Eagles skipper not worried about Ryu Hyun-jin amid early-season woes
Hanhwa Eagles manager Choi Won-ho speaks during an interview during the second spring camp held at a stadium in Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 25. Yonhap
Even with his ace Ryu Hyun-jin having staggered through his first three starts of the season, Hanwha Eagles manager Choi Won-ho said Thursday he is not concerned about his 37-year-old left-hander.
"He says he's feeling fine physically. So I just have to trust him," Choi said with a smile during a media scrum before playing the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. It will be the final game of the three-game series between the two Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) clubs.
"With players of that caliber, you don't worry about them as long as they're healthy," Choi added.
Ryu, the 2019 National League All-Star, rejoined the Eagles in February after 11 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He first pitched for the Eagles from 2006 and 2012, and was one of the KBO's most dominant starters then. So far in 2024, however, Ryu is only 0-2 with an 8.36 ERA, numbers that appear out of place next to his name.
Choi, a former pitcher, said he doesn't expect any starter, including Ryu, to be effective in every start.
"Obviously, it'd be great to have all starters pitch well in every game, but it doesn't work that way," Choi said. "They all have rough outings. It's just that some pitchers have those games early in the season, and some have them later on. The toughest thing for managers is to replace a pitcher as good as Ryu when he is injured. Otherwise, it's still early in the year, and he hasn't pitched in that many games yet."
Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin returns to the dugout during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, April 5. Yonhap
Ryu has particularly struggled in later innings as his pitch count went up. Of the 23 hits he has surrendered this year, five came between pitch Nos. 61 and 75, and nine came after Ryu has thrown his 76th pitch.
Choi said he felt it didn't have to do with any fatigue issues on Ryu's part.
"This time of year, all starting pitchers, not just Hyun-jin, are still trying to be more effective between their 70th and 100th pitches," Choi said. "If Hyun-jin still has the same problems in May, then we'll have to look at that more seriously. But now, it's still too early for us to worry about it."
Ryu threw to Choi Jae-hoon behind the plate in his season debut on March 23, before working with backup Lee Jae-won for the next two games. Choi will wear the mask for Ryu on Thursday.
"He didn't have great games the past couple of times out, so I decided to switch things up," Choi Won-ho said of his starting battery. "Choi Jae-hoon is our regular catcher, and I think those two will have a good game."
Ryu had a particularly ugly start last Friday against the Kiwoom Heroes, who knocked him around for eight hits, including seven in a row, in the fifth inning. Ryu ended up getting charged with his career-worst nine runs then.
And as the Heroes kept getting hits at a brisk pace, with batters swinging on either the first or the second pitch of the at-bats, Eagles relievers didn't have enough time to warm up. Choi admitted later he had failed to properly time the pitching change to get Ryu out of the mess and said Thursday he won't make the same mistake again.
"We won't have relievers warm up in the first inning just because Hyun-jin gives up runs early, but we will still keep a close eye on his pitch count and how he's pitching," the manager said. "And we will make sure guys will be ready to come in quickly when the situation calls for it." (Yonhap)