Ryu Hyun-jin who is always studying is trying to achieve his 10 year ace feat in the big leagues.
In February 2013, in Glendale, Arizona, he was just a “starting candidate.” His team LA Dodgers received great attention as they invested an exceptional amount, but nothing was shown in the big leagues. He competed with experienced players for a spot in the starting lineup and was proudly included in the opening series rotation. And this became the starting point for the icon of Korean baseball to establish itself as Ryu Hyun-jin (34).
Nine seasons have been held since then. Most pitchers who competed with Ryu Hyun-jin in the past have already taken off their uniforms. Many of Ryu Hyun-jin and those who commanded the big leagues as top pitchers can no longer be seen on the ground. For big leaguers, nine seasons are that long. In 2013, Ryu Hyun-jin won 14 games, and less than half of the 14 pitchers who won more than Ryu Hyun-jin still continue their careers. And Adam Wainwright is the only pitcher who won more in 2013 than Ryu Hyun-jin, who won 13 games this year. Over a long period of time, so many pitchers appeared and disappeared.
The process was not smooth. From 2013 to this year, so many things happened while winning 72 games in 165 games on the world’s best stage. As a pitcher, he underwent shoulder surgery called a death sentence, but overcame it and signed a large free agent contract and wore a different uniform. Prior to the transfer, he won the No. 1 ERA title in 2019 and also ranked within the top three Cy Young votes for the second consecutive year. He maintains the title of the ace by pitching more and more sophisticated and colorful pitches as if turning the clock upside down.
It is by no means something that can be achieved without anything. I always studied and was not afraid of change, so I achieved the most difficult “steadiness.” After shoulder surgery, he gained a healthier body by further increasing the intensity of training. In fact, in 2017, when it was a rehabilitation season, he began to polish cut fastball and acquired it perfectly with his weapon in 2018. He stood tall as a left-handed command pitcher representing the big leagues, exquisitely controlling four pitches: fastball, cut fastball, changeup, and curve. He was interested in the data and devoted himself to power analysis, and stood on the mound with his own plan clearly established in every game.
It didn’t stop here. Whenever there was a crisis, I brought out another pitch. In 2019, when he struggled with Colorado in the Cy Young Award competition, he unfolded a slider. He escaped from the jinx of the match against Colorado by using a horizontal slider, not a slider that fell into a bell that had overworked his shoulders in the past.
The same goes for this time. Ryu Hyun-jin, who suffered unusual ups and downs in the second half of this season, intensively observed his teammate Robbie Ray’s slider. I learned another slider when I saw Ray on a roll with a fastball and a slider-to-pitch pitch. And he proved again the presence of the “big game pitcher” at an important time with six scoreless innings against the New York Yankees on the 7th (Korea Standard Time). Toronto, which won its first game of four consecutive Yankees away games with Ryu Hyun-jin at the forefront, beat the Yankees on the 8th. With six consecutive wins, it is 2.5 games away from the wild card No. 1 Yankees and 2 games away from No. 2 Boston. He is looking forward to advancing to the postseason for the second consecutive year 파워볼사이트
There is one more positive signal. Ryu Hyun-jin’s recent fastball speed has steadily formed more than 90 miles. This, too, is evolution through study. Catchball weighted ball (a ball heavier than existing baseball) is being seen throwing. Like other big league pitchers, Ryu Hyun-jin is finding a more efficient routine and escaping from the decline in ball speed with age.
If you don’t change, you can’t stand it. This is even more so on the world’s best stage. While always in charge of leading the starting lineup, the following year will be the 10th year of the big league. Ryu Hyun-jin is a representative player of Korean baseball in the 21st century.
