A bold newcomer’s hit notice → Woo-jin An, who promised strikeouts and a fastball for the first ball, “I’m sorry” for the first ball slider
Ace pitcher Ahn Woo-jin of Kiwoom Heroes showed off his best pitching at the home opening game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League regular season against the Hanwha Eagles held at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 1st.
Ahn Woo-jin recorded 5 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts and no runs in 6 innings. He was shaken for a while in the beginning, but from the 3rd to the 6th inning, he gave up only 2 hits and 1 walk, putting the Hanwha batting line to rest.
In addition, the 12 strikeouts are also a new record for the most strikeouts in the opening game of the KBO League. He surpassed the previous record of 10 by two more.
However, An Woo-jin also had something to say he was sorry for. It is that he failed to keep his promise (?) with Hanwha rookie Moon Hyun-bin.
Their story is like this. Moon Hyun-bin won the Baek In-cheon Award at the 2022 Korea Professional Baseball Retirement Players Day Ceremony. And in his acceptance speech, he chose Ahn Woo-jin as the player he most wants to face in the professional world. In response, Woo-jin Ahn declared, “I will strike out with a fastball for the first pitch in the first at-bat.” Moon Hyun-bin replied, “There is a high possibility of strikeouts, but I will try my best to hit.” 메이저사이트
However, An Woo-jin failed to keep his promise (?). He struck out with a 155km fastball in his first at-bat with Moon Hyun-bin in the second inning, but his first pitch was a slider. He chose the safest pitch possible in a crisis situation with 1st and 2nd base safe.
An Woo-jin, whom we met at Gocheok on the 2nd, smiled and said, “I have nothing to say. He’s a good hitter, and wasn’t he good during the demonstration game as well? He kept thinking about it, but he couldn’t afford it… . Under the circumstances, he would have thrown a fastball. I’m sorry,” he said.
At the same time, it is Ahn Woo-jin who praised Moon Hyun-bin. He said, “I struck out in the first confrontation, but showed persistence in the second at-bat. He probably threw a changeup for the first time, and he got it right. Although he caught it with a floating ball,” he looked at.