I guarantee that within 3 years, our team will have the most national team players.”
Hanwha captain Jung Woo-ram said at the KBO Media Day in March. Hanwha is the only team out of 10 that failed to produce a World Baseball Classic (WBC) representative player. It was the cold reality of a team that was in last place for three consecutive years, but Jung Woo-ram said, “There are so many players who will go to the Asian Games. (2024) There is also a newcomer to be selected as the first overall… He mentioned the names of his juniors one by one.메이저놀이터
At that time, infielder Roh Si-hwan (23) and pitcher Moon Dong-ju (20), who were the candidates Jung Woo-ram mentioned, were included in the final 24 entries for the Hangzhou Asian Games to be held in September. There was a rule that each team had to select at least one person, but Hanwha had two. Jang Hyeon-seok (19, Yongmago), the only amateur player selected, is also counted as three, as it is highly likely that Hanwha, who has the first overall pick, will pick it.
On the 9th, when the final entry was announced, Noh Si-hwan, who met with reporters ahead of the Daejeon LG match, said, “I came to the pro and put the Taegeuk mark for the first time. He’s been dreaming of since he was little, so I’m really looking forward to it. I will take responsibility,” he said. “It is to represent the country, but it is also to carry the name Hanwha Eagles. Personally, I was a bit ashamed and angry because not a single player from our team was able to attend the WBC. I think it will be an opportunity to let people know that there are players like this in Hanwha along with Dongju.”
Moon Dong-ju, who was mentioned as one of the candidates for the WBC national team preliminary entry, said, “At that time, I did not show much. Even now, what I showed wasn’t great, but now I have confidence in my performance. I have no choice but to prepare better,” he said. “It is nice to go with Sihwan. I will work hard like my brother.”
The selection process for both players was not easy. Noh Si-hwan showed off the league’s top batting power from the opening of April until mid-May, but suddenly fell into a no-hitter in 43 consecutive at-bats. Moon Dong-ju also had a good start in April, but was struggling, failing to make it past the 5th inning in the last 3 games in May.
Noh Si-hwan said, “At the start of the season, I wasn’t conscious of the national team at all. Even after the start of the season, he tried to focus on the team as much as possible (announcement of the representative player), but as the date approached, he began to think little by little. From the beginning of the season, I thought I showed as much as possible, but I felt sorry for the team (during the 43 at-bats without a hit), and I thought about whether it would affect the Asian Games.”
Moon Dong-ju also said, “I didn’t think much about the national team because it was bad in May, but I feel good when I was selected when I was throwing well (from June). I think I was able to produce good results because I had a good season. I feel proud that I have achieved my goal,” he said. “It is a good opportunity to be with seniors from other teams. Rather than learning one thing, I want to become close and learn a lot.”
It is expected that the performance of the two players who have relieved the psychological burden by the final selection of the national team will improve for the rest of the season. Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho said of the two players, “It will feel good. I guess I couldn’t not care about the national team during that time. There were periods when both were not good. From now on, I will be able to do it a little more comfortably.”
Roh Si-hwan, who recorded 2 hits in 5 at-bats against LG that day, even scored a finishing point in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 outs on 1st and 3rd base when opposing pitcher Go Woo-seok threw a wild throw. In the defense of third base, he led the team to victory with agile play in offense and defense, such as catching Park Dong-won’s assault ball with a short bound on second and third base safely in the sixth inning and catching the third base runner with a rundown