Since the start of this season, Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom Heroes) has allowed only 1 run in 3 games and 19 innings, and has a 0.47 ERA, tied for first place. He is arguably the best pitcher in the KBO League right now.
Ahn Woo-jin is receiving a lot of attention for his fastball in the second half of 150km, but in fact, he is also a pitcher who is good at breaking balls and fighting head-to-head. A scene showing that could be seen in the match against Doosan Bears on the 13th.
At the end of the 4th inning, 스포츠토토with the score tied at 0-0, 5th hitter Eui-Ji Yang entered the at-bat with 1 company and 1st base. At that time, the result was a three-pitch strikeout, and the process was interesting. The first ball swings with the slider on the outer low course. In the second pitch, a fastball 154 km away from the body became a foul ball. At that time, An Woo-jin shook his head at the catcher’s sign and chose his fastball. When I asked Ahn Woo-jin what the reason was, he explained in detail.
“I showed Yang Eui-ji a lot of sliders in his first at-bat. Yang Eui-ji is a good hitter, so I changed it because I expected that he wouldn’t respond if I threw a fastball straight to his body rather than throwing a slider again.
” He threw 4 sliders out of 7 pitches and struck out looking. Based on the result, the second pitch of the second at-bat was the body fastball.
3rd pitch with ball count 0B-2S. An Woo-jin shook his head twice in response to the catcher’s sign. What did Ahn Woo-jin want to throw?
“The first signature was the slider, and the next was the fastball. At that time, the fastball was a situation where you had to throw it outside to avoid misplaced throws, so I thought about throwing a fastball that would become a ball. I chose.”
Eui-ji Yang watched the curve entering the strike zone from a high position and struck out looking. Ahn Woo-jin struck out looking for two consecutive at-bats from Yang Eui-ji, a hitter with few strikeouts. Regarding his curveball, Woojin Ahn said, “I throw a curveball that goes like a fastball and then drops a lot rather than a slow curveball with a large angle. The curveball can be thrown after two strikes like this one, but it is a versatile pitch that can be thrown out of timing to throw it at the first pitch. “he explained.
Ahn Woo-jin chose his own pitch against Yang Eui-ji, but says, “I tend to believe in catchers a lot.” The reason An Woo-jin shook his head at the catcher was not because he doubted the cause of death. He said that he made the decision by valuing the momentary feeling or sensation on the mound. Catcher Lee Ji-young also understood that and said, “At that time (Ahn) Woo-jin seemed to have a special ball he wanted to throw.”
The sign the bench gives to the catcher. Also, the catcher thinks of the sign, and the pitcher sees it and throws the ball. However, the only person who can face the batter and throw directly is the pitcher. An Woo-jin standing on the mound thinking about what to throw when dealing with batters will be something that pitchers in the process of growing up should learn.