Hanwha Eagles’ Moon Dong-ju (20), whose season ended earlier than most, has begun his ‘Seosan life’ with greater responsibilities.
Moon has been out of the first team roster for the past five days.
It’s not an injury.
The team has been strictly controlling his innings, pitch count, and innings since last season, his rookie year, to manage him as the next ace. This year, they have set a limit of around 120 innings.
When he reached 118⅔ innings against the LG Twins (3 runs in 4⅓ innings) on March 3, he was immediately removed from the first team and not allowed to pitch for the rest of the regular season.
That doesn’t mean Moon will start the break the same way.먹튀검증
Named to the Korean baseball team for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Moon will be training and resting in Seosan, home of Hanwha’s second team, to prepare for the tournament.
“It’s not the end of the season, but the preparation is the same,” Moon said in a phone interview with Newsies on June 6, adding, “The Asian Games are still here, so I’m going to prepare well.”
Moon made his KBO debut last year with high expectations, but was hampered by injuries and ended the season with a 1-3 record with two losses and a 5.65 ERA in 13 games.
This year, he stayed healthy and finished the season with a 23-8 record and a 3.72 ERA in 23 games.
Looking back on the season, Moon gave himself a “100”. “My only goal was to not get hurt, and I accomplished that 100 percent, so it’s a 100,” he said.
“It wasn’t an easy season, but I gained experience as I threw and felt more relaxed the more I played,” he said. “It’s also a great achievement to have played a season with more than 20 games. It will help me a lot when I prepare for next year’s season.”
With his impressive performance, he is also a strong candidate for the Rookie of the Year award. Having finished the season first, Moon now has to take a step back and watch his competitors perform.
“My grades are already out there, so all I can do is wait for the results. Even if I’m consciously watching, I can’t influence their results,” he said.
“Competing helps each other, and I hope that many competitors will compete with me,” he added.
Now it’s time to focus on preparing for the Asian Games.
“Last year, I came to Seosan because I was sick, but now I’m here because the club took care of me, so it’s a different feeling,” he said, adding, “All I can do is repay them with my performance.”
He added, “I’m preparing for the Asian Games on my own, so I have to prepare better. It’s a privilege that I’m enjoying now, and baseball fans know that I’m training separately, so I have to do better,” he said.