Ryu Hyun-jin's 20-year period for the national team's most wins → All the members who won the 'golden age of Korean baseball' in Beijing are gone! "An era is coming to an end."

*This content was translated by AI.

Korean Monster Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles), a left-hander from the top of the major leagues produced by Korean baseball, will put down the friendly Taegeuk mark. The last protagonist, who led the joy of winning the 2008 Beijing Olympics, stepped down, and the "Beijing Generation," which symbolized the golden age of Korean baseball, officially disappeared into the back of history.

Ryu Hyun-jin officially expressed his intention to retire from the national team after losing to the Dominican Republic in the round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals on the 14th (Korea Standard Time).

Asked about his retirement from the national team, he said in an interview with field reporters in the mixed zone after the game, "I think it's the last time. Wouldn't it be difficult after that?" he said. "I'm personally honored to be able to play in the national team until the end. It's a shame that it ends, but I'm glad I've been able to do it so far," he added.

As a result, Ryu Hyun-jin will put down his national team uniform, which he has played for 20 years. Ryu Hyun-jin, who has played as an adult national team since the Doha Asian Games in 2006, left the most dazzling mark in Korean baseball history, especially in international competitions such as the Summer Olympics and WBC, where elite members clash. Even though he had a 16-year hiatus due to his entry into the Major League since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, his cumulative record is still unique.

Ryu Hyun-jin pitched in 56 ⅓ innings in as many as 16 games for the national team, recording 5 wins, 2 losses, 52 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.83. This is the record of tying for first in the most wins in the national team, second in the most innings, and second in the most strikeouts. In particular, Ryu Hyun-jin showed off his overwhelming presence in such a big game that he was the only one who won more than two games in an international competition in which South Korea played in the finals. There is only the Premier 12 international tournament that Ryu Hyun-jin has not been able to participate in.

Ryu Hyun-jin's announcement of his retirement from the national team means more than just the retirement of one pitcher. As Ryu Hyun-jin, who wore the national team uniform until the end among the members who wrote the myth of winning all nine games at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, retired, the so-called "Beijing Generation," who led the golden age of Korean baseball, will retire from the national team. However, only Ryu Hyun-jin, Kang Min-ho (Samsung Lions), Lee Yong-kyu (Kiwoom Heroes), Kim Hyun-soo (KT Wiz), and Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG Landers) are still active. Prior to this, Kim Kwang-hyun also expressed his intention to retire from the national team after completing the 2023 WBC.

Although his last at 2026 WBC Miami, after his prime, was left to be disappointed by his poor performance against Dominica and defeat, his fighting spirit on the mound over the past 20 years is expected to remain the brightest legacy of Korean baseball history.

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*This content was translated by AI.