Ahn Woo-jin regrets the new record of ‘Opening K’ “I should have thrown it without straining”

“It was the opening match, so I think I put in a bit of energy. It would have been much better if I relaxed a little.”

An Woo-jin (24, Kiwoom Heroes) left a mark in the history of the KBO league. He started the opening game against the Hanwha Eagles at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 1st and contributed to a 3-2 victory by recording 6 scoreless innings. What stood out more than his scoreless run was his 12 strikeouts. Last year, with 224 strikeouts, he showed a new pitch that set the record for the most strikeouts in a single season by a domestic pitcher from the opening game. An Woo-jin’s record is a new record for strikeouts in the opening game, exceeding 10 set by Joo Hyung-gwang (then Lotte Giants), Jung Min-cheol (then Hanwha), and Meryl Kelly (then SK Wyverns, current Arizona Diamondbacks).

Ahn Woo-jin, who met with reporters on the 2nd, said, “I had a strong desire to win because it was my first game,” and “I learned about the strikeout record after the game was over.메이저사이트 The fact that I wrote a record is always good, and I am really grateful.”

Even after recording 12 strikeouts, he could not become a winning pitcher. “Actually, strikeouts don’t matter. Even if he strikes out less, he thinks he is a better pitcher who throws quickly so that the defense does not get tired.”

Crisis came several times during the match. In particular, from the beginning of the first inning, unfortunate balls came out one after another, and in the crisis of the bases loaded, he faced off with Noh Si-hwan, the center batsman of Hanwha.

An Woo-jin overcame it on his own. He preempted two strikes with a breaking ball that hit the corner of the outside low strike zone, and escaped the crisis by striking out three pitches by throwing a fast fastball high as the deciding ball. After that, there were runners, but all of them overcame the crisis on their own.

An Woo-jin did not blame bad luck. He said, “The ball was hit by the bat and there were unlucky hits (to the pitcher). He threw the ball harder because he wanted to finish it with certainty, and there were more balls, so he started with difficulty from the first inning.” Then, “I was greedy for the miss swing, so I threw it hard. So, the unfavorable count increased, and the game went difficult.” “My body has been perfected since spring camp. I think it would have been much better without it.”

Of course, what made Ahn Woo-jin an ace was his talent. He has already thrown a fastball with a maximum speed of 156km/h since Whimoon High School. In the end, it is hard work and study that makes his talent come into full bloom in his professional career. It was notes and review that turned fastball pitcher An Woo-jin into an ace.

An Woo-jin said, “Two years ago, I pitched in the second game of the opening series against the Samsung Lions. At the time, he threw the slider hard and got into a full count situation. He said, in the end, he only threw about 3 innings.” Ahn Woo-jin said, “It’s a game I threw, so I always review it. I also take notes diligently,” he said. “When I throw well, I review what I wrote down. Then, where did you throw it, what kind of ball came out, and how you caught the batter,” he explained.

For An Woo-jin, the new record of 12 strikeouts is also a subject of reflection. He said, “When I was good, I didn’t throw all the balls hard. But yesterday (the 1st), I threw all the balls strongly. He looked back and said, “I think he threw it hard because he was anxious when he got a strange hit.” If he had adjusted the pace as he said, he could have been responsible for more than 7 innings with 112 pitches.