“Is this what I threw?”
This is a word from 19-year-old Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha). At 160.1 km/h, it took only 0.41 seconds to get stuck in the catcher’s mitt. The first record of a domestic player in the history of the KBO League came yesterday (12th) in the Hanwha: KIA match. The ball thrown against Park Chan-ho in the first inning recorded 160.1 km/h. It also broke the 11-year-old highest restraint record (Lotte’s maximum speed of 158.7 km/h).
Today (13th), I went to Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, where the Hanwha:KIA game was held, and asked the secret directly. Moon Dong-joo said, “I didn’t expect a ball like that to come out, but he was surprised.” Although he used more strength than usual, he did not expect to overcome the ‘restriction of dreams’.메이저놀이터
Moon Dong-ju joined Hanwha with the first nomination in the 2022 rookie draft. Last year’s highest speed was 154.9 km/h.
In the first start of the year, he recorded 156.2 km/h, and in the second start, he set a historic record. Moon Dong-joo said, “Last year, he just threw without thinking. He feels that he has to fight with the hitter this year.” He is 188 cm and 98 kg. Throwing with the whole body, not with the arms, is considered the secret to the light speed ball.
Jose Rosado, the Hanwha pitching coach, praised him as “a player who seems to have no limits once he gains experience.”
Last month, the average speed of WBC Korean pitchers ranked 16th out of 20 countries.
Now we have a pitcher to be proud of. When asked about his future goal, Moon Dong-ju replied, “Throwing a ball at 160 km/h was my goal in life, but I think I’ve achieved it, so I think I need to set my next goal slowly.”