“It’s a secret. (Otani) could be interviewed.”
Moon Dong-ju (21), the Rookie of the Year award, was in full bloom in 2023. He underwent hard training, but it was all thanks to the sweet fruit that came to him afterwards.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced a 35-member preliminary list of the Korean national team (Team Korea) to face the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the MLB World Tour Seoul Series Special Game, an exhibition game ahead of the MLB World Tour Seoul Series 2024 with Coupang Play on the 2nd.
Moon was selected from Hanwha along with Hwang Jun-seo, a high school graduate who graduated from high school, Noh Si-hwan, and Moon Hyun-bin. Although not on the final list, Moon Dong-ju, who has grown into an ace player for the Korean national team, is becoming a fact.
After training on the second day of the 2024 Hanwha spring camp at Ball Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on Tuesday, he met with reporters and heard the news, saying, “I feel so honored and happy. When will I ever play against such big leaguers?” “I’ve been waiting for that opportunity, and I’m glad that I came here sooner than expected.”
Moon Dong-ju’s boarding is a natural step in a way. As a rookie in 2022, Moon was in a slump with one win, three losses and two holds with 5.65 ERA in 13 games due to injuries and ups and downs in the year.
However, it was a blessing in disguise. He prepared better for the second season through trial and error, and only played 28 ⅔ in the first season, maintaining his eligibility as a rookie of the year. And he performed 118 ⅔ in 23 games in the 2023 season, posting eight wins, eight losses and an ERA of 3.72. There was Yoon Young-chul (KIA Tigers), who competed fiercely with an ERA of eight wins, seven losses and 4.04, and Moon Dong-ju became the rookie of the year despite receiving management for the number of innings due to his participation in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
He was the first Korean player to throw a 160km/h fastball, a KBO official, and won a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games to solve the military service problem. He also played as the ace of the national team at the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), becoming the ace of the national team.
After the end of the season, he won 85 out of 111 votes from reporters and became a new star with 76.6 percent of the votes, smiling at the annual salary negotiations. Moon’s annual salary, which was 33 million won last year, rose 203 percent, the highest in his team, to 100 million won.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be excluded from the final list, but I’ll do my best,” Moon said. “I don’t think I need to be intimidated because I’m a batter (with) the same pride and confidence that I’m playing Team Korea. I’m sure they’ll be able to perform better, but I’ll confront them with the idea that it’s advantageous as they’re meeting for the first time.”
The Seoul Series is a two-game series of MLB’s official opening of the 2024 season at 7:05 p.m. on March 20 and 21, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which have strengthened their power by investing astronomical amounts such as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the San Diego Padres, represented by Kim Ha-sung and Ko Woo-seok, will face off.
Ahead of the official opening match, a total of four special games will be held on the 17th and 18th, with the Dodgers facing the Kiwoom Heroes at 12 p.m. on March 17, and Team Korea and San Diego at 7 p.m. San Diego and the LG Twins at 12 p.m. on the 18th, and Team Korea and the Dodgers at 7 p.m. will clash.
If Moon is included in the final list, he will have a chance to play in two games against San Diego on April 17 and the Dodgers on April 18. Although it is an event in the form of an All-Star game, chances are slim that he will play in both games as it is a starting pitcher’s role.
Asked which team he would like to play against, Moon said, “Both are good. Both teams are considered the best in the world,” but added, “I want to play against the Dodgers soon.”
The Dodgers is the strongest team in the West Division of the National League, having won the district championship 10 times over the past 11 years. Moreover, the Dodgers has recruited Ohtani and Yamamoto from the Stove League, drawing all the attention.
What attracts attention is the showdown between Ohtani and other big leaguers and Moon Dong-ju. Attention is growing on whether a fastball exceeding 160 kilometers per hour will work for big leaguers as well. When asked what kind of first pitch he would throw against Ohtani, Moon said, “It’s a secret. It’s because Ohtani might be able to watch this interview.”
“I haven’t set a big goal, but I’ve prepared well since the off-season, and I think I need to show that much more performance,” said Moon, who started individual training early this season. “I haven’t set a goal, but I’m preparing well. I’ve studied a lot and thought about how to pitch since I gained experience last year. I will continue to practice it. I just need to start,” Moon said in expressing confidence.
“In international competitions, I used to throw all my energy. I was desperate and played very few games. I did all my best,” he said. “As I represent the country, I played all my might,” he said. “As the team has a lot of games to play and relax, sometimes I relax and sometimes I don’t. I think I did it because I learned by myself based on the situation rather than thinking about it.”
Except for Moon Dong-ju, many young and promising players have been on the list. Among pitchers, Kwak Bin, second-ranked rookie Kim Taek-yeon (Dusan), blue-blooded ace Won Tae-in (Samsung Lions), Hanwha’s new star left-hander Hwang Joon-seo and left-hander Lee Eui-ri (KIA Tigers) were on the list, while among fielders, Noh Si-hwan and Kim Do-young (KIA), Kim Hye-sung (Kium), who is aiming to advance to the next major league, and genius hitter Kang Baek-ho (KT Wiz) were on the list.
While the Dodgers and the game are drawing attention as pitchers and Ohtani, or Yamamoto and Korean hitters, the match between domestic pitchers and Kim Ha-sung and domestic hitters and Ko Woo-seok is expected to be the main point in the game against San Diego.
All games of the ‘MLB World Tour Seoul Series 2024’, including four special games, will be held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
BY: 카지노사이트