and a batting king in the same family. Add to that the fact that Lee, Lee Jung-hoo, and Ko Woo-seok have or will play in overseas leagues.
Lee and Woo-seok will have the rare distinction of having a brother-in-law and sister-in-law enter the MLB at the same time. 파워볼게임 MLB.com introduced Go Woo-seok as “the brother-in-law of Lee Jung-hoo, a center fielder who signed with San Diego.”
Lee Jung-hoo and Go Woo-seok, who have expanded beyond the KBO to the MLB, are following in the footsteps of former coach Lee Jong-beom, who laid the foundation for the House of Wind.