'Emergency' Moon Dong-ju → Won Tae-in → 162km STL finish also left... 'ML 78 wins-WBC runner-up experience' Ryu Hyun-jin will be the troubleshooter

*This content was translated by AI.

Moon Dong-joo (Hanwha Eagles) and Won Tae-in (Samsung Lions) all fell due to injuries. To make matters worse, Riley Jun-young O'Brien (St. Louis Cardinals), who plays as a closing player in the big league, was also absent due to calf pain. Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha), who has more experience than anyone else, has a heavier shoulder.

The national team, which held the first camp in Saipan last month and checked its overall condition, entered the second camp in Okinawa, Japan from the 15th.

Even before the call-up, he grew worried. Ahead of the final entry announcement, Moon Dong-joo was out, followed by Won Tae-in's elbow injury. The national team's mound is on alert as even O'Brien, who was expected to keep the back door of the national team firmly, fell out.

Coach Ryu Ji-hyun clashed twice in the K-baseball series with the Czech Republic and Japan, who will face each other in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) group stage in November last year. In particular, they collapsed by allowing 21 walks in two showdowns with Japan, but they were severely shaken by the pressure of Tokyo Dome, and eventually brought in veterans Ryu Hyun-jin and Noh Kyung-eun (42, SSG Landers).

Is it because of excessive greed, or is it because the body has to improve its condition faster than the season. Moon Dong-joo and Won Tae-in, who worked well together in Saipan camp and raised expectations, left the ranks side by side, and joined as Korean players to O'Brien, who was a great hope for the bullpen

He felt pain in his right calf while pitching live at the St. Louis spring camp in the U.S., and decided that it would be difficult to raise him to his normal condition until just before the main tournament, so he eventually chose to replace Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan Bears).

In particular, the hole in the starting lineup is large. Kwak Bin (Doosan), So Hyung-joon (KT) as right-handed pitchers, Ko Young-pyo (KT) as flankers, and Son Joo-young and Song Seung-ki (LG) as left-handers were the starters last year, but it is true that they have little weight to confidently play against Taiwan or Japan, which is important to advance to the second round.

Therefore, Ryu Hyun-jin's role became more important. He is a pitcher who does not need an explanation. Ryu Hyun-jin has played 201 ⅔ innings in 30 games since his KBO League debut season, achieving the Triple Crown as a pitcher with 18 wins, 6 losses, 1 save, 204 strikeouts, and 2.23 ERA, and won the MVP award along with the Rookie of the Year award that year.

Ryu Hyun-jin, who devastated the league afterwards, headed to the Major League Baseball (MLB) after the 2011 season. He played for the "strongest team in the universe" LA Dodgers for six seasons and played as the ace of the Dodgers with Clayton Kershaw (retired), and later signed a four-year, $80 million (about 116 billion won) contract with Toronto to continue his performance.

Ryu Hyun-jin, who recorded 78-48 in 186 games and 3.27 ERA in 10 seasons in the big league and ranked first in MLB's overall ERA, returned to his former team Hanwha at 17 billion won in eight years ahead of the 2024 season.

Showing off his robustness with a double-digit victory in 2024, his return season, he lowered ERA from 3.87 last year to 3.23.

It is true that the physical burden is great at the age of 40, but he still has the ability to cook batters by freely using sophisticated control and various pitches. In particular, given that he has more experience with big league players than anyone else, WBC is expected to be a great help to the national team.

WBC cannot exceed 65 pitches in the first round. Ryu Hyun-jin, who usually runs the game smartly through slow control, which saves power throughout the game, will be able to see his pitches doing his best from the beginning of the game unlike before when he cannot throw more than 65 pitches.

Ryu Hyun-jin's bullpen pitching was revealed on the KBO YouTube channel. He finished his condition check by throwing not only fastballs but also various breaking balls.

The valuable experience of being the No. 1 MLB ERA and the experience of leading Korea to the runner-up with 1 win, 1 hold and 2.57 ERA in 5 games (two starts) in the 2009 WBC is also a valuable asset that no one in the national team has done. Expectations for Ryu Hyun-jin, who has become an injured ward, are inevitably growing. Can he become a savior of Korea in the WBC with his rich experience.

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*This content was translated by AI.