Hyun-jin Ryu

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Hyun-jin Ryu (born March 25, 1987) is a South Korean professional baseball starting pitcher who is a free agent.

He has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball (MLB).

He became the first player from the KBO to join an MLB team via the posting system in 2013.

Ryu is the first Korean pitcher to play in a World Series game. In 2019, Ryu was selected for his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

During his first 14 starts, he led the Majors in earned run average (ERA) and had a ERA of 1.26, the lowest by a Dodgers pitcher since the statistic was announced in 1912.

Early life and education

Ryu was born in Incheon, South Korea, on March 25, 1987, and he attended Dongsan High School in Incheon. In Daejeon University, he is working on a master's degree in community physical education. Ryu's father gave him a lefthander's glove that goes on the right hand, so Ryu learned to pitch with his left hand.

Personal life

On January 5, 2018, Ryu married Korean sports reporter Bae Ji-hyun. Kim In-sik, Ryu's first boss at Hanwha, officiated the wedding. On October 11, 2019, the couple revealed that they were expecting their first child. Their daughter was born on May 17, 2020. His wife was pregnant with their second child when she was announced on July 24, 2022. On September 29, 2022, the couple's second child, a boy, was born in Toronto.

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Career

Ryu's Tommy John surgery in 2004 and did not participate in any official games. In 2005, he led his team to the Blue Dragon Open National High School Championship, pitching 22 of consecutive innings as the team's ace and batting.389 in the tournament. He was dubbed the Best Pitcher.

Ryu was chosen for the South Korea national junior team in Beijing, South Korea, in 2005. Ryu opened the semifinal match against Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and helped his team advance to the final by striking out ten strikeouts and giving up one unearned run in six innings. He pitched 8+13 innings with 14 strikeouts, and gave up an unearned run on five hits in three games (one start).

In 2005, he participated in the 60th National High School Baseball Championship, as a third-year student in high school. In the quarterfinals against Seongnam High School, he pitched a shutout, knocking out 17.

Ryu was drafted by the Hanwha Eagles as the 1st pick in the second round of the 2006 KBO League Draft in July 2005 and made his professional debut on April 12, 2006. Ryu's first year in 2006 was a 19–6 win-loss record, a 2.23 ERA, and 205 strikeouts in 201.2 innings pitched. He earned the Triple Crown and was then named both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year. He was the first player in KBO history to win both the Rookie of the Year award and the MVP award in the same year.

In August 2008, Ryu competed for the South Korean national baseball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where they earned the gold medal in the baseball tournament. Ryu pitched a 1–0 complete game shutout victory over Canada in the team's third game of round-robin play, giving up five hits. In the gold medal game against Cuba, he pitched 813 innings, allowing two earned runs in a 3–2 victory.

In March 2009, he represented the South Korea national baseball team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, where the team finished runner-up to eventual champion Japan. Ryu participated in the 2010 Asian Games, where the South Korea national baseball team won the gold medal in baseball. Ryu beat the LG Twins in a nine-inning match on May 11, 2010, beating the LG Twins for the first time in history.

Ryu had a 2.66 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 2012, but only won 9-89 records and ten no decisions, and no decisions were made. Ryu has expressed repeatedly his desire to play in Major League Baseball, and scouts from several MLB clubs visited Korea to see Ryu's pitching. The Eagles also reported on October 29, 2012, that Ryu will be announced as early as November 1, 2012, allowing MLB teams to apply for the right to negotiate with him.

The Eagles accepted the reported bid of $25.7 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers on November 9, 2012, giving them a 30-day window to try to reach an understanding with Ryu. On December 9, he was signed to a six-year, $36 million contract, with the option to withdraw after the 5th year if such success benchmarks were achieved (750 innings pitched per year).

Despite winning in a spring training game on St. Patrick's Day on March 17, 2013, Ryu registered his first victory as a Dodger on March 17, 2013. He only allowed one run in 5+2/3 innings, but he had to leave the final 11 guys alone. He struck out six out of a dozen batters while leaving just five people dead on base.

On April 2, 2013, Ryu made his Major League Baseball debut against the San Francisco Giants in a game. In 6.1 innings, he allowed ten hits but only one earned a run. Ryu defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in their first Major League victory on April 7. He hit his first major league double in the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 13. In the game, he went 3 for 3 on the plate, becoming the first Dodgers pitcher to hit three people in a game since Randy Wolf in 2009. In South Korea and the United States combined, this was his 100th victory in his career.

Ryu pitched six innings against the Colorado Rockies on May 1, 2013 and struck out 12 batters, his highest strikeout count in a MLB game to date.

