“I loved that move, too…”
For Kwak Do-gyu (20), a three-quarter student of the KIA Tigers left-hander, wind-up pitching has disappeared this year. He only throws in set position whether there is a runner or not. Although his form has become smaller, he is competitive enough to shoot 150 kilometers easily. However, he will no longer be able to see his unique “shoulder dancing.”
When he was a rookie in 2023, Kwak made headlines by swinging his shoulders two to three times when he was playing windup. He seemed to be dancing with his shoulders full of excitement. However, his ball control was unstable at the time. He discarded it ahead of this season after much consideration.
Then he recovered his control. Suddenly, he became the setup man who paves the way to Jung Hae-young the best with Jeon. In 71 games this season, he displayed impressive performance by posting four wins, two losses, two saves and 16 holds with an ERA of 3.56. Wearing a fork ball also helped.
Still, it’s too bad that the shoulder dance has disappeared. Do all pitchers need to throw in a uniform form? I asked Kwak Do-gyu, whom I met at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 12th. “It wasn’t a matter of pitch clock at all. I thought it was a bit excessive as far as I can use my body, so I stopped doing it,” he said.
I realized that the routine of shoulder dance through wind-up was not very helpful in gathering strength. Kwak Do-gyu said, “The movement of beating the legs back, pulling the arms back to the back of the head, and throwing them, it was big when looking at the data, but the power transmission was not good. It was unnecessary and inefficient. In the process of moving the center even with smaller movements, I changed it to a movement that transmits power well.”
Then when did he start to do the shoulder dance? “I started when I lowered my arm to the side in high school with my legs pulled back and held the glove above my head,” Kwak said. But he did live pitching for the second team 안전놀이터… There are pitchers who shake their hips and get into the rhythm when they wind up. It was such a light move, but I thought that even such a small shake looked very unique, so I asked them to make the move bigger and pay attention, and they said, “It became such a big move.” Eventually, he joined the professional team and danced shoulder-to-shoulder for only one year.
When I asked Kwak Do-gyu that I wanted to see the shoulder dance again, he laughed and said, “I also loved the move.” He said, “If I can control my body again, I think I can go back.” It is not a complete breakup.
In addition, Kwak expressed his gratitude, saying, “After Lee Bum-ho put himself in a close lead from the opening game and produced good results,” adding, “Last year, even when I went to the ballpark, I had a lot of questions about whether I could throw today. I often just sat down. This year, I released him with hold situations from the opening game. I got to throw confidently.” This means a hold against the Kiwoom Heroes in Gwangju on March 23 (one strikeout and no run in the ⅓ innings).
Kwak Do-gyu is an academic pitcher. He is studying pitch tunnel, and after visiting the Seattle Driveline Baseball Center last winter, he naturally became more competitive after checking pitch balance and adding pitches. “Seeing through the Hawk Eye, I found the ball moving to the side better,” said Shim Jae-hak, the general manager of the team who was passing by during the interview.
Kwak has become an indispensable pitcher who should lead Kia to an overall championship. He will also participate in training for the Premier 12 after the end of the Korean Series. There is also a chance to wear the national flag.
