Kiwoom Heroes An Woo-jin (24) started the season at an unprecedented pace.

Ahn Woo-jin started the match against NC Dinos in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at NC Park in Changwon on the 7th and recorded a loss with 2 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 12 strikeouts and 1 run in 7 innings. He continued the no-hit no-run until the 6th inning, but it was regrettable that he allowed a solo home run to Park Se-hyuk in the 7th inning. 안전놀이터

An Woo-jin, who completed the season as a full-time starting pitcher for the first time last year, had a historic season. He recorded 30 games (196 innings), 15 wins, 8 losses, and an average earned run average of 2.11, along with two crowns for pitchers (average ERA, strikeouts), 2nd most strikeouts in a single season in the KBO League, and 1st Korean pitcher (224). 

Ahn Woo-jin, who played an active role in the postseason with 5 games (26⅔ innings), 1 win, and 2.03 ERA, had some concerns ahead of this season. He recorded a total of 114 innings in 2021 with 107⅔ innings in the regular season and 6⅓ innings in the postseason, while last year he threw a whopping 222⅔ innings with 196 innings in the regular season and 26⅔ innings in the postseason. There were also voices worried that the sudden digestion of nearly twice as many innings would become a burden. 

However, Ahn Woo-jin is continuing his overwhelming pitching every day. In the opening game, he recorded 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts and no runs against Hanwha, and in the game that day, he struck out 12 and showed off his overwhelming pitch. His highest fastball velocity reached 159 km/h in the opening game and 158 km on this day. 

An Woo-jin, who struck out 24 in the first two games, is showing a pace of 576 strikeouts in the season if calculated simply arithmetically at this point. He is poised to easily surpass Ariel Miranda’s (225 strikeouts) record for the most strikeouts in 2021 with a 346 strikeout pace, even considering not pitching for the next four games. 

An Woo-jin has yet to win his first win of the season as he has not received scoring support. However, An Woo-jin’s overwhelming pitch shone dazzlingly regardless of victory. /fpdlsl72556@osen.co.kr