“Even if I tried not to be conscious, I think I was conscious of Kim Do-young.”
Moon Dong-ju, a top-class prospect that the 먹튀검증 Hanwha Eagles are proud of, recorded 5 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts in 5 innings against the KIA Tigers in Gwangju on the 27th, and saw the bitter taste of his 8th loss of the season.
His start was perfect. At the end of the first inning, KIA Park Chan-ho, Kim Do-young, and Na Seong-beom, at the end of the second inning, Choi Hyung-woo, Socrates, and Kim Seon-bin, and at the end of the third inning, Byun Woo-hyeok, Han Jun-su, and Choi Won-joon were caught in a three-way retreat and took the lead in the early stages.
Hanwha’s batting line also worked hard. After one out in the first inning, Kim Tae-yeon hit a solo homer to take the lead, and in the top of the 3rd inning, with 1 out and 1st and 3rd base, an RBI and an outfield sacrifice fly added one more run, giving Moon Dong-ju a 2-0 lead.
However, Moon Dong-ju struggled against the KIA lineup from the bottom of the 4th inning. After sending lead batter Park Chan-ho to first base with a heavy hit, Kim Do-young reached base with a walk after a full count match, causing a crisis with safe first and second bases. He struck out Na Seong-beom and sighed, but gave a four ball to Choi Hyeong-woo, making the situation worse with one out and a full base. Afterwards, Kim Seon-bin allowed 2 RBIs and timely hits with 2 bases loaded, and the score was tied 2-2.
Moon Dong-ju lowered his head again in the bottom of the 6th inning. After consecutive hits from lead batters Kim Do-young and Na Seong-beom, he gave up two RBI doubles to Choi Hyung-woo, turning the game over to 2-4.
The Hanwha bench, which was in a 5-game losing streak, pitched the game by replacing the pitcher with Kim Bum-soo, but Kim Bum-soo allowed Kim Tae-goon an RBI sacrificial fly with one out and bases loaded, widening the score to 2-5. Moon Dong-ju’s successor, Choi Hyung-woo, scored, and Moon Dong-ju’s own score increased to 5 points.
Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho mentioned a match with Kim Do-young as the lead batter in the bottom of the 6th inning due to Moon Dong-joo’s defeat in the KIA match. It is believed that Mun Jong-du, who did not want to lose in a game with his classmate, who had competed in good faith since his amateur days, was shaken after being hit by Kim Do-young.
In the summer of 2021, when Moon Dong-ju and Gwangju Jinheung High School and Kim Do-young were in the third year of Gwangju Dongseong High School, their future was a matter of interest among baseball fans. KIA, a team related to the region, was in a happy agonizing over which of the two to pick in the 2022 rookie first nomination.
KIA recruited Kim Do-young as the first nomination after much thought. Among Dong-ju Moon, a ‘super high school pitcher’ who throws fastballs in the mid-150km range, and Do-young Kim, a genius shortstop who was evaluated as ‘the second Jong-beom Lee’, Do-young Kim was put on the Tigers uniform with the judgment that strengthening the infield came first.
Moon Dong-ju and Kim Do-young, who are in their second year as pros, are growing step by step. Moon Dong-ju showed the potential to become a top-class starting pitcher with an average ERA of 3.62 in 22 games, 8-8, while rotating his first full-time starting rotation. Kim Do-young became an indispensable presence in the KIA line-up with a batting average of 0.300 (54 hits in 180 bats), 2 homers, 21 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.796 in 44 games despite suffering an injury right after the opening.
Immediately after the cancellation of the rain against the Lotte Giants in Daejeon on the 30th, coach Choi Won-ho said, “Dong-ju Moon would have been conscious even if he tried not to be conscious during the start last Sunday (27th).” I started off well, and in the full count, I was concerned about the walk, but the ball was driven into the middle.”
“It was a case where Dong-ju Moon collapsed at the end of the 6th inning as Do-young Kim hit and went out, but Dong-ju Moon has improved a lot,” he said. When I was pushed back, I couldn’t just match the starting rotation to Moon Dong-ju.”
Meanwhile, Moon Dong-ju will finish the regular season of the 2023 season with the last start against the LG Twins on September 3. Moon Dong-joo enters the rest period before his teammates in accordance with the club policy of managing around 120 innings this year.
However, Moon Dong-ju does not just rest. Moon Dong-ju will participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games in September with the Taegeuk mark. In Seosan, where the Hanwha 2nd Army training ground is located, he plans to adjust his condition through training and pitching in practice games until the Asian Games team is summoned.