The game was Moon Dong-ju’s last game of the 2023 season. Even before entering this season, Hanwha decided to limit Moon Dong-ju’s innings to around 120 innings, and nailed the game with the last appearance of the season.
The result did not come as desired. Moon Dong-ju threw four ⅓ innings and had 11 hits alone. There are only two strikeouts. In the end, Moon Dong-ju, who came down the mound after allowing three runs, ended the season with eight wins, eight losses and a 3.72 ERA in 118 ⅔ innings.
In the bottom of the first inning, Moon Dong-ju lost his first point after being hit by Moon Bo-kyung in a timely hit to the right in the crisis with two outs and runners on first and second bases. Moon Dong-joo, who was on the verge of loading the bases with two outs by walking Oh Ji-hwan, overpowered Park Dong-won with a groundout to third base and did not lose any additional points.
Hanwha scored five points in the top of the second inning alone, but Moon Dong-ju’s difficulty continued. In the bottom of the second inning, Moon Dong-ju, who was on the verge of another two outs and runners on first and second bases, was unable to stop second baseman Hong Chang-ki from scoring as he was hit by Kim Hyun-soo to the right.
In the bottom of the third inning, a crisis with two outs and runners on first and second bases came, but this time it was different. He struck out Park Hae-min with a 155-kilometer fastball after a game of going up to the ninth pitch. With two outs and a runner on the second base in the bottom of the fourth inning, Moon Dong-ju took the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning as well, but his 141-kilometer slider to Oh Ji-hwan led to his superior solo home run, while Park Dong-won and Moon Sung-ju also had consecutive hits.
Then, Hanwha put Kim Bum-soo on the mound instead of Moon Dong-joo, whose number of pitches increased to 105, and Kim Bum-soo handled Park Hae-min and Hong Chang-ki with groundouts to second base side by side, blocking two runners sent out by Moon Dong-joo. The game ended with Hanwha’s 5-3 victory, and Hanwha won the Winning Series by overpowering LG for two days in a row.
Strictly speaking, Moon Dong-ju’s pitching is not completely over this year. Because I have to join the national team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Moon Dong-ju will now conduct individual training in Seosan, where Hanwha’s second-tier training ground is located, and join the national team. In addition, Moon Dong-ju is also selected for the preliminary list of the 2023 national team at the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), so there is a possibility that he will play for the national team again this year.
After the game, Moon Dong-ju said, “I actually wanted to show a better performance because it was the last, but I got so many hits. There were many cases where the ball count went to a disadvantage, and overall, it was a shame. I threw every inning thinking it was the last one. So I think I did my best every time I threw one pitch and one pitch rather than controlling the strength and weakness,” he said, looking back on the game. Moon’s maximum speed was 157 kilometers.
Is there any lingering feeling about the rest of the season. “I also want to help the team win, but I think the club should be grateful as they have decided with consideration for me,” Moon Dong-joo said. “I will go to the Asian Games and come back with good results.”
Looking back on this season, Moon Dong-ju said, “I think positively that I wasn’t sick for now. I think I’ve achieved my goal because I haven’t been sick so far,” he said, expressing satisfaction that he had no injuries. Even when asked to give him a score, he said, “I got 100 points because I didn’t have any injuries.”
If he returns from the Asian Games, will he have a chance to play for the team again. Moon Dong-ju smiled lightly, saying, “That’s not something I can decide.” 스포츠토토
Moon Dong-ju has shown remarkable growth this year. Last year, when he was a rookie, Moon Dong-joo, who pitched 28 ⅔ innings in 13 games and had an adaptation period with a 1.36 and 2 hold average of 5.65 this year, played as a full-time starter, winning 8 wins, 8 losses, and an ERA of 3.72 in 118 ⅔ innings in 23 games. Now he is only 20 years old. It was a season that allowed us to know that a bright future awaits him.
