"Even the best pitchers throw off-pitchers." The home run king acknowledges a "next-generation slugger" — Can Moon Jung-bin break the "12-game losing streak against Japan"? [APBC]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

"Even the best pitchers throw off-pitchers."

They advanced to the final with a dramatic victory after two consecutive losses. Moon Jung-bin (23, LG Twins) has completed his preparations to make a big impact against Japan, a team that has been stuck in a 12-game losing streak (with one draw) over the past 11 years.

Korean baseball defeated the Taiwan national team 6-4 in the third preliminary round match of the 2026 Asia Pro Baseball Championship (APBC) held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 14th, led by Moon Jung-bin's go-ahead home run.

Despite consecutive losses to Australia (7-8) and Japan (5-9), the win against Taiwan tied them with Australia and Taiwan at one win and two losses, and they rose to second place in Team Quality Balance (TQB) to advance to the final. They will face Japan again for the championship title starting at 7 p.m. on the 15th.

Moon Jung-bin, who joined LG in 2022 and played in a season-high 91 games this year, had a successful season with a .277 batting average (81 hits in 292 at-bats), 19 home runs, 66 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of 0.893. He is also being cited as a candidate for the Rookie of the Year award.

He is a right-handed slugger resource that even legendary power hitters are paying attention to. Park Byung-ho, head coach of the Kiwoom retention group, who met with StarNews ahead of the legend match held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 14th, said, "To hit many home runs, a player needs certain physical conditions and abilities. There are players with such abilities and players who aim for a .300 batting average by hitting many hits. I hope they grow well while making that distinction clearly," specifically pointing to Moon Jung-bin as an expected right-handed slugger resource. He expressed his expectations, saying, "Watching LG's Moon Jung-bin this season, I felt he would do very well in the future. I hope he grows well."

Moon Jung-bin, who wore the national team badge for this tournament, watched the first match from the bench but started as the seventh hitter and first baseman against Japan in the second match, recording a hit.

He played a role in leading the victory in the final preliminary match against Taiwan, which was played in a desperate situation. Moon Jung-bin, who started the game on the bench, went to first base as Han Dong-hee's (Lotte) defensive replacement in the top of the fourth inning and grounded out to the second baseman in his first at-bat in the fifth inning.

However, he drove the nail into the coffin of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Taiwan had narrowed the gap to 5-4 by scoring one run in the top of the seventh. After Kim Do-young (KIA) failed on a stolen base with no outs and a runner on first, leading to a situation with two outs and no runners where the momentum could have faded, he hit a home run over the left field fence against Chen Mu-heng with an aggressive swing. Korea then shut down Taiwan in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the victory and dramatically advance to the final.

Now they face Japan again. In the 2015 Premier 12 semifinals, they achieved a miraculous 4-3 comeback victory and rode that momentum to win the championship, but since then, they have been stuck in a record of one draw and 12 losses over 11 years. Although they suffered a painful loss in the preliminaries, there is also a memory of creating a dramatic tie by attacking the pitching staff. The fact that Korea scored five runs against Japan's pitching staff, while Taiwan and Australia were limited to just one run each, is also one of the reasons boosting their confidence.

According to Japanese media outlet D&Answer, Moon Jung-bin reflected on the home run situation after the game against Taiwan ended on the 14th, saying, "I didn't think it would go over when I made contact. Since I always play at Jamsil, I thought it might be a bit short."

Takahashi Hiroto (Chunichi), who is scheduled to start in the final, pitched 123⅔ innings in 19 games this season with a record of five wins and seven losses, so luck did not favor him, but he delivered outstanding pitching with an ERA of just 2.62. He also recorded 135 strikeouts, and his walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) was just 1.08.

Moon Jung-bin has memories of Takahashi. He was dispatched to a fall camp held at Nagoya Stadium last year and had the opportunity to face Takahashi in live batting practice. Moon Jung-bin said, "I batted about three times, and as expected, his pitches were good. Since he is a pitcher with good fastballs, I think we should aim for the faster pitches," adding, "Even the best pitchers will inevitably throw off-pitchers. I intend not to miss them."

While expressing that he would play with a mindset of enjoyment, he also did not hide his determination to break the long and long losing streak against Japan. He said, "I also like Japanese baseball. Japan has a truly elite roster. I thought they were excellent. There is also the joy of watching the players while playing the game," but added, "Winning is the top priority for now."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original