"A Player Who Received a $3 Million Offer Does Not Exist in Taiwan": Curious About the Korean Ace's 17-Year-Old Left-Handed Pitcher... Yesterday an Enemy, Today a Friend: "Let's Meet Again on the World Stage"

*This content was translated by AI.

He did not yield an inch on the mound. A day later, when South Korea and Taiwan's next-generation aces met again, they smiled and shook hands. Ha Hyun-seung (18, Busan High) and Liu Lun-yu (17) made their next promise to reunite on an even bigger stage.

Ha Hyun-seung and Ryu Run-yu, who are participating in the 14th Asian Youth Baseball Championship, met again on the 8th at the Wi Chi-han (CEO) team's hotel restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan. The eight national teams participating in this tournament are living in the same accommodation.

Just a day ago, the two were opponents who had to overcome each other. On the 7th, South Korea defeated host nation Taiwan 2-0 in the first Group B match of the Asian Cup held at Tianmu Stadium in Taipei. For South Korea, which aims to reclaim the Asian title for the first time in eight years, this was their most challenging opponent right from the opening match.

Both teams' starting pitchers delivered a masterful pitching duel. Ha Hyun-seung allowed just two hits over 5⅔ innings, striking out no fewer than 12 batters to shut down the Taiwanese lineup scoreless. He mixed his fastball, clocked at a top speed of 152 km/h, with sliders and changeups. In particular, the Taiwanese batters were helpless against his "tunneling," where his fastball and breaking ball followed nearly identical trajectories before diverging sharply.

Even Chang Chi-an, the captain of Taiwan's lineup who was the only one to hit a long ball off Ha Hyun-seung, admitted in an interview with local media that "Ha Hyun-seung's fastball and slider had exactly the same trajectory. With changeups mixed in, batters became anxious."

However, the pitcher who was just as intense as Ha Hyun-seung was Ryu Run-yu. The left-handed pitcher, standing over 190cm tall and throwing pitches reaching speeds exceeding 150 km/h, recorded six strikeouts in five innings against South Korea without allowing a single hit or run. Even players from the South Korean national team remarked, "We thought the ball would bounce before reaching us, so we didn't swing our bats, but its velocity was so overwhelming that it came in as a strike even in the low zone."

Manager Jung also said, "Ryu Run-yu's pitching was too good; I thought it would be difficult to score early on. I believed the game would be decided only after he threw over 50 or 60 pitches and began to tire."

Ultimately, the balance was broken in the sixth inning when Ryu Run-yu came down. Although he had room to reach his pitch limit of 90 pitches, Ryu Run-yu did not return to the mound. For his appearance in the first game of the super round, 90 pitches represented the maximum allowable count.

South Korea seized the opportunity and scored two runs to secure the victory. For Liu Lun-yu, the disappointment was significant. Immediately after he left the mound, when the Taiwan national team allowed six runs in the sixth inning, Liu was seen on the mound pulling his cap down over his face as he tried to compose himself emotionally.

Ryu Ryeon-yu said, "The manager asked if I could keep going, but I came down," adding, "I already felt that I had reached my limit because the Korean batters' momentum was so strong that we poured out a lot of effort from the start." He continued, "It was frustrating. I wanted to battle more on the mound with Ha Hyun-seung, but I came down early. If it's for the team, it was an unavoidable choice."

The two pitchers, who had fought so fiercely, met at a restaurant the following day. Upon spotting each other, they shook hands, and Ha Hyun-seung joined the table where Ryu Lun-yu and Taiwanese officials were seated. Instead of the tense atmosphere on the mound from the previous day, laughter and baseball stories filled the space.

Liu Run-yu, who has known Ha Hyun-seung since middle school, said he had been eagerly awaiting this matchup. In particular, he said he waited for the matchup after hearing news that Ha Hyun-seung had received a substantial offer from a Major League Baseball (MLB) club.

Ryu Ryeon-yu said, "He is a player who received an offer of $3 million from a prestigious Major League Baseball team in the United States. There are no such players in Taiwan. I was curious about what kind of player he was, so I wanted to follow him."

Hahyun-seung, whom I saw firsthand, exceeded expectations. Ryu Reun-yu said, "His release point was excellent, and the trajectories of his fastball and breaking ball were similar, making it difficult for batters," and added, "I was impressed by his stamina to throw powerfully through the sixth inning."

Ha Hyun-seung also highly praised Liu Lianyu's pitches. Ha said, "His velocity and vertical movement were excellent. If he adds speed to his existing slider or throws a cut fastball or changeup series breaking ball moving in the opposite direction of his slider, batters will likely have even more difficulty hitting Liu's pitches than they do now." In response, Liu Lianyu replied that he is currently practicing his sweeper.

The story of the batters he faced the previous day was also not omitted. Ryu Run-yu singled out Korean batter and captain Eom Jun-sang (18, Deoksu High School) as the most impressive player among them. He recalled, "I thought the pitch in my first at-bat in the first inning was perfectly placed, so I expected a ground ball to come out, but I didn't expect him to make solid contact and hit a strong ball to the outfield. I was surprised."

Ha Hyun-seung personally visited Chang I-an, who had hit a triple off him. After hearing local reports that Chang I-an said Ha Hyun-seung's pitches were not as difficult as expected following the game, he went with an interpreter to hear the evaluation firsthand. After speaking for about five minutes, Ha Hyun-seung laughed and said, "When I actually asked him, all he did was praise me."

Fifteen MLB scouts were reported to have attended this Korea-Taiwan match. After watching the showdown between the aces of both teams, one MLB scout gave a thumbs-up, saying, "It was an excellent game beyond expectations. The pitchers did it all."

The gaze of the two promising pitchers has already turned toward even higher ground. Ryu Run-yu said, "A new era centered on us is now opening," and added, "We hope to meet with more developed performances in higher-level tournaments such as the World Baseball Classic (WBC) or Premier 12 in the future."

Ha Hyun-seung also smiled, saying, "I think he has better abilities than me, and I learned a lot through this game. Seeing him come with an improved performance compared to last year made me feel proud. This is not our final confrontation; we need to meet again on global stages, including the Asian Games. I hope we prepare well and meet again."

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*This content was translated by AI.