Moon Dong-ju (20, Hanwha Eagles) threw the fastest changeup in professional baseball history, but it collapsed.
Moon Dong-joo started in an away game against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 19th, and threw a 149.2 km/h changeup on the 6th pitch against LG Kim Hyun-soo in a situation with 2 out 2nd and 3rd base at the end of the 3rd inning.
This is the fastest메이저사이트 changeup velocity measured by the Pitch Tracking System (PTS) since 2014 by Sports 2I, the official record statistics company of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The previous record was 148.2 km per hour, thrown by Ko Woo-seok of LG against the KIA Tigers on April 3 last year. On this day, Moon Dong-ju also set a personal best for the slider, recording 149.3 km per hour. The league’s highest record was 150.8 km per hour, recorded by Go Woo-seok in a match against the Lotte Giants on September 23 last year.
Moon Dong-ju is already a pitcher who wrote a new history of KBO league redemption. On the 12th, in an away game against KIA held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, he threw a fastball at 160.1km per hour against Park Chan-ho at the end of the first inning. He was the first Korean pitcher to exceed 160 km/h.
He could not smile even after writing a new record. Moon Dong-ju’s record on this day was 4 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts and 3 runs in 4 innings. What is the reason why he is unable to overwhelm batters even though he uses light-speed fastballs and breaking balls?
The first thing that stands out is, of course, jegu. On this day, Moon Dong-ju threw a total of 86 pitches, half of which were balls. In the count fight, he couldn’t beat the batter, so he dragged the game hard. Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho emphasized an aggressive game before the match, but it did not work. Despite his good pitch, he caused a crisis in the 3rd and 5th innings that were not controlled. And this eventually led to failure.
The fast breaking ball also doesn’t work. The most annoying thing is the slider. He runs an average speed of 141.5 km per hour, and has a batting average of 0.368. He is only fast at speed, but he is not playing the role of catching hitters. The ‘fastest ever’ changeup is also far from a harness. His batting average this season is average at 0.250.
A fast breaking ball is not a bad thing. However, in the end, movement and control must be accompanied. The changeup, in particular, is inherently a timing stealer. The fastball and restraint sections should not overlap, but if the maximum speed of the changeup is similar to the lowest speed of the fastball, as in the game on the 19th, it can be a problem.
Of course, even if it is fast, it can be used if the movement is that large and can catch batters freely. Jacob deGrom (Texas Rangers), who is considered the best pitcher of his time in the Major League (MLB), also had a high-speed changeup as one of his main weapons. Instead, it fell at a large angle, so it was enough to overwhelm batters. However, if you can’t guarantee that much movement, it’s hard to be a high-speed changeup.
The redemption demonstrated by Moon Dong-ju is a talent that cannot be bought with money. He has little experience as a full-time pitcher, so his potential for growth is high. However, if he is a ‘prospect’ and wants to become an ‘ace’, he must use his talent as a result. The game on the 19th once again gave him homework.