“It’s not a big deal if you’re not the rookie king.”

KIA Smile Guy Yoon Young-cheol (19) needs a new nickname: ‘Smart Guy’. When we met before the Busan Lotte game on the 13th, I sneakily brought up the subject of the Rookie of the Year. Yoon is definitely a contender for Rookie of the Year.

In 17 games this season, he has a 7-4 record with a 4.13 ERA. His ERA increased slightly after he took the loss against the Busan Lotte on Wednesday, giving up five runs on eight hits with three walks and one strikeout in 4.2 innings. That’s a 0.261 BABIP, a 1.35 WHIP, and six quality starts. It’s a mediocre record. But for a high school freshman to put up those numbers while staying injury-free and consistently making five starts, it’s a strong showing.

In normal years, this would be enough to push him to the front of the Rookie of the Year race. However, this season, there is a huge ‘middle-aged rookie’ who is overwhelmingly dominating in terms of performance and topicality. This is Hanwha’s fastball right-hander Moon Dong-ju (20). It’s awkward to label Moon Dong-ju as a mid-level rookie, but he’s in his second year, so he’s not a pure rookie.

There’s usually a premium on pure rookies, but Moon’s performance this year has overwhelmed that. In 20 games, he’s 7-7 with a 3.28 ERA. He has a .234 batting average, a 1.22 WHIP, and seven quality starts. His numbers are similar to Yoon’s. However, his ERA has widened slightly recently.

Since June 13 against Lotte (2.2 innings, 9 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 6 runs), Moon has allowed 2 runs or less in 8 of 9 games. He’s a five-starter, but a three-starter. In terms of his weight on the team, he has the edge over the other rookies. Manager Choi Won-ho also praised Moon, saying that he’s getting better at the things a starting pitcher needs to do, such as running his game and mixing his pitches.

In addition, his 159-kilometer fastball is the talk of the town. The general consensus is that he is better than Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom) in his second year, and it is only a matter of time before he becomes the best pitcher in the KBO. For Hanwha, it’s a chance to produce another big-time homegrown ace after Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays).

But he also has good character, a mature mindset that says his development as a starting pitcher is more important than redemption, and even good looks. Moon has already become a signature star for Hanwha, becoming the team’s number one jersey seller. Considering these aspects, Moon’s impact has been greater than that of other rookies such as Yoon Young-cheol.

Yoon didn’t comment on Moon directly. However, he nodded that he was aware of Moon’s popularity. With a characteristic smile, he said, “I think it’s worse because I’m greedy. The new king has given up.”

What he said next was a masterpiece. “It’s not a big deal if you’re not the rookie king,” he said. When I said, “It’s more important to have a long run as a good player than a rookie king,” he agreed and said, “That’s right.” In real life, Yoon Young-chul does a lot of constructive thinking to become a better pitcher than a rookie.

He has begun to adjust his characteristic lower body ‘twitch’ just before his arm swing, and is also working on his curveball, which he rarely utilizes in practice. SBS Sports commentator Lee Soon-cheol’s early-season advice to slow down the timing of his glove-arm separation (he recommends pulling his arm back for a long time to gather power) was also something he had heard in high school, showing the potential for change. He even said that since he and Han Joon-soo work together most of the time, “it’s good that we can prepare each other more.”메이저사이트

Yoon Young-chul is a good enough rookie. I’ve made up my mind about the rookie king, but I don’t know why he’s not greedy. He seems to be using mind control on himself. His smiling face is attractive, but underneath the smile, he is fiercely studying and thinking about baseball. He is not an ordinary rookie.