Ryu pitched a complete game shutout against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on May 28, 2013, knocking out seven batters, walking none, and conceding only two hits. It was the first shutout in Ryu's MLB career and the first shutout for a Korean-born pitcher since Chan Ho Park and Sun-woo Kim. In 2013, Ryu was 14–8 with a 3.00 ERA in 30 starts with the Dodgers. He was invited by Baseball America to their annual "All-Rookie team."

Ryu became the first South Korean to start as the starting pitcher of a Major League Baseball postseason game on October 6, 2013.

Ryu was unbeaten in five innings of play in his first appearance of the 2014 season in Sydney, Australia. Despite missing time due to various injuries, he continued to play 26 games for the Dodgers in 2014. He was a 14-7 winner with a 3.38 ERA.

Ryu started spring training with a nascent belief that he would have a career high 200 innings in 2015. However, he was forced to bed early in camp due to back pain, although he denied it. He started throwing again, and the Dodgers decided to suspend him for two weeks. Despite the fact that Ryu was pain-free in April, the Dodgers took precautions and placed him on the 60-day disabled list on May 4 in view of his sporadic shoulder pains in the previous season. Soon after, the Dodgers noticed a lack of energy in his bullpen session, and Ryu decided to have a surgery on his shoulder to resolve the problem. Ryu had surgery to repair his left shoulder labrum on May 21 and ended his chances of pitching during the 2015 season.

On July 7, 2016, Ryu rejoined the Dodgers and got off against the San Diego Padres. In 42–3 innings of a 6–0 loss, he allowed eight hits, four of whom were for extra bases. However, after the game, he complained of elbow pain and was put back on the disabled list. He underwent debridement surgery on his left elbow on September 28, which was the first time he underwent.

Ryu defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5–3 on April 30, 2017, his first major league victory since the 2014 season. In a 7–4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, he pitched four scoreless innings out of the bullpen to win his first major league save. Ryu made 24 starts for the Dodgers (and one relief appearance) in 2017 and was 5–9 with a 3.77 ERA, 116 strikeouts, and 45 walks.

Ryu started the season 3–0 with a 2.12 ERA in six starts before ending up on the disabled list due to a groin injury. On June 2, 2018, he was put on the 60-day disabled list. Ryu got off to a 15-year tenure with a 1.97 ERA, with 85 strikeouts and 15 walks. When he first started in Game 2 of the series at Fenway Park in Boston on October 24, 2018, Ryu became the first Korean pitcher to start in a World Series game. After the season, Ryu became a free agent but the Dodgers accepted a one-year, $17.9 million, qualifying bid to keep the Dodgers one-year, $17.9 million contract.

After injuries to Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill, Ryu was named as the Dodgers' opening day starter for the 2019 season. Ryu pitched his second straight game shutout against the Atlanta Braves on May 7, 2019. In the 9-0 victory, he struck out six people, walked none, and gave up four hits. He had a no-hit bid against the Washington Nationals on May 12, 2019, before giving a double to Gerardo Parra in the eighth inning with one out. In a 6–0 victory over the Washington Nationals, he ended the game with 8 innings pitched, struck out nine, walked one, and gave up a single hit. His two pitching appearances earned him the NL Player of the Week award. On May 19, 2019, he continued his streak of scoreless innings pitched to 31. He recapped his appearance with 7 shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds. This streak is the tenth longest in Dodgers' history, and it is 28 fewer than Orel Hershiser's record of 59. In May, Ryu was named MLB Pitcher of the Month, defeating 36 batters, walking 3 batters, and giving three earned runs to three. He was selected to be the National League's starting pitcher for his first all-star appearance at the 2019 MLB All-Star Game. Ryu hit his first home run off of Antonio Senzatela of the Colorado Rockies on September 22, his first home run in his career. He finished the regular season with an ERA of 14.32 and the lowest walks per nine innings ratio of 1.183. In the National League Cy Young Award voting, Ryu came in second place.

Ryu signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays on December 27, 2019.

The Blue Jays 2020 season did not begin until July 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryu played 423 innings in Toronto's 6–4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on this day, making his Blue Jays debut as the Opening Day starting pitcher. He will finish the regular season with a 5–2 record over 12 starts and a 2.69 ERA over 62 innings pitched with 72 strikeouts and 17 walks. Ryu became the first Blue Jays' starting pitcher to pitch 100 innings in his first regular season start on September 24, 2020, while still giving 0 runs, 5 hits, & 2 walks, as well as the winning decision in a 4–1 victory over the New York Yankees to clinch the Blue Jays' first postseason appearance since 2016. He came third in voting for the 2020 American League Cy Young award, as well as the Warren Spahn Award, which is given each season by the Oklahoma Sports Museum to the best left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB).

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