Hanwha Eagles Ryu Hyun-jin, who made a comeback to the Korean stage for the first time in 12 years, looked back on his KBO League return season.
The Ryu Hyun-jin Foundation held a “Shinhan Premier Ryu Hyun-jin Foundation Charitable Golf Tournament with Shinhan Bank” at Bella 45 Country Club in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province on the 4th to foster young baseball dreamers and raise funds to support rare and incurable children. The charity event, which is also the first official event of the Ryu Foundation, attracted more than 80 celebrities, including entertainment, sports stars and entrepreneurs, including Ryu Hyun-jin and Bae Ji-hyun.
Since his debut with the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League in 2006, Ryu Hyun-jin has posted a record of 98 wins, 52 losses and one save with a 2.80 ERA in 190 games in the Korean stage until 2012.
During his debut season in 2006, he recorded 18 wins, six losses and one save with an ERA of 2.23 in 30 games, marking the emergence of “monster” by winning the title of most wins, ERA and strikeout. He is the only hero who has won the Rookie of the Year award and the regular league MVP award in the previous KBO league.
After the end of the 2012 season, he moved to the U.S. through the posting system and transferred from Hanwha Eagles to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He became the first person to go straight to the big leagues without going through the minor leagues in the KBO League, and headed to the Major League. After the end of the 2019 season, he exercised his first career FA right, moved to the Toronto Blue Jays, and played 1,055 ⅓ innings in 186 games in the big leagues until last year, recording 78 wins, 48 losses, one save and an ERA of 3.27.
Korean Monster Ryu Hyun-jin, who has also conquered the global stage, chose to return to Korea ahead of this season and joined Hanwha’s squad in February when the team was conducting its second spring camp in Okinawa, Japan. With Ryu’s return, Hanwha has advanced to the postseason for the first time in six years and has dreamed of becoming a bigger player. 먹튀검증
In his first year after returning to baseball, Ryu pitched 158 ⅓ innings in 28 games, and completed his first double-digit win in 13 years since 2011 by garnering 10 wins (eight losses). His ERA was 3.87. Even after replacing his manager in May, however, the Hanwha Eagles finished the regular season in eighth place with 66 wins, two draws and a winning percentage of 0.465.
Looking back on this season, Ryu Hyun-jin said, “It’s more regrettable that the Hanwha Eagles did not advance to the fall baseball league than their personal performance. I think the team’s performance comes first rather than individual performance because it’s a season for a team of players. I think that’s the best way to go. That’s too bad,” adding, “I’ll work hard to prepare with the players and make sure that I can go to the fall baseball league next year.”
Meanwhile, Hanwha’s team started its wrap-up camp in Miyazaki, Japan, on March 30. Under the leadership of Kim Kyung-moon, 47 players including five rookies, 20 pitchers, six catchers, 13 infielders, and eight outfielders will participate in the camp. Ryu plans to start his individual training in Korea next week.
