KIA Tigers Choi Hyung-woo (41) realized the years gone by watching the return of Hanhwa Eagles Ryu Hyun-jin (37).
Choi Hyung-woo returned home from the first spring camp training in Canberra, Australia, through Incheon International Airport on the 21st. After reorganizing in Korea, he will head to Okinawa, Japan, where the second spring camp will be held, on the 22nd.
“It turned out better than I thought,” Choi said after finishing the Australian camp. “Personally, I built up my body well and the team ended up in a good mood.” Choi added, “I exercised really comfortably because a new and good coach came. I don’t think the mood will change even after the season starts. Whether I win or lose, I think I will be able to have fun this season with the best atmosphere this year.”
The KBO League faces a big change this season. With the introduction of pitch clock and automatic ball judging system (ABS), a new wind has begun to blow. On top of that, the wind from the U.S. has come back. Ace Ryu Hyun-jin, who had a successful career in the Major League, is back.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who recorded 78 wins and 48 losses with a 3.27 ERA in 186 games (1,055 ⅓ innings), entered the Major League in December 2012 by signing a six-year, 36-million-dollar contract with the Dodgers, and recorded 54 wins and 33 losses with a 2.98 ERA in 126 games (740 ⅓ innings) over seven years with the Dodgers. In particular, in 2019, he played in 29 games (182 ⅔ innings) with 14 wins and 5 losses with a 2.32 ERA, ranking second in the National League Cy Young Award voting.
Ryu, who signed a four-year 80 million-dollar contract with Toronto in his first FA, has 24 wins and 15 losses and an ERA of 3.97 over the past four years in 60 games (315 innings). He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, but made a successful comeback last year, recording 3 wins and 3 losses with an ERA of 3.46 in 11 games (52 innings). He became a second free agent after the end of the season.
Most Korean and U.S. media outlets predicted that Ryu will stay in the Major League this year as well. Ryu himself said, “My top priority is to play in the Major League more.” However, as the FA market in the Major League has been slow this winter, Ryu failed to find his team until the start of spring training, and his return to his former team Hanwha Eagles became visible. It has been reported that Ryu will return to Korea with the biggest amount of treatment ever in the KBO league.
Choi Hyung-woo, who faced Ryu Hyun-jin a lot when he played in Korea, said, “I think juniors who haven’t played Ryu Hyun-jin’s ball will be excited. But I played a lot before. When Ryu Hyun-jin said he was coming, I just thought that I played baseball for too long. I’ve been there since he played in Korea, and he’s still there after he went to the Major League. I think it’ll be fun, though.” He added, “If all KBO players have been so successful in the U.S., they will see and learn a lot. I think players will learn a lot from one to ten.”
Choi Hyung-woo, who joined the Samsung Lions through the sixth round (48th pick) in the second round of the 2002 rookie draft, is called a “second-hand rookie myth.” He played in only six games in the first division until 2007, and suffered from being released from the team, but since 2008, he has displayed his full potential and made a name for himself as a slugger representing Korea 핑크알바. He has a batting average of 0.312,373 homers and 1,542 RBIs in 2,065 games in the KBO League. In his showdown with Ryu, he also had a strong batting average of 0.667 (7 hits in 15 at-bats) with two homers and three RBIs with an OPS of 1.619.
“I think I was a pushover at that time,” Choi said with a smile. “I don’t have any special tips (for Ryu Hyun-jin). I just want them to have fun. Of course, they are opposing pitchers, but I hope their juniors will learn and compete with the thought of learning,” he said, hoping that his juniors would learn a lot from his showdown with Ryu.
