There are many off-season challenges for the bottom-ranked teams, but it is also important to inflate fans’ expectations by creating several positive issues. Only then can the fans have hope, and that hope leads to anticipation and crowd mobilization at the beginning of the season.
Hanwha is a team that has been at the bottom of the list lately but has not created any hopeful issues. In particular, in the case of 2022, despite the last year’s performance, it was rather criticized for passive reinforcement of power. But 2023 looks a bit different. Several elements are being created that will allow fans to watch the stadium or TV with hope. Apart from the final grade, this is obviously a big difference.
In the free agent (FA) market, Chae Eun-seong, Lee Tae-yang, and Oh Seon-jin were recruited one after another and succeeded in reinforcing their own strength. On top of that, the young players also have as much anticipation from the fans as they do. They are Moon Dong-ju (20), who was the first nomination last year, and Kim Seo-hyun (19), who joined this year after receiving the first overall nomination. Among them, Moon Dong-ju showed clear potential last year, so the immediate expectations are higher.
Moon Dong-ju, who was a great talent who could throw a ball at mid-150 km/h based on his strong physique since high school, only appeared in 13 games for the 1st team last year due to injuries and intensive management of the club foreseeing the future. However, he gave Hanwha fans a piece of comfort by showing impressive pitches in three appearances at the end of the season.
The SSG game on October 3, the last game of the season, was Moon Dong-ju’s thrilling first team victory, and it was meaningful both as an individual player and as a club in that he was able to confirm the potential of this huge talent. This is because Dong-ju Moon has confirmed that he is gradually becoming a player who can fight in the first team in details as well as his powerful pitch of striking out 8 in 5 innings.
According to the tally of ‘Trackman’, which provides tracking data to 9 KBO league clubs, Dong-ju Moon showed off a powerful fastball as well as various breaking balls on this day, raising expectations that he could evolve into a complete starter. On this day, Moon Dong-ju’s four-seam fastball (26 balls) average speed reached 152.8 km per hour. Three of his eight strikeouts came on fastballs. Here, an average of 151 km of two-seam fastballs (14) were mixed.
The extension and release points of four-seam and two-seam were consistent. It was a pitch that made it possible to intuit that a rare talent that could hit an average of 153km was born in Hanwha. Here, a total of 24 curveballs were thrown, making an amazing pair with this fastball, inducing SSG batters to miss. On this day, 4 strikeouts came from a falling curve with an average of 125 km. A total of five pitches were digested, including a slider (11 pitches) with an average of 135.1 km and a changeup (5 pitches) with an average of 136 km.
There was no significant difference in the release point for each pitch. He maintained a steady height of 179 to 181 cm. There was no major disturbance from the beginning to the middle of the game. It was also worth seeing as a positive sign that Moon Dong-joo’s balance, which had been quenched for a long time in the second group, is gradually stabilizing. It seems that Jegu may not have been able to fill his last name yet, but he confirmed that he could press the opponent’s batting line with his position in a moment of crisis. No one could dispute that he was a large vessel. His learning ability, which seemed to absorb his teachings and experiences, was also praised one after another. 바카라
Such Moon Dong-ju is aiming for a full-fledged start in his second year. It is clear that the attention of fans who have confirmed the material of the next-generation Ace will continue to be focused. Moon Dong-joo pitched 28⅔ innings in the first team last year, and maintains his eligibility for the rookie award this year as well. Hanwha’s last rookie award recipient was Ryu Hyun-jin in 2006, and Kim Tae-gyun in 2001 before that. Both players have grown into great players. Attention is focusing on whether this rookie, who will capture the attention of not only Hanwha but also KBO league fans this year, will be able to follow in the footsteps of outstanding seniors. Moon Dong-ju should make Hanwha noisy in a positive way.