Hanwha Moon Dong-ju exceeded 160 km/h
The official measured speed is a whopping 160.1 km.
Hanwha Eagles right-hander Moon Dong-ju (20) rewrote the history of the KBO League. On the 12th, he started in an away game against the KIA Tigers held at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field and threw a fastball that exceeded 160 km/h at the end of the first inning.
Moon Dong-ju, who joined Hanwha in the first round of the 2022 rookie draft, started the regular season as a starting pitcher this season. On the 6th, his first appearance of the season, he reported his first win of the season with 5 scoreless innings against Daegu Samsung Lions, and after taking a break for 5 days, he started again against Gwangju KIA. 먹튀검증
From the end of the first inning, Moon Dong-joo overwhelmed the KIA batters with a powerful pitch. After striking out No. 1 hitter Ryu Ji-hyeok in four pitches, he also struck out No. 2 hitter Park Chan-ho and No. 3 Socrates Brito in a row.
Park Chan-ho was the opponent Moon Dong-ju threw a light speed ball over 160 km. Moon Dong-ju, who created an advantageous ball count of 0B-2S with a slider and curveball, struck out looking with his third fastball. At this time, the speed of the ball thrown to Park Chan-ho was 160.1 km.
The speed recorded on the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field display board was 159 km. However, the pitch tracking system (PTS) of Sports 2I, an official KBO record statistics company, showed 160.1 km. The KBO uses the Sports 2 I measurement as the official restraint.
Since the inception of professional baseball, no domestic pitcher has ever exceeded 160 km. Most of the former and incumbent pitchers who had a reputation as fireballers prior to Moon Dong-ju threw balls in the late 150km range. Choi Dae-seong (former Lotte Giants) took 158.7 km in the game against Hanwha on September 7, 2012, and was the previous No. 1, followed by Kiwoom Heroes An Woo-jin (158.4 km, against SSG Landers on September 30, 2022).
The KBO league’s highest ever holder of redemption is former LG Twins foreign pitcher Redames Leeds. On September 24, 2012, Leeds recorded 162.1 km per hour against SK Wyverns (now SSG).
On the other hand, Moon Dong-ju struggled against KIA that day with 3 hits, 6 strikeouts and 2 runs in 6 innings, but suffered a disappointing defeat in the team’s 0-2 loss.