There have been many pitchers who have failed to blossom in the professional ranks despite having good pitches for nearly two decades after entering the professional ranks in 2006, and there’s no reason why Moon Dong-ju (21), the “160km Rookie of the Year,” shouldn’t be one of them, which is why Lee Jae-won (36) is whipping the future of Korean baseball even harder at the Australian camp.
When asked recently at the first spring training camp in Melbourne, Australia, Lee Jae-won said, “It was as expected. If everyone says the ball is good, I can take it,” he said tongue-in-cheek.
But that was as far as the praise went. Lee Jae-won said, “I’m telling (Moon) to be particularly greedy. “He shouldn’t just be satisfied with being a Hanwha ace, but should think about becoming an ace representing Korea, so that Hanwha and Moon Dong-ju can develop,” he said, before turning sober.
The first pick of Hanwha in the 2022 rookie draft out of Jinheung High School, Moon went 1-3 with a 5.65 ERA in 13 games in his first year, showing the qualities that would make him the leading right-handed ace in Korean baseball in his second season. 안전놀이터 In 23 games and 118⅔ innings pitched, he went 8-8 with a 3.72 ERA and was named Rookie of the Year, a once-in-a-lifetime honor at the KBO awards ceremony at the end of the season.
Moon’s presence also shined on the national team.
He was the ace of a young national team that won a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games and a runner-up finish at the Asian Professional Baseball Championships (APBC). Moon has also been named to the preliminary roster for the Korean National Team that will play in the MLB World Tour Seoul Series Special Game in March. He is expected to make the final roster barring any changes.
Moon built on his performance last year to earn the team’s No. 3 starter and homegrown ace for the 2024 season. Choi Won-ho confirmed the trio of Felix Peña, Ricardo Sanchez, and Moon before the team departed for spring training in Melbourne.
“I told (Moon) not to be just a good pitcher who wins 10 games,” said Lee Jae-won, who volunteered to be Moon’s special mentor. You have to aim higher,” he said, emphasizing that “Dong-ju has the ability to do that. He has a star quality and is very serious about baseball. He probably took my advice well. I’ve seen many cases where players at the top don’t care about the players at the bottom, and it ends up with a good ball,” he said, showing his sincere attitude toward Moon’s growth.
“The expectations for me are much higher, and there is pressure. That’s why I’m more prepared,” he said, “I have to meet the expectations this year. “This year, I have to meet the expectations, so I can play more fun baseball and show the fans fun baseball. I need to do better if Hanwha wants to be ranked higher,” he said.
Lee Jae-won signed a contract with Hanwha in December last year for an annual salary of 50 million won, extending his active career.
He was on the verge of retirement after slumping to a 2-for-1 record in 105 games with SSG in 2022 and a 9-for-1 record in 27 games last year, but he requested his release directly from the club and was called up by Hanwha, which needed to bolster its catching depth.
Hanwha recognized Lee’s wealth of experience and selected him as the backup catcher behind Choi Jae-hoon and Park Sang-un. A first-round pick of SK in 2006, Lee has a career record of 1,426 games, including three championship rings, 카지노사이트 추천 with a batting average of .277, .288, 1,087 hits, 108 home runs, and 612 RBIs.
“Hanwha has a good catcher in (Choi) Jae-hoon, and (Park) Sang-un can also make good plays if he gains experience and is not anxious on the field. If you are inexperienced, you will be anxious and make strange plays.” “I also came here to be good at baseball. We will do well together and help Hanwha become stronger,” he said, expressing his determination to rebound.