*This content was translated by AI.
Ryan Weiss (30), who returned to the U.S. after signing with the Houston Astros in the Major League Baseball after playing a key role as a starting pitcher for the Hanwha Eagles in the 2025 season, confessed honestly that his experience in Korea changed his baseball life.
In a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle, Weiss recalled his life in Korea in the 2025 season and said, "Korean baseball was a little different. Baseball IQ (intelligence) in the KBO League is very high. My experience in Korea has matured me in dealing with the game and has made me more aware of how to pitch," he said.
It was a place for Weiss, who went to the Houston club's fan festival, to frankly talk about his experience with Korea. Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles) was also named here. In fact, Weiss chased Ryu Hyun-jin with Cody Ponce (32) throughout the 2025 season, asking for generous advice.
Weiss said, "I watched Ryu Hyun-jin throw the ball on the mound as if studying every day. He doesn't throw fastballs at 100 mph (about 161 km), but he dominated the strike zone with various pitches and sophisticated control. It was very helpful to see Ryu Hyun-jin pitching every week and every day," he said.
Weiss, who wore a Hanwha uniform as a substitute for Ricardo Sanchez, who was listed as injured due to elbow pain in June 2024, succeeded in signing a formal contract for the 2025 season with a not bad performance of 5-5 with a 3.73 ERA in 16 games in the 2024 season. In the 2025 season, Weiss truly opened his eyes to baseball. In as many as 30 games, he improved with 16 wins, 5 losses and a 2.87 ERA. He played 178 ⅔ innings in the regular league alone and also had 207 strikeouts. He stood tall as the league's top starting pitcher.
Major League clubs did not let this performance stand still. Houston quickly brought Weiss with an annual salary of $2.6 million (about 3.8 billion won) in the 2026 season. Locally, Weiss is considered to be issued four to five times.
Weiss is also aware of this situation. He said, "In Korea, there was a lot of responsibility for foreign pitchers to be responsible for long innings. But it's different in Houston. The goal is to contribute to the team while continuously playing a long season. In the past, he idolized that he wanted to play in the major leagues, but now the stage has only been moved. "We will prepare not only for our Major League debut but also after that," he stressed.
Weiss returned as a "real pitcher" by absorbing the KBO league's intelligent baseball and Ryu Hyun-jin's know-how. Baseball fans are paying attention to what kind of change his 2026 season will bring to Houston's mound.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
