“I think I need to study again”
Hanwha Eagles’ Ryu Hyun-jin won a special award among 10 million spectators at the “2024 Cho-A Pharmaceutical Professional Baseball Awards” held at the Eliena Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 3rd.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who won 98 games in seven seasons after joining Hanwha as the second overall pick in the second round of the rookie draft in 2006, challenged the Major League through the posting system. And he chose to return to the KBO League before this season after leaving 78-48 with a 3.27 ERA over 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
Hanwha gave a huge eight-year contract of 17 billion won to the return of “Korean Monster.” Although 17 billion won in the Major League is less than Ryu Hyun-jin’s annual salary, it was the best treatment in the KBO League. Ryu Hyun-jin pitched in 28 games this year, which was his return season, with a 10-8 record and a 3.87 ERA, and gained the “Special Award of 10 million spectators” as he contributed greatly to the success of the KBO League early this season.
Standing on the podium, Ryu said, “It is meaningful because it feels like I received this award on behalf of the players and fans of 10 teams. Next year, I will try to win the grand prize, not the special prize. Since I had a lot of regrets this year, I will have to do better next year. I am preparing for 30 games next year. If I take the mound in 30 games, I think I will be able to achieve a good result 바카라사이트. I really want to play fall baseball next year.”
And Ryu met with reporters separately after the ceremony. On this occasion, Ryu expressed his expectation for a showdown with Yasiel Puig. Ryu Hyun-jin’s relationship with Puig began in 2013 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and continued until Puig left for the Cincinnati Reds in 2019. They used different languages, but they were especially close.
Ryu Hyun-jin faced Puig only once. It was after Puig moved to Cincinnati in 2019. At the time, Ryu Hyun-jin induced three ground balls in three face-to-face encounters with Puig. However, the face-to-face confrontation did not happen afterward. This is why Puig, whose position has narrowed, has not been able to continue his career in the Major League. And when Puig joined the Kiwoom Heroes last 2022 season, Ryu Hyun-jin was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Still, it wasn’t that they didn’t meet at all. When Puig joined Kiwoom in 2022, Ryu Hyun-jin and Puig, who were building in Korea, met. As Puig will join Kiwoom again next year, Ryu and Puig will face off as best friends.
Asked about Puig, Ryu said, “I will have to meet him to find out. I haven’t thought about it yet. I think I will think about it when I meet him at the baseball stadium. I think I will have to throw a ball that I can throw. As it has been a long time, I think I should study (about Puig) again.” Ryu and Puig will likely face off at exhibition games before the regular season begins.
Ryu then had time to look back on this season. “I think I had a lot of regrets this year. There were more differences between good and bad days than scoring points. I think I shouldn’t hit the ball in a single inning. If you give only a few runs per inning, you can proceed with the game, but if you score a lot of runs, the atmosphere can be overcome. I think we need to reduce that part. It’s also a shame that I didn’t make it to the round of 5 after fighting until the end. I hope the players don’t forget this part and prepare well this winter,” he said.
Compared to this season, Hanwha has significantly improved its performance for next year. By recruiting Um Sang-baek and Shim Woo-joon through the free agent market, the team has successfully strengthened its starting lineup and center line. “I think (Shim) Woo-joon will position himself well in the infield, and (Hum) Sang-baek has pitched a lot of innings for several seasons as well. It will be very helpful for starting pitchers and middle pitchers as well. As the starting pitchers were replaced early, there were many cases where middle pitchers were having a hard time, but if he is in charge of the innings, he will be better than this year,” Ryu added.
