First Play After Return To Hanwha

Korean Monster pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin of the Hanwha Eagles will have his first real game after returning to Korea. The starting opponent is Moon Dong-ju, who is called the present and future of the Hanwha Eagles. 토토사이트먹튀

Hanwha will have its own Cheongbaek match at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Wednesday. This match is just a practice match held by the team itself, but it is drawing attention from many baseball fans. This is because starting pitchers for both teams are Ryu Hyun-jin and Moon Dong-ju.

First of all, Ryu is the ace pitcher of the Korean baseball, who needs no words. Making his professional debut in 2006 by joining the Hanwha Eagles as the No. 2 player in the second round, he posted a 2.80 ERA with 98 wins and 52 losses with one save and 1,238 strikeouts in 190 games (1,269 innings) until 2012.

Ryu Hyun-jin, who entered the Major League Baseball (MLB) by joining hands with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2013 season, recorded a report card of 78 wins, 48 losses, one save and 3.27 ERA in 186 games (1,055.1 innings) through the Toronto Blue Jays until last year.

Ryu, who chose to return to the Hanwha Eagles in 12 years, immediately joined the Hanwha Spring Camp in Okinawa, Japan, and conducted two bullpen sessions and one live pitching to check his physical condition. He has also elevated his pitching capacity to 65. Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho, who watched the game, said, “I am very satisfied and picked Ryu as the starting pitcher for the opening game of the regular season league against the LG Twins that will take place at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sunday.

Choi Won-ho, Hanwha’s manager who met after the live pitching, said, “The overall performance was good, including left and right locations and commands for various breaking balls. He seemed to have good pitching balance even though he was not fully fit yet. If he follows the current schedule well, he is highly likely to take the mound at the opening game on the date.”

Ryu also expressed confidence. “I think I followed the order. I think I will be able to continue (the scheduled schedule) without any major setback. I think I got about three to four (hitters) pitches. I think the hitters handled the situation well, too,” Ryu said. “I think I finished the game well, throwing all the pitches I could. I have raised the number of pitches to a certain extent. I will increase the number of pitches (in the exhibition game). I think it will proceed without any problems.”

Ryu Hyun-jin, who will play his first real game since returning to Hanwha on the same day, is expected to take the mound at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 23rd after taking the mound twice, including the home KIA Tigers on the 12th and the away Lotte Giants on the 17th.

Against this backdrop, Moon Dong-ju is also a right-handed pitcher who is in the spotlight as the next-generation ace of the Hanwha Eagles. The star of the 2022 draft, Moon had disappointing performance in his debut season with one win, three losses and two holds with an ERA of 5.65, but he improved further last year. He set a new record of fastest speed for a Korean pitcher with 160.1 kilometers, and won the Rookie of the Year award with eight wins and eight losses with an ERA of 3.72. Coincidentally, the last time Hanwha produced a rookie award before Moon was Ryu Hyun-jin in 2006.

In particular, Ryu Hyun-jin is like an idol for Moon Dong-ju, who was active in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in October last year and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) 2023 after the season.

Moon Dong-ju, whom I met at the Okinawa spring camp, said, “I am so happy that Ryu Hyun-jin came. I have so much to learn. I think it will be different just by watching him pitch,” adding, “When you are next to someone who is good at it, you can appear to be doing well, but you have to be good at it.” If you follow with a much greater goal, I will also have a higher goal. If you follow it, you will get better grades than you expected. I think it will be an opportunity for me to develop further just by setting a goal to follow Ryu Hyun-jin. I will use this as an opportunity to work hard.”

Unfortunately, the match between the legendary pitcher of the Hanwha Eagles and the ace of the future is drawing much attention. Unfortunately, no spectators are watching. Hanwha Life Eagles Park is currently undergoing renovation work ahead of the exhibition game. Instead, Hanwha plans to relieve fans’ disappointment by broadcasting live through its official video channel.