Actually, as my back got a little better, there was no reason other than that.”
Hanwha Eagles right-hander Moon Dong-ju (21) announced a perfect revival. He shot 160.1 kilometers of speed again last year, which surprised professional baseball fans, further raising Hanwha’s hopes for the fifth round. With fastball pitching, which is the strength of fastball pitchers, revived, Hanwha couldn’t be better.안전놀이터
Moon Dong-ju started the game against the Doosan Bears in Daejeon on the 3rd and led the team to a 7-1 complete victory by pitching well with 84 pitches, four hits, one strikeout and one run in six innings. Moon Dong-ju cooked Doosan’s batters by mixing fastballs (41) and sliders (19), folk balls (12) and curves (12). The average speed of the fastball was 154 kilometers, and the maximum speed of the fourth fastball thrown against Kang Seung-ho at the top of the second inning hit 160.1 kilometers per hour.
Moon Dong-ju in the first half and Moon Dong-ju in the second half are completely different pitchers. Their performance is telling. In the first half, they only had 3-6 losses, 66 ⅓ innings and an ERA of 6.92 in 13 games, while in the second half, they have displayed good pitching in eight games with 4-1, 45 innings and an ERA of 2.60.
In the second half of the season, Moon also beat Povia of the Doosan Bears. Moon met Doosan three times in the first half alone, and lost three games, recorded 10 ⅔ innings and an earned run average of 18.56, but on the day, he completely beat Doosan’s batters with ball power. It is true that Doosan’s main hitters such as Yang Eui-ji, Kim Jae-hwan, Jarod Young, Yang Seok-hwan, Kang Seung-ho, Jung Soo-bin and Huh Kyung-min have heavy bats in general, but Moon’s ball power was that great.
Regarding his overcoming of Doosans phobia, Moon said, "It was bad, but I thought the sample was still too small to be called weak against Doosan. I couldnt throw three games, but I thought I just needed to throw 10 more games well. I also had good momentum in the second half of the year, so I took the mound with such positive mindset.”
“I think I did a good job of preoccupying the count, and I think I did well today (3rd) where I wanted to go. On top of that, the ball was good. In particular, the fastball ball was good. What I thought should be the best is the fastball ball, but as it gets better, I think the rest of the breaking balls get better at once,” he added.
Moon Dong-ju has been increasing the strikeout rate by increasing the number of folk balls recently, and he cited fastball ball power rather than folk ball as the secret to his rise in the second half. “I actually didn’t intend to increase it that much, but I think the frequency increased because the results were good. Since I’m not sure about the curve yet, there were a little more signs, but I think I shook my head a little bit. Nevertheless, the frequency (using fork balls) is increasing little by little because the results are good,” he explained first.
He added, “The strikeout rate has increased, but I’ve actually improved my fastball. I don’t use folk balls much in games, so that’s hard to say the answer. I’m glad that the first half was so bad that I think I’ve improved a little bit in the second half. Fork ball is one of the reasons, but I think the biggest reason is that I’ve gotten better at fastball than folk ball.”
The reason why the fastball ball recovered was that his physical condition eventually improved. Moon Dong-ju was feeling uncomfortable in his back during the first half of the slump. He needed to reorganize in the second division, but he also needed a break. Now, he has naturally regained his old ball power without any discomfort when pitching.
Moon Dong-ju said, “Actually, my back has gotten a little better. There is no reason other than that. Actually, my back is not perfect, but I think I definitely recovered a little bit as I got better.”
In the top of the fifth inning, Moon Dong-ju lost the first point of 0-1 by giving up a timely hit to Lee Yoo-chan in the crisis of one out and runners on the first and third bases, but he said he never thought, “Should I lose to Doosan again?” Rather, he said he continued his pitching in a good mood by handling the first inning with Jung Soo-bin, Jarrod, and Yang Eui-ji.
“In all three games against Doosan, the batting order took a turn in the first inning. So I thought to myself, ‘Let’s not take just one turn, let’s face the eighth batter. However, as I recorded three outs in the first inning, I thought I made it today and decided to continue this trend. That was it,” Moon said with a bright smile.
Expecting Moon to overcome Doosan’s phobia, Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon said, “(Moon) Dong-ju has a very good pace right now. Moon Dong-ju has more weight on the mound than Moon in the past. I think he will do his part today (3rd) because Dong-ju continues to throw his ball these days and the contents to watch are good.”
Regarding his assessment that he has become a completely different pitcher, Moon said, “I think he is different from what he looked like in the first half. Even when I threw a real pitch, I think my chances of winning increased, and I had a lot of good pitching. I feel like I am confident in my actions without realizing it. I think I had a good influence on him,” vowing to continue throwing the ball confidently to contribute to Hanwha’s bid to the semifinal.