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“I think it’s hard to expect him to perform normally.”
The fastest pitching pitcher in the Korean baseball team has left the team. Although the Hanwha Eagles said they needed to rest for five days to a week, baseball team coach Ryu Ji-hyun (55) made a decisive decision.
On the morning of the 6th (Korean time), the list of players participating in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was released in real time through MLB Network. Wen Dongzhu’s name is not here.
In the 2023 season, rookie Wang Wendongzhu threw a fast ball with a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour, becoming the league’s highest level starting pitcher. Last year, he completed 121 innings in 24 games, won 11, and struck out 135.
During the first training camp of the representative team held in Saipan last month, he continued to ask questions to senior pitchers such as Won Tae-in (Samsung), showing his unique efforts and attracting people’s attention. Because this is the WBC where top players are mobilized, Moon Dong-joo’s terrifyingly fast ball is more urgent than any other competition, and it is expected to play the role of an ace.
But the injuries that had been bothering her since her debut limited her hands and feet again. Hanwha’s Moon Dong-joo said, “During the pitching practice at the bullpen on the 4th, I stopped pitching due to shoulder pain.”
The deadline for submitting entries is 2pm that day. Since it is the deadline, it is very likely that entries have been submitted before then. I thought that Moon Dong-joo would of course be included in the national team roster, but it turned out to be completely wrong.
National team coach Ryu Ji-hyun explained the reason at the press conference to announce the national team roster that day. In other words, the fact that Moon Dong-joo’s physical condition was unusual was already known before news of the injury came out on the 4th.
Coach Yoo said, “The first time Hanwha contacted me was on the morning of the 30th. I originally planned to be the first to enter the alternate pitching training area, but due to poor shoulder condition, I was unable to pitch. After that, we continued to communicate about the status, and as everyone knows, I entered the 22nd alternate pitching training area on the 1st and watched a video. The pain when I first entered the alternate pitching training area gradually disappeared. I heard that you can enter the alternate pitching training area.” The worries so far seem to be unfounded.
But the injury worsened. Coach Yoo said, “The next morning is the 4th.” I originally wanted to enter the alternate pitching training area, but I was not in good condition when throwing and catching. After entering the alternate pitching training area, the pain was worse than on the 30th. In this sense, Hanwha Club is considering a schedule of at least five days to a week’s rest. “In this case, from the perspective of the representative team, based on (the first game schedule) March 5 and (the second training day) February 15, considering that the practice plan has been formulated afterwards, I think it will be a schedule that starts from scratch after about a week’s rest, so it is difficult to expect the team’s normal performance.”
Possibly postponing entry submission until the last minute as a precaution. On the morning of the 4th, after learning that Moon Dong-joo’s condition had deteriorated, other pitchers besides him submitted their participation lists.
Moon Dong-joo, who showed unusual enthusiasm, once again bowed his head due to injury. Of course, after submitting the entry list, it can also be replaced in case of injury. Wen Dongzhu is also an indispensable bargaining chip.
Despite this, Coach Ryu made a more calm judgment. With one month left until the start of the competition, if you devote a week to recovery, you may be able to join the representative team and participate in the competition. If the situation does not improve at that time, other players can be selected by replacing injuries.
However, even if there is no abnormality in the body, they still have to go through a series of processes that other players have completed long ago, and ultimately there is no time to improve to the best condition. Fortunately, except for the Korean players, all other players participated in the Saipan training camp and entered the state early.
Moon Dong-joo said: “At the moment, I just want to focus on recovery. According to Hanwha Club, Moon Dong-joo will temporarily return to China on the same day. After completing the hospital treatment on the 7th, he will board a plane to Australia again on the 8th.” A source from Hanwha explained: “The original plan was to observe the status and undergo medical treatment before joining Okinawa (summer camp), but due to the Spring Festival holiday, it was decided to conduct medical treatment in advance. “
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*This content is generated by AI translation.
