Hanwha pitcher Moon Dong-ju (20), the “No. 1 Rookie of the Year” who ended his season early, met NC’s top outfielder Erek Pedi (30).

Two players with a considerable age gap without any particular rivalry. Why and what did they talk about?

Their meeting took place on the evening of the 14th, a day before the Changwon NC-Hanwha three-game midweek series on the 15th-17th of last month. The meeting was arranged by Hanwha officials and Pedi’s agent at the request of Moon Dong-joo, who had already arrived in Changwon.

The two players reportedly had dinner together and talked a lot. The meeting, which took place more than a month ago, quickly became known to fans through the personal social media accounts of former Hanwha pitcher and President of Docent Baseball Kim Jin-young.

I wondered why and what they talked about.

We found out in an interview with Eric Peddie, who took a moment before the Changwon Lotte game on the 8th.

“It’s been a while,” said Peddie when asked about his meeting with Moon. “He was a very determined young man who wanted to learn baseball. We talked a lot about baseball, and I was surprised that he spoke English so well.” Good enough to have a conversation without an interpreter. “My agent used to translate for me in the past, so we talked together, but he spoke so well that we didn’t have any problems communicating,” Pedi said of Moon’s English.

The meeting was requested by Moon.

Open-minded, Pedi agreed. However, out of respect for Korean culture, he didn’t forget to check with his team, NC.

This was because the American culture of discussing and talking about baseball with players from other teams can be different from the KBO’s closed culture of 10 teams, especially with pitchers from other teams lining up to learn how to sweep from Peddie, who is the only non-Korean on the roster.

Pedi’s eagerness to learn from the young pitcher who would become the next Korean baseball ace reminded him of his own youth.

“I used to ask as many questions as I could from the seniors like Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, and Gio Gonzalez. I learned a lot from them, and I want to do the same here, so I try to answer every question,” he said.

Potential competitors. It’s a big-boy mentality. He explained the big picture by saying, “I’m sharing this because I want everyone to be the best at their position in baseball, and if the things I’ve taught him come from Dong-ju Moon, the league will grow and become more interesting.”

So what did Moon want to know: what did he learn from Pedi?

“We talked a lot, so I don’t remember exactly, but I tried to share as much of my experience and knowledge from my 10 years in the U.S. as possible. He asked a lot of questions, too. He asked a lot of questions about the major leagues, but mostly about pitching.”스포츠토토

Moon is a fireballer who throws a league-leading four-seam fastball that averages over 151 mph. He also has a great curveball with a big drop. If he adds a third pitch, a slider, and Pedi’s sweeper, he could become a world-class pitcher reminiscent of Ohtani. The young pitcher dreams of becoming a pitcher who will not only dominate Korea but also the world stage. His encounter with Pedi, a sweeper master, will be the foundation for the future growth of the best pitcher to represent Korea.