“Why did he come?” LG Twins general manager Cha Myung-seok said about “Big Leaguer” Kim Kwang-hyun’s return to the SSG Landers, which could be repeated in two years. This time, something bigger is coming. Ryu Hyun-jin will return to the Hanwha Eagles after giving up his 11-year career in the Major League. LG, the defending champion who was the weakest against Ryu, cannot help but be conscious of this.
Contrary to expectations, no official announcement was made on Tuesday, but Ryu’s return to the KBO League is a given. Hanwha has failed to make an announcement only, but has already begun preparing for the 2024 season with Ryu, including making uniforms and joining spring camps. Ryu has also moved to Korea and is planning life in his home country.
Plans could change at the spring camp, but chances are high that Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho will appoint Ryu from the opening game. Since returning to Korea last year, Ryu has been waiting for his Major League contract. During the process, some U.S. media reported that he is preparing for the new season in good health.
If the pace at which the team prepared for the spring training in the Major League continues, it would not be strange if the team immediately starts pitching after wearing the Hanwha uniform. All 30 Major League teams have started pitching and batting live during the spring training.
LG Twins, the opening opponent and the weakest team ever against Ryu, has caught fire. Ryu appeared in 35 games against LG in the KBO League, posting an overwhelming record of 21 wins, eight losses and an earned run average of 2.36. The legendary game of “Rookie MVP” started on April 12, 2006 at a game against LG in Jamsil. Ryu pitched seven ⅓ innings, striking out 10 and shutting out no points in his debut game as a high school graduate. On May 11, 2010, LG left a disgraceful record. He gave up one run and complete victory in nine innings, with 17 strikeouts.
LG, the defending champion, must feel uncomfortable meeting with Ryu, as evidenced by the leakage of power to pitchers. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop of LG revealed his concerns honestly. If the opening teams on the road play their home opener next Tuesday, there is a possibility that Ryu will play in his third game of the regular season. On the contrary, it seems that Ryu is returning to the game that suits his “golden return.” However, this is not the case now. All teams will play their home opener on the weekend series.
For Hanwha, it will have a regular season opener against LG on March 23 at Jamsil Stadium, and a home opener against the KT Wiz at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on March 29. If Ryu gets well after joining the spring camp on March 21, chances are high that he will take responsibility for both games. LG will not forget Ryu, who became a sensation in his debut game, and set a new record of 17 strikeouts in one game at Cheongju Stadium.
It reminds me of a nightmare from two years ago. LG had been hit hard by variables such as Kim Kwang-hyun’s return to the SSG in 2022. In the team’s own simulation, a calculation was made that Kim Kwang-hyun could rank No. 1 in the regular season, but this calculation was miscalculated when he decided to return to the KBO League after completing his Major League challenge on March 8 of the same year.
Kim Kwang-hyun displayed stellar performance in 28 games in 2022 with 13 wins and 3 losses and an earned run average of 2.13. He took control of the league as soon as he returned to Korea with the 3rd place with multiple wins and the 2nd place with an earned run average. Cha Myung-seok, the general manager of the league, also made a mock joke, saying that Kim Kwang-hyun’s return to Korea failed to achieve his goal of ranking No. 1 in the regular season.
LG eventually finished the 2022 regular season ranking second. In fact, LG also did everything it could to achieve, including 87 wins, two draws and 55 losses (win rate of 0.613). However, SSG’s win rate was too high. SSG topped the list with 88 wins, four draws and 52 losses (win rate of 0.629) and dominated the Korean Series.
It is still unclear whether Ryu Hyun-jin’s Hanwha will jump to the championship like SSG at the time. Hanwha is a team that is experiencing a “dark age” that has not risen significantly from the bottom recently. However, it is also a team that is expected to become a dark horse if prospects accumulated in the process turn their potential into skills. Since Ryu Hyun-jin joined the team, there is an image that he cannot easily deal with.
The simulation also needs to be re-run. Considering the past when LG was defeated by Ryu, it would be no surprise to say that the team suffers bigger losses than other teams. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop immediately erased one of the two goals he targeted for this season. It is a new record for the most wins in the team’s history. While LG ranked second in the regular season in 2022, it set a new record for the most wins in the team. Last year, it ranked first in the regular season with 86 wins, two draws, 56 losses and a 0.606 win rate. Although it had two fewer wins, it was ranked first.
“I don’t know how my physical condition is, but is there a player who can play in the Major League and sign a contract?” a source at the analysis team expressed caution. As Kim witnessed that his return to the SSG changed the game, he seems more wary
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said with a frustrated smile on the 21st, “I thought Hanwha would put Ryu Hyun-jin in Tuesday’s home opener, but after a second thought, the team that played away games in the opening series also has a home opener next weekend.”
“I need to get rid of one goal. The biggest number of wins (88 wins) in the club’s history could be difficult,” he said. “The winning team’s wins this year will also be smaller than usual. If it wins 84 games, I think it will be No. 1.”
This is because the team has different goals from the Hanwha Eagles. “We expected +3 wins (9.5 wins to 6.5 losses) against the Hanwha Eagles, but it is not easy. I think we need to subtract 1.5 to 2 wins from our total target wins,” coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said.
“Hanwha has advanced to the semifinals. This is not the level of one player joining the team. There is no player among these four who can guarantee victory in the match, even though it has four starters. We can win only when we prepare well for the match,” Hanhwa said in anticipation of its advance to the postseason.
I thought the competition for the middle rank would be even fiercer. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “Ryu Hyun-jin will be a variable for the top teams, but the impact of the middle rank could be even greater. 고수익알바 In the KBO League, how the manager copes with variables is incredibly important.”
In his opinion, the year 2024 will be “a series of waves.” He said, “I think it will be fun. The coaches have a headache, but it will be a much more fun season for the fans. I think there has been one less room for the postseason (due to Hanwha’s strengthening of its capacity).”
Still, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop vowed to be a smiling team at the end. He thinks that Ryu’s return cannot block his goal of winning the championship. On the news that Ryu’s joining the Hanwha Eagles became a fait accompli on Tuesday, manager Yeom said, “I think last year’s victory will pave the way for us to grow further this year. Thanks to players, especially senior players, who were not satisfied with the championship and prepared well for the team and individual to achieve further growth since December last year, the process of preparing for this season in the camp is better than any other year.”
“My goal for this season is to continuously grow the existing players. If this goal is achieved during the season, I believe LG will continue to grow stronger and stronger.” He is committed to holding the season as he planned, regardless of the aftermath of Ryu’s return.
Captain Oh Ji-hwan has remained confident. He has confidence that he can secure the game even if he loses the game against Ryu. “I like (Ryu) Hyun-jin to come back to Korea. Isn’t it good for Korean baseball? If I meet him, I would like to congratulate him. He could be at a disadvantage in the game, but that can’t be helped.” However, he has changed his mind about the game. “Up until last year, I thought to myself how well-equipped we are to select opponents, and how the game will go,” he said. “After winning come-from-behind games so many times last year, I have changed my mind.”
“Of course, if I deal with Hyunjin, I won’t be able to score many points. It’s hard to get three or four hits in a row. But I found it fun to solve the problem in a different way. I run a single hit and draw a walk. So I think it will be more fun.”
The news of Ryu’s return was reported to Chae Eun-sung, who joined the club. Chae did not say, “Ryu Hyun-jin is coming,” but only said, “I have good news.” Oh Ji-hwan reportedly replied, “I’ve said, “I’ve heard good news. I heard that Hyun-jin is coming.” Oh Ji-hwan said, “(Chae) called and said, “Let’s have one win and one loss each in the opening series, but I said I would have both wins.”