"Hanwha is in trouble."' Agreed again, admitted that Ryu Hyun-jin, who was 'up to 141km', was completely helpless in two perfect innings... I realized it after 21 years [Okinawa Station]

*This content was translated by AI.

It is lucky that the franchise star representing the club is "Korean Monster" Ryu Hyun-jin (39). Ryu Hyun-jin, who won the national flag for the first time in 16 years, made a successful return against his former team.

Ryu Hyun-jin took the mound as the national team's starter in a practice game against Hanwha in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Kochinda Baseball Stadium in Yase, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 21st, and struck out only one in two innings, pitching perfectly without allowing a run, walking or hitting.

Nineteen balls were enough to play the scheduled two innings. Ryu threw 12 fastballs, four changeups, two curves, and one cutter. The maximum speed was only 141 kilometers per hour, but Hanwha hitters were helpless.

In the first inning, the first batter Lee Won-seok struck out swinging. Jonathan Peraza, who returned to Hanwha after two years, also grounded out to second base, and Kang Baek-ho, who joined after receiving a four-year, 10 billion won FA contract this year, also hit a fly ball to center field. He was in a hurry to give the bat to the ace of the uniform, which is unfamiliar to Hanwha's present and future. Chae Eun-sung grounded out to shortstop, Han Ji-yoon hit a straight hit to third baseman, and Ha Joo-seok grounded out to second base to keep the ball out of the infield. Finishing two innings too early, Ryu had to throw 21 more pitches from the bullpen to fill the scheduled number of pitches.

After the game, manager Ryu Ji-hyun said, "It was very encouraging that Ryu Hyun-jin made a calculated pitch. The speed seems to be about 141km/h, and I would like to praise that the ball's movement was very good. The movement is good, so the batters were deceived by the change-up," he said.

Ryu Hyun-jin was selected as the second runner-up in the second round of the 2006 KBO Rookie Draft after graduating from Dongsan High School. As soon as he made his debut in 2006, he led Hanwha to the Korean Series with 18 wins, 6 losses, 1 save, a 2.23 ERA, and 204 strikeouts in 201 ⅓ innings. It is an unprecedented KBO history that has not been broken so far that it won the Rookie of the Year and the League MVP at the same time.

Since then, as Ryu Hyun-jin dominated the KBO league, it was funny to say that Hanwha "got caught" 21 years ago. It is also recognized that Ryu Hyun-jin, who has a history of elbow surgery, was chosen, but it was possible because the previous two teams followed the luck they skipped.

Hanwha has realized its good fortune for the first time in 21 years. Of course, Hanwha experienced Ryu Hyun-jin's ball through many blue-and-white games and live pitching. However, as an opposing team player, I have never faced off with tension. Therefore, it was a game that Hanwha players also looked forward to. Rookie Oh Jae-won (19), who met before the game, said, "I really wanted to experience Ryu Hyun-jin's ball, but I will not start today."

Despite his overwhelming performance, Ryu Hyun-jin was full of room around his mouth. Ryu Hyun-jin, who met with reporters after the game, said, "Because it's our team, I was able to throw and come down in a good mood for two innings. I think it's okay in general. It was good for the first game and it's definitely a little better than this time last year. I think it will be better if I throw one more game and go into the competition," he said.

When asked who was the most threatening Hanwha batter, Ryu Hyun-jin, who picked Lee Won-seok, said, "They are players I know so well that I took the mound a little more comfortably. I think our team's players let it go because the senior threw it," he said.

He said, "I'm still in the Hanwha group room, so I saw the lineup of today's game first. I was with Park Sang-won, and Wang Yancheng was the starter, so I talked on the phone and asked him to do well. Looking at the throwing today, I think I made my body well. He is a Taiwanese player, but he has played in Japan for seven years, so he seems to be close to NPB. It would have helped the national team players a lot," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.