“I know how difficult it is to not be able to play baseball because I am sick.”
The first spring camp I dreamed of, but ended with an injury. Such was the beginning of the 2022 season for Moon Dong-ju, the future of the Hanwha Eagles and the future of Korean baseball. Is that why? Ahead of the second spring camp, he emphasized only one thing. It just didn’t hurt.
Moon Dong-ju suffered an internal oblique injury at the end of the spring camp held ahead of the 2022 season. It was very unfortunate news because it was a time when he threw a whopping 155km in bullpen pitching and raised expectations. Because of this, Moon Dong-ju’s call-up to the first team was delayed until May, and he had to work as a bullpen pitcher for a while.
Moon Dong-ju, ahead of the second spring camp, focused on building a strong body, probably knowing the pain of the past. He also revealed his extraordinary determination, saying, “I know the difficulty of not being able to play baseball because I am sick.”
In a phone interview with MK Sports, Moon Dong-ju said, “It was the first off-season starting from scratch, so I tried to build a good body. I think I made it well,” he said. “I worked out at the training center I used to go to often since high school, and I’m in good shape now. I threw mainly catch balls, but I didn’t check the speed.”
“Last year, I was sick, so I couldn’t even keep up with the spring camp. I remember that I couldn’t even do the exercises that other players did properly. So this year, I tried to prepare well so as not to get sick. I think it will be fun because I am going to spring camp in a prepared situation.”
Throughout the phone call, the word ‘injury’ never stopped in Moon Dong-ju’s mouth. It was natural to know that his memory in his first spring camp was not good. He was also injured during the season and rested again, so it was only natural.
Moon Dong-ju said, “The most important thing is not to get sick. So the 2023 season didn’t even set a goal. If you don’t get sick, the goal will come by itself. He did well in the program to build an injury-free body, such as weight training and core training. Now I don’t have to be sick,” he emphasized.
He said, “I am well aware of the difficulty of not being able to play baseball because I am sick. The time from resting to finding a sense when throwing the ball was really difficult. It was difficult to balance because my senses were coming and going. As much as I felt it with my skin last year, I know very well that it is difficult to get hurt again.”
Overseas training after a long time since the era of Corona 19. For Moon Dong-ju, it is also the first overseas field training that he welcomes as a pro. He has to live abroad for a long time until early March, via Arizona, USA, to Okinawa, Japan. 토토사이트
Moon Dong-ju said, “Even when I went to Mexico (the U23 World Baseball Championship), I hadn’t been abroad for this long. He said, “Because it was before leaving the country, I only trimmed my hair and did not prepare anything else.”
Moon Dong-ju, who did not complete 30 innings in the 2022 season, maintained his eligibility for the rookie award. For him, spring camp is the starting point for the Rookie of the Year award. If he can reconfirm his talent as a starting pitcher through the spring camp, which he showed in September of last year, the possibility of becoming a reality is very high.
However, Moon Dong-ju did not mention his rookie award itself. He said, “I haven’t shown anything. So, the goal is to prepare well from the spring camp and show the (expected) side of me. I’m not aiming for the rookie award. I have only one goal. It doesn’t hurt,” he concluded the interview.