Professional baseball is going through the era of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and moving toward the era of 8 million spectators again. Fierce competition among rising stars is also a factor that ignites box office success.카지노
This season, rookies with outstanding skills are attracting attention. In addition, after going through trial and error in the early stage of their debut, even middle-aged and newcomers who are showing terrifying growth are joining in a fierce competition.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) grants Rookie of the Year qualifications to players who have played less than 30 innings for a pitcher and less than 60 at-bats as a batter within 5 years, excluding the year of the year.
160km Moon Dong-ju VS Blade Control Yoon Young-chul… Interest in 180-degree different styles is growing
Among them, it is the two pitchers with completely different tendencies that are receiving the most attention. Moon Dong-joo (20, Hanwha Eagles), who throws fiery balls at speeds of up to 160 km per hour, and Yun Young-cheol (19, KIA Tigers), who is opening an era of success with the ‘aesthetics of slowness’ equipped with control.
Moon Dong-ju, who made his debut last year, has played 28⅔ innings due to injuries and ups and downs, and is qualified as the rookie of the year this season. Moon Dong-ju, who has already officially recorded a 160km velocity this season, boasts a fastball and a sharp breaking ball, and is 6-6 with an ERA of 3.47 in 16 games, firmly maintaining a spot in Hanwha’s starting rotation.
High school rookie Yoon Yeong-cheol is a completely different type from Moon Dong-ju, so he is more colorful. According to Statties, a website specializing in baseball statistics, Yoon Young-chul’s average speed with his fastball this season was 138.1 km. It shows a difference of more than 10 km from Dong-ju Moon (152.2 km).
Nevertheless, Yoon Young-cheol is dominating KBO league hitters with excellent control, high-quality breaking ball, and deception action that hides the ball. Yoo Hee-gwan (retired), who won 101 career wins, is an overlapping type of pitcher. He is 5-4 with a 4.08 ERA in 14 games this season.
There are just variables. Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho sets a season inning limit for Moon Dong-ju. He is also selected for the Hangzhou Asian Games national team, and plans to manage them so that they do not exceed 130 innings. Currently, he has digested 83 innings and plans to digest up to 120 innings based on the league, so it seems that there are about 7 or 8 chances left.
On the other hand, Yoon Young-cheol was excluded from the Asian Games national team and there are no special restrictions on innings. Yoon Young-cheol could have an advantage by having more opportunities. Moon Dong-ju, who does not have many opportunities, can be said to enter the realm of stable rookie awards if he adds 4 wins and achieves 10 wins in the remaining period.
There are also Kim Dong-ju chasing, and reliever pitchers Park Myeong-geun and Choi Ji-min.
Kim Dong-ju (22, Doosan Bears), who joined in 2021, is also still eligible for the rookie award. Having secured a starting spot from the start, he is fighting well with 2 wins, 4 losses and 3.31 ERA in 11 games. He has good enough performance, but due to the ups and downs in the middle of the season, he has been going to Futures (2nd team) and is somewhat behind in cumulative stats.
Moon Dong-ju also does not participate in the Asian Games, so there are many opportunities to make up for it like Yoon Young-chul. The variable is how consistently he pitches in the second half. After returning to the first team in July and allowing 2 runs in 4⅓ innings, prospects are likely to be mixed depending on how he opens the start of the second half.
In the 13 seasons since 2010, only two bullpen pitchers have won the Rookie of the Year award. Hitters who played every day, and then starting pitchers who were sure of their chances were more favorable.
However, the recent trend has been slightly different. Jung Woo-young (LG Twins) in 2019 and Jung Cheol-won (Doosan) last year became the brightest morning stars by making great strides as bullpen pitchers.
Park Myeong-geun (19, LG) is also a pitcher who raises expectations. As a submarine pitcher, he showed remarkable results in the first half with 4 wins, 5 saves and 5 holds with an ERA of 3.25. His batting average was only 0.220. Park Myung-geun, who has established himself as LG’s winning team, led LG’s lead by throwing balls that were difficult to attack.
The KIA Tigers, who were on the rise at the end of the first half, were able to gain more momentum thanks to the presence of left-handed pitcher Choi Ji-min (20), who debuted last year. A left-handed fireballer, he was very active with 3 wins, 2 losses, 3 saves, 6 holds, and an ERA of 1.70, even wearing the Taegeuk mark. However, within the limitations of being a bullpen pitcher, it seems that he can aim for the award only when he has something that shows numbers more clearly.
There is also Yoon Dong-hee, who led the rise of Lotte, and Kim Dong-heon, a national catcher.
Among the batters, the one who stood out the most was Yoon Dong-hee (20), who emerged as one of the outfield axes of the Lotte Giants. Having increased his opportunities in earnest from the end of April, he finished the first half with a batting average of 0.321 (60 hits in 187 at-bats), although he failed to fill the required number of at-bats.
Since it is only a matter of time to enter the regular at-bat, the variable is how well he maintains his current pace. Since he was picking up the pace with a batting average of 0.345 in July, attention is focused on how to start the second half.
Kim Dong-heon, who will also participate in the Asian Games, is recording a batting average of 0.237. If he raises his batting pace a little more, he will be able to enter the competition for the rookie award in earnest.
Lotte 1st round rookie Kim Min-seok (19) and Hanwha high school rookie Moon Hyun-bin (19) cannot be left out. The two played in 70 and 73 games, respectively, recording batting averages of 0.260 and 0.250. Kim Min-seok, who scored 56 hits, is on pace to challenge 100 hits. His quick feet are also a strong point, as he recorded 11 stolen bases. Like Kim Min-seok, he was also a rookie beast who was the only one who filled the required at-bat in the first half. One of his clear advantages is that he can handle not only center field but also infield defense.