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Apr 28 2024

Moon Dong-ju, was your performance a mirage last y

Moon Dong-joo started the 2024 Shinhan SOL BANK KBO League Doosan Bears home game at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon at 2 p.m. on the 28th and threw 75 pitches in 3.1 innings, showing poor performance with 9 runs and 10 hits (three homers) and two outs and one strikeout.

As a result, Moon's ERA for the season rose from 6.56 to 8.78. Hanwha lost to Doosan 8-17 amid Moon's slump.

Prior to the game, Moon played in five games and failed to display satisfactory performance with a record of one win and one loss and an ERA of 6.56. He lost points in every game and has never exceeded five innings.

He also felt uneasy early in the game. In the top of the first inning, leadoff hitter Jung Soo-bin had a big hit and a hit that hit Heo Kyung-min, causing a crisis with no outs and runners on the first and second bases. Afterwards, Yang Eui-ji's follow-up hit deflected off pitcher Moon Dong-ju's glove, and the runners on the first and second bases successfully advanced to the second base.

With runners on the second and third bases with one out, Moon gave up three runs in an instant after hitting Kim Jae-hwan's three-run homer to the left. Yang Seok-hwan's back-to-back homerun was also hit. Moon failed to stabilize himself, and gave up five runs in the first inning alone for Cho's sacrifice fly.

He had the worst first inning, but the second and third innings were different. He seemed to regain stability by finishing two consecutive innings without allowing a run.

However, he failed to pass the fourth inning. He allowed a surprise bunt to leadoff hitter Cho Seung-soo to get runners on base. Cho's steal and Jung Soo-bin's surprise bunt made it to the third base with one out, and Heo Kyung-min had a timely hit.

Moon's crisis continued. He gave up a hit that missed Yang Eui-ji, and faced a crisis with runners at the first and second bases with one out. Then, Kim Jae-hwan, who allowed a home run in the bottom of the first inning, gave up another home run and hesitated. In the end, Moon finished the game as right-handed Jang Ji-soo was replaced. He allowed nine runs in 3.1 innings, the most in a game. The previous record was seven runs (2.1 innings) against SSG Landers on May 13 last year.

Moon, who has been struggling throughout the season, has seen his ball speed drop as expected. In a match against the Kia Tigers in Gwangju in April last year, Moon threw a fastball of 160 kilometers per hour (based on PTS) to become the first Korean player to break the barrier of 160 kilometers per hour.

However, Moon's average speed in this season was 149.5 kilometers per hour (based on the statistics), down about 1.5 kilometers from 151.6 kilometers per hour last year. In the same game, Moon also recorded a maximum speed of 157 kilometers per hour, but his average speed remained at 150 kilometers. His breaking balls were flat and his control was not stable.

Last year, Moon won the Rookie of the Year award with eight wins and eight losses and an earned run average of 3.72. He also participated in international competitions such as the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) and was regarded as an ace player in Korean baseball beyond Hanwha.

However, his performance so far has not been good enough to make him forget all his performances last year. As Moon's slump gets longer, Hanwha's agony is expected to deepen.