Hanwha's Ryu Hyun-jin finally writes history with 2,500 career strikeouts in Korea and the U.S. today (23rd) against the Doosan Bears in Daejeon

*This content was translated by AI.

Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles), a living legend of Korean baseball, is set to start today (23rd) in a home game against the Doosan Bears at the Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, leaving just 10 strikeouts away from reaching 2,500 career strikeouts in Korea and the U.S.

Ryu Hyun-jin recorded his first strikeout on April 12, 2006, in his professional debut against LG at Jamsil, striking out the first batter, Ahn Jae-man, on a swing-and-miss for his first career strikeout. That year, he led the league with 204 strikeouts, swept the titles for wins and ERA, and claimed the pitcher's triple crown. He became the first player in KBO League history to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, announcing the birth of a star.

Ryu Hyun-jin led the league in strikeouts again in the 2007 season with 178, marking his second consecutive year at the top. He also recorded back-to-back strikeout titles in the 2009 season (188 strikeouts) and the 2010 season (187 strikeouts). On June 19, 2011, in a game against Doosan in Daejeon, he achieved 1,000 strikeouts in the fewest games (153) and at the youngest age (24 years, 2 months, 25 days) in history.

In the 2012 season, he recorded 210 strikeouts, setting a new single-season record for his career. Only three players in KBO League history have recorded 200-strikeout seasons more than once: Seong Dong-yeol, Choi Dong-won, and Ryu Hyun-jin. With this, Ryu Hyun-jin also secured his fifth strikeout title, tying Seong Dong-yeol for the most single-season strikeout titles.

Through 190 games in the KBO League up to the 2012 season, Ryu Hyun-jin accumulated 1,238 strikeouts before moving to the Los Angeles Dodgers to make his debut in Major League Baseball (MLB). From the 2013 season through the 2019 season, he recorded 665 strikeouts in 126 games with the Dodgers. After adding 269 strikeouts with the Toronto Blue Jays from the 2020 season through the 2023 season, he returned to the domestic league.

Returning to Hanwha, Ryu Hyun-jin began accumulating strikeouts in the KBO League again starting from his return game on March 23, 2024, against LG at Jamsil. He recorded 135 strikeouts that year, demonstrating his continued dominance. In the 2025 season, he recorded 122 strikeouts, becoming the fourth player in history to achieve 100 strikeouts in nine consecutive seasons, recording triple-digit strikeouts in every season he has played in the KBO League.

He is also showing the power of a veteran this year. On April 7, Ryu Hyun-jin reached the milestone of 1,500 career strikeouts in a game against SSG at Munhak. At the time, he achieved the record in just 246 games at the age of 39 years and 13 days, setting records for the fewest games and oldest age to reach 1,500 career strikeouts. As of the 22nd, Ryu Hyun-jin's stats for this season include 13 appearances, 8 wins, 2 losses, an ERA of 2.74, and 61 strikeouts.

Ryu Hyun-jin has recorded 1,556 strikeouts in the KBO League and 934 in MLB, totaling 2,490 career strikeouts. With just 10 more strikeouts, he will climb the golden monument of 2,500 career strikeouts in Korea and the U.S.

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*This content was translated by AI.