Moon Dong-ju (20, Hanwha Eagles) is the “monster” who is attracting the most attention in the league with his powerful fastball, which recorded the highest speed of 160km per hour. The KBO League holds a pennant race until October, but Moon Dong-ju’s season ends in August. What kind of story is this difficult to comprehend?
Moon Dong-ju harvested his 6th win (6th loss) of the season with 5 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts and 1 run in 7⅓ innings in the 10th game of the season against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 12th.
Moon Dong-ju, who made his debut last year, suffered injuries and ups and downs, and is showing a step forward this season. He’s done a great job in his first full-time season, throwing 83 innings in 16 games. His earned run average (ERA) of 3.47 is second only to Felix Pena (2.83) among team starters.
On this day as well, he showed overwhelming pitching until the 7th inning, but the number of pitches exceeded 100, and the only thing that was slightly shaken was a piece of cake. On this day, Moon Dong-ju threw 108 pitches, surpassing the previous record for the most pitches (101 pitches) by an individual.
It feels ironic that such a treasure-like pitcher’s season is limited. Director Choi Won-ho met with reporters at Jamsil Stadium on the 11th and said, “If Moon Dong-ju starts tomorrow (12th), we plan to use about 7 games in the second half.” “I’m planning to have him pitch 115 to 120 innings,” he said.
Director Choi Won-ho is well known as a leader who studies. He obtained a master’s degree in physical education and a doctorate in exercise mechanics from Dankook University, established the ‘Choi Won-ho Pitching Institute’ and solidified his position as a pitcher expert before starting his leadership career. He is a pitcher who has been active for 14 seasons even as a professional.
He is a leader who understands pitchers better than anyone else. That’s why he clearly knew what it would take for a promising star to shine in Korea for a long time.
Coach Choi said, “Even if I throw about 10 innings in the Asian Games, I think it will be okay if I make it less than 130 innings.” “Compared to, he will go in a much better condition. He will be more comfortable. Usually, after going straight to the Korean Series and taking a break for about 3 weeks, his ball will get much better.”
Now that he has completed his first full-time season and is still in the process of growing, he decided that he needs to be managed. With this victory, Hanwha jumped to 8th place, and with only 3 games to play with 4th place NC and Lotte, even fall baseball is worth aiming for. is to promise
Director Choi was responsible for Moon Dong-ju, who completed the last pitching schedule of the first half, pitched perfectly until 7 innings and threw 108 pitches, the most by a person, with one out in the 8th inning. Coach Choi praised after the game, “I had a plan to take Moon Dong-ju for a long time today because I will rest for the next two weeks, but he came up to the 8th inning and gave up the least run.”
What does Moon Dong-ju think about the early end of the season? “I haven’t thought about it because there is a game today,” he said, “Actually, I don’t think I’m in a situation where I can adjust my condition. I think I’ll do my best in the given situation.”메이저사이트
In addition, coach Choi has a conviction that young and promising pitchers should be selected as starting pitchers. Newcomer Kim Seo-hyeon (19), who showed a desire to finish based on a ball that reached the maximum speed of 160 km, went down to the second group due to sluggish performance at the beginning of the season and is giving starting classes.
Before the game on the 11th, coach Choi said, “You have to start with a starter and have a variety of experiences so that you have a much higher chance of success even if you switch to the bullpen later. “One of the many virtues of a starting pitcher is a healthy body, so it is ideal for young pitchers to enter the starting lineup,” he said.
In the Futures League, he started in 3 games, and in particular, in the game on the 6th, he pitched 5⅔ innings, 7 strikeouts and 1 run, emerging as one of the 5 starting candidates for the second half. Director Choi said, “(Kim) Seohyun is scheduled to start on Thursday (13th), but I’m thinking about the results. I plan to use Jang Min-jae and the better player of the two.”
The most ideal thing is for Seohyun Kim to fill the position after September when Moon Dongju will be away. Since there is a common denominator in that they are right-handed pitchers who throw fiery fastballs, if Kim Seo-hyun makes a soft landing, it is expected that the gap will be minimized.