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Kiwoom's An Woo-jin fires KBO's first 160-kilometer-per-hour heater this season in comeback game

Published: 13 Apr. 2026, 11:46 Updated: 13 Apr. 2026, 16:29

An Woo-jin pitches for Kiwoom Heroes at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, western Seoul, on Sunday [KIWOOM HEROES/NEWS1]

A pitch clocked at 160 kilometers per hour (99 miles per hour) on Sunday marked a powerful return for Kiwoom Heroes ace An Woo-jin, who achieved both the fastest pitch of the league this season and a personal best in his first professional league appearance in 955 days.

An took the mound against the Lotte Giants at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, western Seoul, and threw a fastball reaching 159.6 kilometers per hour on the fourth pitch to leadoff batter Hwang Seong-bin in the first inning.

“One-sixty is a symbolic number. It’s not something you can throw just because you want to, but since it was my first game back, I think adrenaline helped me get a number that meant something,” An told reporters after the game.

Pitch speeds of around 160 kilometers per hour in Korean baseball are widely regarded as a rare, almost unattainable benchmark, requiring not just training and effort but also exceptional natural ability and physical traits, making it something only a very small number of pitchers can achieve.

An Woo-jin pitches for Kiwoom Heroes at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, western Seoul, on Sunday [YONHAP]

Among Korean pitchers, Moon Dong-ju of the Hanwha Eagles was the first to reach that mark, throwing a pitch of 160.1 kilometers per hour against the KIA Tigers on April 12, 2023, in Gwangju. He later set a record for the fastest pitch by a domestic pitcher, reaching a top speed of 162 kilometers per hour in the first game of last year’s playoff.

Prior to An's return, no pitcher had reached 160 kilometers per hour this season. The previous top speed was 157 kilometers per hour, thrown by Gwak Been of the Doosan Bears on March 29 against the NC Dinos in Changwon, South Gyeongsang.

Sunday's game was An's first appearance in the professional league since Aug. 31, 2023, against the SSG Landers in Incheon.

His hiatus followed an elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in September 2023 and his mandatory military service.

Ahead of his military discharge in August last year, he suffered yet another injury, on his shoulder this time, that required surgery. He did, however, recover faster than anticipated, according to local reports, and was able to return to play about two months earlier than expected.

With the team struggling to fill pitching roles, the Kiwoom Heroes chose to build up An’s pitch count in the top league rather than in the minors. For now, An will serve as a first pitcher — starting the game but pitching only a short stint — rather than a traditional starting pitcher who is expected to work multiple innings.

In his first game back, An recorded one inning with one hit, one walk, one strikeout and no runs allowed.

He threw 24 pitches and averaged 157 kilometers per hour on his fastball. After allowing a walk and a hit with two outs, he ended the inning by inducing a ground ball from Jeon Jun-woo to second base.

“I’m satisfied that I finished the day I had been waiting for well. Even though it had been a while since I pitched, I wasn’t too nervous,” An said. “My condition after pitching is also fine. I want to repay the fans’ patience with good performances."

The Kiwoom Heroes carried that momentum to a 2-0 win over the Lotte Giants, ending a three-game losing streak. Lee Ju-hyoung hit a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, his first of the season, and Bae Dong-hyun followed with six scoreless innings in relief starting from the second inning.

Also on Sunday, the defending champions, the LG Twins, defeated the SSG Landers 9-1 at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, to extend its winning streak to seven games. Starting pitcher Anders Tolhurst delivered six scoreless innings, while the offense, led by Oh Ji-hwan with three hits, performed evenly well.

The SSG Landers, meanwhile, fell into a five-game losing streak.

Won Tae-in pitches for the Samsung Lions at the Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Sunday. [YONHAP]

The Samsung Lions swept its three-game series on Saturday and Sunday by beating the NC Dinos 9-3 in Daegu. Won Tae-in, returning from an elbow injury, allowed four hits over three and two-thirds innings without conceding a run in his first appearance of the season.

In Daejeon, the Kia Tigers defeated the Hanwha Eagles 9-3 for a fourth straight win, with Harold Castro and Han Jun-su each contributing three hits and two runs batted in.

The Hanwha Eagles lost all three games of the home series.

The KT Wiz defeated the Doosan Bears 6-1 in Suwon, as starting pitcher Caleb Boshirly pitched six scoreless innings to extend his streak to 17 consecutive scoreless innings over three games this season.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]