On the day of the crushing defeat of 0-17, Hanwha laughed at the good news that came from Hangzhou, China. Hanwha’s future is also brightened as ace Moon Dong-ju (20) and home run king Noh Si-hwan (23) receive military service benefits for winning gold medals in the Asian Games. The long dark period has ended and the foundation for a new era of prosperity has been laid. 메이저놀이터
Hanwha suffered a crushing 0-17 loss against Suwon KT on the 7th. The mound was hit with the most runs of the season, with foreign pitcher Felix Peña collapsing with 6 runs in 3⅓ innings. Following Peña, the bullpen including Han Seung-ju (2 runs in ⅔ innings), Yun-cheol Park (6 runs in 1⅓ innings), and Hee-un Ryu (3 runs in 1⅔ innings) also collapsed, giving up 17 hits.
The batting line was also blocked with 5 sporadic hits, unable to score even a single point, and was extremely lethargic in two-bats. 9th place Hanwha, which recently suffered 3 consecutive losses and now has 56 wins, 76 losses, 6 draws, is 2 games behind 10th place Kiwoom (57 wins, 81 losses, 3 draws) as the gap with 8th place Samsung (60 wins, 78 losses, 1 draw) widened to 1 game. We were chased due to the difference in the game. We are in a position where we cannot be assured of being eliminated from last place until the end of the season.
Although they suffered their worst defeat of the season, the good news that Hanwha had been waiting for was delivered after the game. Korea won the gold medal by beating Taiwan 2-0 in the baseball finals of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China. Hanwha’s current national team includes pitcher Moon Dong-ju and infielder Noh Si-hwan.
Noh Si-hwan, who was drafted as the second overall pick in the second round in 2019, is a right-handed slugger that Hanwha has patiently fostered in the first team since his first year of debut. He is first in home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage this season. Moon Dong-ju, who was selected by Hanwha as the first national pick last year, is a native ace who was raised with great care by thoroughly managing innings at the club level and is the top candidate for Rookie of the Year this season. The product of Hanwha’s nurturing and management, which looked to the future even in painful dark times, led to a gold medal at the Asian Games.
Starting pitcher Moon Dong-ju was the losing pitcher in the group stage match against Taiwan on the 2nd, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 4 innings, but in the rematch held 5 days later, he overwhelmed Taiwan with 3 hits, no walks, 7 strikeouts, and no runs in 6 innings. He became a winning pitcher. It was a finals game with no backs, it was a game with more pressure than ever, but I didn’t feel intimidated at all. He showed off the aspect of a ‘big game pitcher’, dominating the game by hitting fastballs in the 160km range where he wanted them. The coronation ceremony was successfully held as the new ace of the national team.
Noh Si-hwan, the 4th batter, was silent in the final on this day with no hits in 3 at-bats, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts, but he recorded a batting average of .4338 (7 hits in 16 at-bats) and 6 RBIs in 6 games in this tournament. He got 7 walks and had an on-base percentage of .609. Although he didn’t have his trademark home runs, he did hit two doubles. Throughout the tournament, the national team’s batting lineup was in a slump and they were under intensive control, but they remained unwavering and maintained their balance. In particular, in Japan’s Super Round on the 5th, he played a big role in advancing to the finals by scoring the team’s 2 points alone with a sacrifice fly and a timely hit.
19 of the 24 players on the national baseball team have not completed their military service, but this gold medal earned them a year and a half of military service benefits. Moon Dong-ju and Noh Si-hwan were also able to continue their careers without the gap between military service. Although it was a huge personal benefit, Hanwha also benefited greatly by being able to share in the two players’ prime years in their 20s without missing a single moment.
Hanwha, which has been going through a long dark period with only one fall baseball game in the past 16 years, has reached the end of a difficult rebuilding process. Moon Dong-ju and Noh Si-hwan, who achieved success through a painful process, grew into ace and fourth hitter respectively and established themselves as two-hitting pillars. They have a bright future by securing a variety of top prospects as top draft picks, including pitchers Kim Seo-hyun and Hwang Jun-seo, catcher Heo In-seo, and infielder Moon Hyun-bin.
Hanwha, which dreams of becoming a top-five contender next year, is planning a full-fledged presidential bid starting in 2025 when a new baseball stadium is built. Moon Dong-ju and Noh Si-hwan, who are the core of the core, must stand at the center of the two-hitting pitch. Thanks to the two players’ military service benefits, Hanwha’s 10-year plan is coming together nicely.