"Monster" Ryu Hyun-jin (37, Hanwha) will appear in Jamsil
Ryu Hyun-jin will return to the KBO League for the first time in 12 years through the opening game of the professional baseball game against Jamsil LG on the 23rd.
He left the KBO League for the Major League Baseball (MLB) with his last appearance against the Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom) in Daejeon on October 4, 2012.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto from 2013 to last year, had an outstanding record of 78 wins and 48 losses in MLB and a 3.27 ERA.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who was released as a free agent after the end of the 2023 season, announced his return by signing an eight-year, 17 billion won contract with Hanwha this winter.
Ryu kept his promise that he would return when he is healthy. He previously underwent long rehabilitation after undergoing surgery to join ligaments in his left elbow in 2022.
Although he successfully returned to the mound in the second half of last year, he did not completely erase concerns about his health.
Ryu has dispelled such concerns with just two exhibition games. Notably, he threw a fastball with a maximum speed of 148 kilometers per hour at an exhibition game against KIA on Wednesday, wiping out concerns about his deterioration of his ball speed.
Jung Min-chul, a commentator at MBC Sports Plus, said, "The arm looks very good."
At the exhibition game, Ryu overwhelmed batters with his blade-like ball control and high quality breaking balls, raising expectations for the regular season. "The value of all pitches is a decisive ball and Grade A," said Seo Jae-ung, a commentator at Spotify.
Experts generally predicted that Ryu Hyun-jin will win more than 10 games and have an earned run average of two points this season.
Hanwha, which has become the top "first starter" in the league, has rapidly emerged as a candidate for the fifth place this year. Hanwha, which has strengthened its batting lineup by recruiting Ahn Chi-hong, the epitome of steadiness, as well as Ryu Hyun-jin, will start the regular season with higher expectations than ever before.
Ryu will face defending champion LG, which boasts powerful batters, as he returned to the mound in 4,189 days. Until his advance to the MLB, Ryu had displayed strength against LG. He has 22 wins out of 98 wins in the KBO against LG. His earned run average (ERA) against LG is also low at 2.36.토토사이트 순위
However, LG's current lineup is different from the ones Ryu faced in the past. LG's batting average was 0.279 last year, ranking first overall. Attention is also focusing on what kind of pitching Ryu will show against the LG's slugging line.
After the final inspection with Lotte on the 17th, Ryu Hyun-jin said, "I want to win two games in the opening game against LG and the home opening game against Daejeon (29th) to fill my 100th victory in KBO."
Ryu Hyun-jin's journey to write another legend will begin soon.