First of all, it was possible due to the club’s policy and consideration. Hanwha’s Moon Dong-ju (20) ended his season early on March 3 against Jamsil LG.
It was his second season with the team. He opened the season with a 120-inning limit and was dropped from the first team roster after throwing only 118.2 innings. He won’t see the mound again this season.
However, there is one very important stage left. Moon will join the Korean baseball team for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which convenes on Feb. 22.
The Asian Games start on the 23rd, but baseball will be played for a week starting on October 1st. The other pitchers on the team can’t afford to look ahead to the Asian Games right now because they’re fighting for their team’s position in the standings. What’s more, this year’s rash of rainouts has pushed back the rest of the season until October 14, a week later than originally scheduled. With more time to finalize the standings, most teams are playing for keeps. Most of the pitchers on the national team have no choice but to join the national team after putting in a lot of work for their club teams.
Moon Dong-ju is nominally on a ‘prescription’ for a long run after next season, but he’s also trying to get in shape to throw his best ball at the Asian Games. Although he is traveling with the Hanwha Futures team, the national team pitcher has had time to organize a “mini-camp” and prepare for the Asian Games on his own.
Moon has already been following the “schedule” set by Hanwha Future head coach Kim Sung-gap. After taking a week off from his last appearance with the first team to regain his stamina, Moon pitched out of the bullpen on the 10th and then pitched two innings in the Futures League game against LG on the 12th to get a feel for the game. While not pitching at 100 percent, he still managed to hit a fastball of 152 kilometers per hour, giving up two hits and striking out four in two innings of work.
After going 8-8 with a 3.72 ERA this season, Moon had been on a downward spiral in his last three games, going 1-1 with a 6.72 ERA and a .338 batting average in just 14.1 innings pitched. 메이저놀이터 It’s possible that Moon was given a chance to bounce back by being given time to adjust his tempo a bit earlier.
Moon could be in line for a big role on the national team. Along with Kwak-Bin (Doosan), Moon is one of two pitchers on the roster who are capable of putting opponents away in the short game. It’s also worth noting that Kwak Bin has struggled in his last two games (against KIA and Hanwha). Ryu Joong-il, the head coach of the national team, may decide to use the pitcher based on his ‘current condition’ by checking his physical condition through practice games.
“There is always some regret in any pitch, but I want to pitch with no regrets at the Asian Games,” Moon Dong-joo said after his first-team appearance this season. Right now, he is preparing with that in mind.