Ryu Hyun-jin pleased with 1st KBO preseason outing, thanks fans for support

After pitching in front of home fans for the first time in over a decade, Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin said Tuesday he was mostly happy with his performance.

The 36-year-old left-hander pitched four innings of one-run ball against the Kia Tigers in a preseason game in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul.

It was Ryu’s first official KBO game since Oct. 4, 2012.

He first pitched for the Eagles from 2006 to 2012 and then took his talent to Major League Baseball, where he spent the next 11 years. He rejoined the Eagles last month on an eight-year, 17 billion won (US$12.9 million) contract.

Ryu made 62 pitches against the Tigers, 41 of them for strikes. He touched 148 kilometers per hour with his four-seam fastball, or about 91.9 miles per hour (mph). In 2023 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Ryu averaged 88.6 mph with that pitch.

“I threw harder than I’d expected. My changeup command was a bit off, but other than that, I am happy with the way I pitched,” Ryu said. “I got my work in, as far as pitch count and total innings.”

He then added with a smile, “I think the fastball velocity number was too high. Maybe the radar gun malfunctioned.”

Ryu looked to be his vintage self, inducing soft grounders and pop flies by working the corners. He also changed speeds with his pitches effectively, while striking out three and walking none.

Ryu took a couple of groundballs off his foot and leg, but was none the worse for wear afterward.

“I had a lot of fun out there. Our fans got really loud when I took the mound, and it made me feel great,” Ryu said of some 3,500 fans, some of whom waited outside from the early morning hours before the gates opened. Weekday preseason games are free of charge, with no reserved seats.

“We had a lot of fans even though this was just a preseason game, and many of them are waiting outside after the game,” Ryu said. “I’ll try to play hard for them and sign as many autographs as I can.”

This was Ryu’s first game with the automated ball-strike system, in which calls made using a tracking system are relayed to the home plate umpire through an earpiece.

“I think having different strike zones for each hitter will be a bit of a challenge,” Ryu said. “Other than that, it’ll be fine.”

Ryu thanked his infielders for their steady defense behind him, though first baseman Chae Eun-seong did have the team’s lone error of the game when he booted a grounder in the fourth inning.

“They’re all playing very hard, and I appreciate that,” Ryu said. “I am going to trust my infielders. Pitchers always have to trust their teammates.”

During his first tour of duty with the Eagles, Ryu often had a shoddy defense behind him, which led to plenty of unearned runs for the left-hander.

When told the Eagles’ defense in those years was a lot worse, Ryu deadpanned, “They didn’t give me any trouble at all. I don’t remember it.”

This was the first of two scheduled preseason outings for Ryu, who is in line to start on Opening Day, March 23, against the defending champions LG Twins.

Rain had been forecast for Daejeon in the early afternoon hours, but Mother Nature cooperated and allowed Ryu to get his four innings. The skies opened up during the top of the eighth inning and the game was called after a few minutes of delay, giving the Eagles a 9-1 win.

Ryu’s next outing is Sunday against the Lotte Giants in the southeastern city of Busan.

“It may rain that day, and so we’ll see what happens. I think I will know for sure about the Opening Day start after my next preseason game,” Ryu said. “I want to work on my changeup, which is my main weapon, and increase my pitch count in the next game.”