Moon Dong-ju (20, Hanwha Eagles), the “fastest pitcher” in KBO league history, is experiencing growing pains. It is because of the ‘uncontrollable’ light speed ball.
Moon Dong-ju started the game against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 19th and scored 3 runs in 4 innings and became the losing pitcher. At the beginning of the season, he continued his good pitching by recording the fastest pitch ever (160.1 km per hour) by a domestic pitcher in professional baseball, but he has been sluggish recently. Since the NC Dinos match on April 30, when he returned from a break, he has 1 win, 3 losses and an ERA of 7.79 in 4 games.
It’s not that the pitch is falling. Still, the highest speed of the fastball is around 159 km per hour, and the slider and changeup exceed the maximum speed of 149 km per hour. But the result is not good. There are many cases where the zero point fluctuates during the game, and mismatches are beaten.
It is because Jegu Nanjo is too conscious of corner work. There is also an argument that the fast ball hits because it is paradoxically too fast. Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho, who met with reporters on the 20th, explained, “The changeup comes up to the middle of the 140km per hour range. I talked to Dongju.
Director Choi Won-ho said, “So I told them to throw it with the same pitching form as if they were throwing a slow ball. I did the same in the early 2000s, when the changeup was first popular. I learned from American instructors. I threw it like a slow ball, so batters swung wrong.” ‘s slider or changeup can get caught in the bat at the timing of the fastball. If it goes into the manned ball, it’s powerful, but if it goes into the strike zone, it hits.”
The sense of controlling the speed of the breaking ball eventually leads to Moon Dong-joo’s short career as a pitcher. Having a large physique late in life, he only established himself as a full-time pitcher in his second year at Gwangju Jinheung High School. Some changing balls, such as the changeup, came to the pros and were installed or corrected.먹튀검증
On the contrary, the numbers shown by velocity also limit the pitcher’s psychology and choices. The speed is fast, so it makes you feel that you only need to throw quickly and strongly. Manager Choi Won-ho said, “Dong-ju just needs to digest the rotation in a healthy way this year. It will be much better after 2-3 years. When the condition is bad, there will be a trick to catch the hitter.” “Now I only do power pitching. Pitchers often lose sensation in their hands.
This is in line with the experience of Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom Heroes). Ahn Woo-jin also struggled to throw hard in 2021, and struggled. He threw a breaking ball hard to avoid being hit, and the ball slipped out of the strike zone. After trial and error, Ahn Woo-jin was reborn as a complete ace who even controlled the speed of the breaking ball.
I have another role model. That is the ‘Korean Express’ Park Chan-ho. Director Choi Won-ho, who was the same age as Park Chan-ho in the class of 1992, said, “Park Chan-ho was like Dongju. I had good control until high school, but when I went to college, my speed increased, so I hit the back net when pitching (I couldn’t control it).” I couldn’t control myself. At that time, I was in my first year of college, so in terms of age, I was similar to Moon Dong-ju.”
Manager Choi Won-ho believes that a pitcher’s prime comes in his mid-twenties. He said, “It was not good when Chan-ho first went to the United States. Even when he reached the top speed of 160 km, he did not get his ball. As he accumulated experience, he got his ball, and the late 90s was his heyday.” We met, but the ball was really good. Nana and coach Kim Won-hyung tried not to throw it from the side (for fear of being compared). After facing Chan-ho Park, the Taiwanese players said, “It was like shooting a gun.” It will be much better if you have it. By the time you are in your mid-twenties, you might be able to become the best pitcher in Korea.”