Finally, the monster’s determination has come. Ryu Hyun-jin will return to the KBO League stage after 12 years and the Hanwha Eagles.
According to the baseball community on Tuesday, Ryu reportedly agreed to a contract with the Hanwha Eagles. Only official procedures remain. The level of his contract is said to be a massive contract worth more than 17 billion won (17 million U.S. dollars) for at least four years. The highest amount in Korea was 15.2 billion won (14.2 million dollars) that catcher Yang Eui-ji received when he transferred to the Korean FA contract last year, which is certain to exceed this amount.
Rumors of Ryu’s return to Hanwha surfaced on Wednesday due to various news reports. “I have been talking about Ryu close to him for a long time, but we have reached a good consensus recently,” Hanwha General Manager Son Hyuk said in a statement. “If he returns, I am thinking about the highest amount of money, and I have made an offer and I am waiting for him,” acknowledging that Ryu’s return to Hanwha is partially approaching.
Hanwha made an early offer to Ryu, who was agonizing over whether to stay in the Major League and return to Korea after qualifying as an FA in the 2023 season. He said he respects Ryu’s will as much as possible while persuading him. If Ryu wants to remain in the U.S., he has no choice but to regret it. Sohn Hyuk-hyeok even recently said, “I received good offers from several teams in the U.S., so I have to wait.”
Meanwhile, Ryu’s return has begun to take shape in recent days. While watching the team in Melbourne, Australia, where the first spring camp was held, Sohn reportedly returned to Korea several days earlier than originally scheduled and met with Ryu. Afterwards, details of the contract were discussed, and an agreement seems to have been reached.
When the official announcement is made soon, Ryu will move to Okinawa, Japan, where the Hanwha Eagles’ second spring camp will take place. As Ryu has been conducting individual training sessions, he will be able to participate in the practice games in Okinawa at the earliest, but he can also slowly start the game depending on his choice. Ryu’s return to the mound in Korea will likely be discussed with manager Choi Won-ho after he joins the team.
Since his debut with the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League in 2006, Ryu has recorded 98 wins and 52 losses and one save with a 2.80 ERA in 190 games in Korea until 2012. In 2006, his debut season, he recorded 18 wins and 6 losses with a 2.23 ERA in 30 games, signaling his emergence as a monster by winning the title of multiple wins, ERA, and strikeout king. He is the only hero in the KBO league to ever win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the regular league.
After the end of the 2012 season, he transferred from the Hanwha Eagles to the Los Angeles Dodgers through the posting system. As he became the first person to directly move to the big league without going through a minor league in the KBO League, he successfully advanced to the Major League. After the end of the 2019 season, he exercised his first FA right and transferred to the Toronto Blue Jays, where he played a total of 1,055 ⅓ in 186 games in 10 big league seasons until last year, recording 78 wins, 48 losses and one save ERA of 3.27.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who became the core of the Dodgers’ starting rotation with 14 wins and 8 losses and an ERA of 3.00 in 30 games in the 2013 season when he first entered the big league stage, also showed pitching by top Major League starting pitchers with 14 wins and 7 losses and an ERA of 3.38, in 26 games in the 2014 season when he was in his second year in the big league.
He faced the biggest crisis in his career as he suffered a shoulder injury ahead of the 2015 season, but he successfully revived with five wins, nine losses, one save, and a 3.77 ERA in 25 games in the 2017 season. He then played in 15 games with seven wins and three losses with a 1.97 ERA in the 2018 season.
He also made a success story by ranking No. 1 in overall ERA in the Major League with 14 wins and five losses with 2.32 ERA in 29 games during the 2019 season. It was Ryu’s heyday when everything was perfect up until the selection of the 핑크알바 National League All-Star.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who transferred to the Toronto Blue Jays after exercising his first FA right after the end of the 2019 season, performed as good as the ace with five wins and two losses and a 2.69 ERA in 12 games in the 2020 season. Although the season was shortened amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryu Hyun-jin did his part as the first starter.
In the 2021 season, he recorded 14 wins and 10 losses with a 4.37 ERA in 31 games, and in the 2022 season, he faces another crisis as he is put on the operating table again due to an elbow injury, but he overcame the arduous rehabilitation process and took the mound again, recording a comprehensive record of 3 wins and 3 losses with a 3.46 ERA in 11 games this year.
As rumors of Ryu Hyun-jin’s return spread, positive energy spread within the Hanwha team that he could be with Ryu Hyun-jin.
Lee Tae-yang, who had individual training sessions with Ryu Hyun-jin, Jang Min-jae, Lee Min-woo, Kim Ki-joong, and Nam Ji-min in Okinawa, Japan, in January, said, “Hyun-jin doesn’t like to show what he’s thinking. That’s why I guess he’s good at baseball.” He said with a smile, “I played a lot of pranks (to come to Hanwha), but I still support him no matter what he chooses. I think he’ll make a good choice.”
Kim Ki-joong, who was contacted by Jang Min-jae to join the Ryu Hyun-jin camp, smiled and said, “I ran around at home. I don’t remember exactly, but it was when Hyun-jin was very good. The line for the autograph was really long, but I remember the last time I received it. I was lucky.”
When asked how he would feel if Ryu returned to Hanwha and played together, he said, “It would be an honor. I think there will be more time to learn. If he really comes, I think he will ask more questions.”
Former catcher Lee Jae-won and Ryu Hyun-jin are from Incheon and the same age as each other, born in 1987. They never went to the same school, but they played for the Korean youth team in 2005. Lee Jae-won joined the Hanwha Eagles as the second overall pick in the first round of the second draft in 2006, when he joined the Korean pro-baseball team SK Wyverns.
Lee Jae-won said, “HYUNJIN coming to our team is a huge plus factor, so it would be nice to come first. I’m waiting. Of course, it will help the catcher, and it will be a big help to the eight fielders who are now standing behind me. I’m sure there will be a synergy effect.”
If Ryu returns to the Hanwha Eagles, he will have more than just one player coming. Increasing his capacity is a given. Young players will be able to absorb his experience and know-how by watching, copying and learning about Ryu, a legendary pitcher who played in the Major League after dominating the KBO League. Individual growth is the growth of a team. Hanwha is on the path to becoming a strong team.