Go Woo-suk surrenders home run in MLB debut for Minnesota
Go Woo-suk warms up ahead of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) Seoul Series opening game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, March 19, 2024. Yonhap
Go Woo-suk has made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut for the Minnesota Twins, 2 1/2 years after signing his first U.S. contract.
Go's first outing was not a clean one, however, as the South Korean right-hander served up a home run in his team's 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thursday (local time).
Wearing No. 1 on his jersey, Go became the 30th South Korean to appear in an MLB game when he took the mound to begin the top of the ninth inning, with the Twins trailing 4-2. He had joined the Twins via a trade by the Detroit Tigers earlier in the week.
Go retired Daniel Schneemann on a grounder to first baseman Royce Lewis for the first out. But then Go hung a slider over the heart of the plate against Patrick Bailey, who drove the pitch 384 feet into the seats in right field for a solo home run.
The ball left Bailey's bat at 103.1 mph with a 39-degree launch angle.
Go regrouped to strike out Steven Kwan on a 3-2 splitter and win a 10-pitch battle. The reliever then got Travis Bazzana to ground out to Lewis to end his first MLB inning.
The Twins failed to rally in the bottom of the ninth, though Go did not factor into a decision.
Go left the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to sign with the San Diego Padres in January 2024 after leading the South Korean league with 139 saves from 2019 to 2023.
Go was dealt to the Miami Marlins in May 2024 without reaching MLB, and he made it to as high as Triple-A in the Marlins' system, too.
The Marlins released him in June 2025, and then the Tigers acquired him on a minor league deal later that same month. Go spent the rest of the 2025 campaign in Triple-A, going 1-0 with a 4.29 ERA in 14 games.
Go became a free agent in November and rejoined the Tigers on another minor league deal in December.
Go represented South Korea at the World Baseball Classic in March and performed well enough in the minors to force his way into the big league.
Go had a 2.60 ERA in 27 2/3 innings over 19 Triple-A outings before the recent trade. He rejected an offer from the LG Twins to return home in May so that he could keep pursuing his MLB dream.
The Minnesota Twins are looking to shore up their bullpen, as they are dead last among 30 MLB clubs in bullpen ERA with 5.28.
Go and his brother-in-law, San Francisco Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, are currently the only two active South Korean players in MLB.