Professional baseball Hanwha Eagles right-handed pitcher Moon Dong-ju (20) is nicknamed ‘Daejeon Prince’.
He was treated as a ‘prince’ since he joined last year, but this year he is reborn as a true prince by settling in the first team selection rotation.안전놀이터
He threw 160.1 km/h (based on Sports 2 I PTS) and broke the 160 km/h barrier for the first time in the KBO League. within) was achieved.
Moon Dong-ju, whom we met ahead of the Daejeon Samsung Lions match on the 4th, said with a shy smile about the nickname ‘Daejeon Prince’, “I am really grateful to be called that. I will work hard so that it doesn’t collapse.”
However, on the streets of downtown Daejeon, it is said that fans do not recognize him.
Moon Dong-joo said, “I wear a mask, but last time I took off my mask and went to the grocery store with his mother, but no one recognized me.”
When the staff member of the Hanwha team who was next to me said, “Originally, people in Daejeon didn’t pretend to know each other and said in passing, ‘I think I saw Moon Dong-ju’ while laying on a blanket at night,” Moon Dong-ju only smiled.
Moon Dong-ju
[Courtesy of Hanwha Eagles. Redistribution and DB prohibited]
Right now, Moon Dong-ju sees only a white baseball, 108 stitches, and a catcher’s mitt.
Even on various things surrounding him, such as voting for the All-Star Game and announcing entries for the Asian Games, he says, “Now, focus on the season first.”
Instead, he focuses only on maintaining the pitching sensation he has recovered through his last appearance.
Moon Dong-joo made a big success with 1 win, 2 losses and 2.38 ERA in 4 appearances in April, but in 4 games in May, he suffered severe trials with 1 win, 2 losses and 8.22 ERA.
In the first game of June, against Kiwoom on the 1st, he pitched 7 innings with 2 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts and no runs.
He added, “Each game has a very different sense. It is a task to somehow capture and maintain that sense,” adding, “If you prepare with good memories (from the 1st match against Kiwoom), it will help somehow.”
Many stories come and go inside and outside the club about Moon Dong-ju’s break.
Moon Dong-ju, who had a good fight with an ERA of 1.08 with 1 win and 1 loss in 3 games after the opening, was deleted from the first team on April 19th for a break.
However, after he returned from rest, he struggled with an ERA of 7.59 with 1 win and 3 losses in 5 games.
Hanwha Moon Dong-ju being interviewed
[Courtesy of Hanwha Eagles]
Regarding this, Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho said, “If Moon Dong-ju participates in the Asian Games, he will throw 110 innings this year, and if he does not participate, he will throw about 130 innings.”
In response, Moon Dong-ju said, “It’s just that the results weren’t good when I came out after resting. Preparing is the same anyway,” and looked back, saying, “I should have prepared better.”
Moon Dong-ju, who is in the starting rotation for the first time since his debut, is in the process of learning everything a starting pitcher needs to play a season.
He doesn’t have much experience yet, so even if there are ups and downs every time he starts, he tries to reduce the gap.
He doesn’t have any special secrets for managing his stamina.
He strictly adheres to a set training schedule every day, and sleeps for 10 hours a day as he tends to sleep a lot.
Moon Dong-joo said, “It’s my first full-time job, so I’m trying to do well rather than trying to do everything well.”
The moment he finishes adapting, Hanwha can get a real ace pitcher.
