KOO DAE-SUNG. PRETTY GOOD.

written, illustrated, narrated, and produced by Jon Bois.

music:
"Bluebeard" by Cocteau Twins
"I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins
"In And Out Of Youth" by Young Widows (y'all check them out, they're rad)
"Fantasy" by Mariah Carey

footage recovered via YouTube users tubemasta11 and kifan.

[Whitsoxrule]

4 years AFTER this video was published, at the age of 48, Koo Dae-Sung pitched 1 scoreless inning for Geelong-Korea of the Australian Baseball League

[redheadredemption]

The man was obviously a hustler.
He told people he'd never played poker in order to destroy them, and he deliberately avoided hitting for years. He even threw in the awful at bat against the Reds to lull people to sleep.
All about the long con.

[matthewlaird]

Koo was a left-hander because he injured his right. Originally born right handed he completely changed his dominant hand just to play baseball... the guy just loves baseball.

[jacques]

That Randy Johnson segment made him look like a total badass

[Prong]

At 6:50 when David Wright turns into the dugout, he's laughing and pointing towards Mike Piazza. Just prior to Koo's at-bat, Piazza said "If [Koo] gets a hit, I'll donate a million dollars to charity."

[echozero]

You have to rewatch these every once in a while

[hiimemily]

He might have been only a half-decent pitcher, but a 1.500 OPS is the stuff of legends.

[thelastmanonearth]

watching David Wright's reaction to that hit is one of the most wholesome things you'll see all day

[billny]

It's impossible not to smile when Mariah Carey's Fantasy starts playing in this video. I dare you not to smile.

This video is so great because it's about something so insignificant in the world of baseball. It may not have been the most exciting thing to happen in New York sports that day, but he still makes it into magic.

[OjingeoChaemuchim]

Today, Koo registered yet again as player in Austrailian league. He's 53 now. Still pretty good.

[real.sugarcone]

I guess you could say that Koo Dae-Sung was a "one-hit wonder."

[korealee]

Do you guys know that Koo Dae-Sung is still playing in Australian Baseball League in 2016??

[tylernass]

Dae-Sung Koo is now the manager of the Geelong-Korea team in the Australian Baseball League

[ChengTeoh]

The craziest thing in the video was the bird killed by a pitch. If I didn't actually see it I wouldn't have believed it. Randy Johnson 1 Birds 0.

[badaxtion]

"Koo Dae-Sung, best feel good summer movie, coming soon "

[fredjonson]

I just watched this again for the 3rd time for the absolutely stunning Randy Johnson intro.

Also Koo Dae-Sung has a .500 mlb batting average according to baseball reference.

[ninjaturtlethug]

please bring this series back. The part where Mariah Carey's voice sync's with his hit will be with me the rest of my life. When I have a bad day, I'm coming back to this video.

[sbusinessman]

Jon, you are seriously one of my favorite contemporary writers, and PRETTY GOOD is a perfect example of why. It might make me sound crazy but I don't care: when I'm feeling really down and I need something that'll make me shed tears of joy, I watch this video. Because it reminds me that it's all worth it.

If you're watching this video, if you're reading this comment right now, and you feel like sometimes life is an endless drag and there isn't a point just remember this story. Remember that sometimes the little guy doesn't just win, he absolutely blows everyone's expectations out of the water. Sports stories are human stories at the end of the day. and a lot of the time that means they're predictable. The Pats go to the super bowl, the Yankees go to the World Series.

But sometimes they're unexpected and wonderful. Sometimes a 35 yr old Korean relief pitcher gets to make Randy Johnson look like a complete asshat. Whether you think that's dumb luck, a hustle years in the making, or divine providence, who cares? It's pretty good.

[bkachief]

The wind kept that ball in…oh man, the weather robbed us of an ultimate moment, a pitcher hitting a homer

[windinthewillow]

Every time he takes the plate, Koo just looks so cool and nonchalant. Even against Randy Johnson he wasn’t fazed at all. Legend stuff