Return of ex-MLB star Ryu Hyun-jin dominates chatter at KBO media day
Oh Ji-hwan, left, and Im Chan-kyu of the LG Twins attend the Korea Baseball Organization media day in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
The much-anticipated homecoming of former major league ace Ryu Hyun-jin has dominated the preseason chatter among fans of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this spring. And for players gathered at the annual media day on Friday, it was no different.
Ryu, the 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) ERA champion, rejoined his old KBO team Hanwha Eagles in February, ending an 11-year run in the bigs. The left-hander first pitched for the Eagles from 2006 to 2012, and will mark his KBO regular season return in his Opening Day start Saturday afternoon against the LG Twins.
The Twins are the defending Korean Series champions and they are considered a strong title contender again this year. However, right after Ryu signed his eight-year, 17 billion won ($12.7 million) contract, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said he should take at least two wins off his initial target for wins by the Twins this year.
Twins starter Im Chan-kyu said Friday he understood where his manager was coming from.
"Hyun-jin is the best Korean pitcher today. That's probably why our manager adjusted his goal," Im said. "But on the field, we're going to try to win two extra games."
Experts believe Ryu will put his name near the top of the leaderboard in every major pitching category this season.
That would include quality starts, referring to outings in which a starting pitcher goes at least six innings and allows three or fewer earned runs.
Over the past three years, KT Wiz starter Ko Young-pyo has compiled the most quality starts in the league with 63.
Asked if he was looking forward to battling Ryu, Ko said, "It's an honor just to have a chance to compete against him. I will try to beat him in quality starts."
Ko smiled and added, "That won't be enough. I will try to win more games than Hyun-jin, too."
Eagles outfielder Chae Eun-seong had previously said he wanted to face Ryu at some point in his career. He won't get that chance in the KBO unless either of them gets traded, but Chae did get to bat against Ryu in a spring training scrimmage last month.
The 34-year-old outfielder came away impressed.
"I'd only watched him pitch on TV because by the time I reached the KBO, he was already in the majors," Chae said. "He has such a big body that I figured he'd be a bit rough around the edges. I was surprised by how delicate he was with the way he pitched."
Another Eagles player, third baseman Roh Si-hwan, said he's so proud of being Ryu's teammate that he even boasted about it with Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, when Roh and the South Korean national team played the Dodgers in an exhibition game on Monday.
"I asked him, 'Do you know Ryu Hyun-jin?'" Roh said with a smile. "I play for the team that has Ryu Hyun-jin, and so I wanted to brag about that."
The Eagles' signing of Ryu and other veterans to complement their young core has turned the club into a potential playoff contender. While Ryu was away from 2013 to 2023, the Eagles made just one postseason appearance. Now the pressure will be on the Eagles to at least reach the postseason and play meaningful games in October.
Roh said heightened expectations don't bother him.
"I'm not feeling any pressure," Roh said. "We have good veterans and I think young guys have gained enough experience at this level. If we can put it all together, I think all the other teams will be scared of us." (Yonhap)