An unusually busy winter. Moon Dong-ju (20-Hanwha Eagles) smiles wryly at the “loot” that is piling up.
After joining the Hanwha Eagles as the first overall pick in the 2022 draft, Moon went 1-3 with two saves and a 5.65 ERA in 28⅔ innings in 13 games in his first year. Pitcher Rookie of the Year eligibility is limited to players who were drafted within the last five years and have pitched 30 innings or less.
Moon entered the season with Rookie of the Year eligibility intact and finished the year with an 8-8 record and a 3.72 ERA in 23 games. His performance continued on the international level. At the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, he went 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in two games, and at the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) 2023 after the season, he pitched 5⅔ innings with five strikeouts and two runs against Australia.
In addition to being named the KBO Rookie of the Year, Moon was also recognized as the Rookie of the Year by the Korea Baseball Organization’s OB on Aug. 8. It was his sixth Rookie of the Year award in six different ceremonies.
It has been 17 years since Hanwha had a rookie of the year since Ryu Hyun-jin in 2006.
“I’ve run out of awards,” Moon said, 먹튀검증 laughing, “I think I’ve won all the awards I’m going to get this year.”
The Hanwha team gave Moon special treatment.
In line with the “Prince of Daejeon” concept, the team prepared products and events to commemorate the rookie award. The commemorative products, “Treasures of the Daejeon Prince,” include a jersey, a commemorative ball, a ring, a medal, and a photocard. The commemorative uniform was designed and planned by Moon himself. The commemorative baseball was hand-printed with Moon’s symbol, a fastball grip.
From the 29th to the 5th of last month, a pop-up exhibition with the concept of ‘Daejeon Prince’s Room’ was held on the 1st floor of Hanwha Galleria Time World in Daejeon.
The pop-up exhibition featured a large framed photo of Moon Dong-joo.
‘Prince of Daejeon’ was a huge hit. The commemorative products sold more than 200 million won on the first day, making it the highest-selling commemorative product in the club’s history in a single day. More than 10,000 people visited the store right after it opened, causing the server to crash for more than an hour.
Moon Dong-ju’s autograph session on the first day of the pop-up attracted more than 1,000 fans and citizens.
When asked about the large picture frame, 토토사이트 Moon said, “It was a big deal, and I was embarrassed,” adding, “The pop-up store is over, and if you’re going to get rid of it (the large picture frame), I hope you’ll give it to me. I want to hang it up when I move to a bigger house later.”
It was an embarrassing but honorable moment for Moon. “I think people who don’t know me can search for me one more time, and people who don’t know baseball or don’t know the team can search for me. I’m happy, but I think I did something good for my team. I think I did something good for baseball,” he says with a smile.
Trophies from various awards and large photo frames. “I’ve been collecting baseball-related things since I was a kid,” says Moon. I feel like I’m getting closer to my dream,” he said.
“I’m going to start working out soon,” he said, “and rather than aiming for a title next year, I’ll set a new goal and try to achieve it as much as possible.”