Moon Dong-ju won the Rookie of the Year Award at the 2023 Professional Baseball Sports Seoul Awards held at the Eliena Hotel in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul on the 30th of last month.
Moon, who joined Hanwha as the first pick of the 2022 rookie draft, is a very promising player who received much attention from fans even before joining the pro league. However, his first major league performance was not easy for Moon, either. Despite his strong pitching power, Moon finished his debut season with a disappointing 5.65 ERA with one win, three losses and two holds in 13 games (28 ⅔ innings). However, he showed potential in the second half of the year by posting one win, two losses and an ERA of 3.00 in three games (15 innings). 스포츠토토사이트
Moon has finally begun to display his potential after spending his second season this year. He garnered great attention by throwing fastballs at 160 kilometers per hour, and successfully settled into the starting rotation of the first team with eight wins, eight losses and an earned run average of 3.72 in 23 games (118 ⅔ innings). He displayed good performance, regretting that he had managed innings considering his participation in international competitions. After the end of the season, he won the Rookie of the Year award and was recognized for his achievements.
Moon showed impressive performance in the main league, hinting at his potential as an ace player for the Korean national team. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, he had one win, one loss and an earned run average of 1.80 in two games (10 innings), and at the Asian Baseball Championship (APBC), he started the game against Australia and pitched five hits (one homer) in five ⅔, four walks, five strikeouts, and two runs. Thanks to Moon’s good pitching, the Korean national team also posted good performance, winning the Asian Games title and ranking second at the APBC.
Moon Dong-ju, who is drawing keen attention as the next ace in the national team, said, “I don’t think he is talking about being the ace in the national team yet. He is right to be good among young players, but he has yet to appear on big stages such as the Premier 12 or the WBC (World Baseball Classic). I think his experience in Asian Games or APBC will help him in bigger competitions. I try to throw with confidence, thinking that pitchers have superiority in international competitions,” Moon said, vowing to grow further.
Hanwha, which has been dominated by top prospects such as Moon Dong-ju and Noh Si-hwan, has embarked on a massive reinforcement of its power this winter. The key to reinforcing its power is An Chi-hong, who succeeded in recruiting Ahn with a contract worth 7.2 billion won for 4+2 years in the FA market. An Chi-hong, a veteran of the KBO League with a total batting average of 297 (1,687 for 5677) with 140 home runs and 843 RBIs with an OPS.800 in 1,2 games (124 for 425) with eight home runs and 63 RBIs with an OPS of .774 in 121 games this year.
The addition of a veteran player can be a big help to young players like Moon. What’s more, An Chi-hong was very strong against Moon. In four matches this year, An Chi-hong had three hits, one homer, one RBI and four walks from three times at bat, and An Chi-hong won perfectly. This is why Moon Dong-ju welcomes An Chi-hong even more.
Moon Dong-ju said, “I was too weak against An Chi-hong this year. I heard the news as soon as I came back from the APBC in Japan, and it was so good. Thank you so much to the team that caught An Chi-hong. I think I was not good enough this season, but I will prepare well for the off-season and show much better performance. And I will try to make the team rise to a better position,” he said, talking about his dream of becoming the first autumn baseball player since his debut.