Before the game, a 42-year-old released player, who said, "Doosan has no evil," showcased his resilience by letting out fury during his debut.

Veteran left-handed pitcher Go Hyo-joon (42) of the Doosan Bears made a relief appearance in the 6th game of the season against KT Wiz in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 1st, and recorded 1 walk, 1 strikeout, and no runs over ⅔ inning, achieving his 57th career hold 378 days since his last in the match against the KIA Tigers on April 18 last year during his time with the SSG Landers.

Go Hyo-joon took the mound with one out and no runners in the 8th inning when the team was ahead 3-1. This marked the moment of his Doosan debut. He faced first batter Kwon Dong-jin, and despite having a favorable count of 1B-2S, he battled through 8 pitches, ultimately striking out with a 146 km/h fastball and celebrated with a roar. He then issued a straight walk to Hwang Jae-kyun and ended the inning by getting Kang Baek-ho to ground out to second base, finishing the inning without allowing any runs. Go Hyo-joon celebrated again, announcing the grand return of a seasoned veteran.

At 42 years, 2 months, and 23 days old, Go Hyo-joon recorded a strikeout and a hold, breaking records for the oldest appearances, holds, and strikeouts in Doosan's history. The previous record for oldest appearance and strikeout was held by Park Cheol-soon (40 years, 5 months, and 23 days) against the Hanwha Eagles on September 4, 1996, while the record for oldest hold was held by Lee Hyun-seung (38 years, 8 months, and 4 days) against the Kiwoom Heroes on June 15, 2022.

Overall in the league, the oldest appearances are held by Hanwha's Song Jin-woo (43 years, 7 months, and 7 days), KIA's Choi Young-pil (43 years, and 18 days), Choi Hyang-nam (42 years, 5 months, and 30 days), LG's Ryu Taek-hyun (42 years, 5 months, and 11 days), and KIA's Lim Chang-yong (42 years, 4 months, and 8 days), with Go ranked 6th. The record for the oldest hold was set by Hanwha's Song Jin-woo (43 years, 1 month, and 26 days) during a game against the Lotte Giants on April 11, 2009.

On the 17th of last month, Doosan signed Go Hyo-joon, a released player, for a total of 100 million won (annual salary of 80 million won and an incentive of 20 million won). They urgently requested a 42-year-old veteran pitcher in a bid to bolster their left-handed bullpen depth.

Go Hyo-joon participated in an entrance test held at Icheon Bears Park from April 11 to 16, showcasing his abilities with a top speed of 147 km/h despite being 42 years old.

In the Futures League, Go Hyo-joon's pitching exceeded expectations. Starting on the 23rd against the Goyang Heroes, he pitched a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts and no runs allowed, followed by 1 inning with 1 hit and 2 strikeouts against the Hanwha Eagles on the 26th, and 1 inning with 1 hit and 2 strikeouts against SSG Landers on the 29th, completing his preparations for a return to the first team. In 3 games over 3 innings, he gave up 2 hits, did not allow any walks, and struck out 6, showing stability without allowing any runs.

Before this game, Go Hyo-joon met with reporters and expressed his unique ambition, stating, "Doosan was a team that had evils in the past. When facing them as enemies, the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings were strong and intimidating for both batting and pitching. But now, that kind of aura has vanished. I intend to take the lead myself and play with fierceness to bring back that aura." He indeed emitted that "aura" on the mound, raising the spirits of his juniors.

Despite being 42 years old, Go Hyo-joon showcased his resilience and is expected to play a significant role in the future operations of the Doosan bullpen. Manager Lee Seung-yup noted, "Given that Go Hyo-joon hasn't played in months, you can imagine how much he wanted to pitch. With Go Hyo-joon joining, we expect him to handle not only left-handed batters but also right-handed ones."

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