Left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin of the Hanwha Eagles played his second bullpen session at Akama Stadium in Okinawa, Japan on Wednesday. Akama Stadium is the spring camp of the Samsung Lions. Hanwha started a practice game against Samsung at 1 p.m. on the day. Ryu was not included in the group, but he accompanied the team on its way to the away game and conducted the training.
Arriving at Akama Stadium, Ryu immediately warmed up after changing into a uniform. He then headed to the bullpen. He threw a total of 60 pitches, 20 each on the day. He pitched in all pitches, including fastballs, sliders, curves, cutters and changeups.
Catcher Lee Jae-won, Ryu’s friend and colleague, received the ball himself. Hanwha General Manager Son Hyuk and Manager Choi Won-ho also watched the pitch from behind. Before the bullpen pitching, Sohn jokingly told Lee, “What if you can’t catch the ball?” and Lee replied with a smile, “Is it because you like it too much?” “Just say it’s not good,” Sohn said with a smile.
“It’s been 19 years,” Ryu told Lee before the game. The third graders at Dongsan High School in 2005 and Lee Jae-won at Incheon High School shared the same bowl with the national youth team and displayed good battery performance. On the day, Ryu threw and received the ball for the first time in 19 years.
Lee encouraged Ryu by shouting “Nice Ball” every time. After throwing a changeup, Ryu asked Lee, “Do you want me to curl it in?” to which Lee replied, “Slightly.” When Sohn Hyuk said he liked the sound of the mitts, Lee answered, “The ball is good,” and praised Ryu.
Ryu, who threw 20 pitches, shouted, “Five minutes!” He meant that he would take a break. “It’s really nice,” Son said, adding, “It doesn’t look like I’m throwing too hard, but the ball is coming better than I thought.” “Especially, I like the angle at which the changeup falls. It comes right away and falls,” Lee Jae-won said.
“It would be easy to catch a ball. If you hold the mitt, the ball will come out easily,” Sohn said. “Ryu Hyun-jin’s first pitch is all strikes. That’s a big advantage. If it doesn’t work during pitching, it doesn’t work during actual games.” He also added, “All the bats came out with the high cutters.”
Ryu’s pitching has resumed. He even ordered “meat the top” and “a little bit inward” from Lee Jae-won. He also called it “more outward, poop tea.” In slang, poop tea means a complete corner of players.
After throwing 20 pitches, he took a short break again. “I pitch without errors. I feel like I’m in my prime right now,” Lee said in amazement. Ryu asked, “What’s your signature?” and Lee replied, “I’ll do whatever you want.” The two met for a while to check the signatures.
Ryu pitched 20 more pitches. “I wish there were five players like Ryu Hyun-jin,” Son said. “My speed is getting faster and faster. I don’t think I have to worry about my speed.”
Ryu Hyun-jin and Lee Jae-won patted each other after bullpen pitching.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s first bullpen session took place on the day he joined the team. Ryu Hyun-jin signed an eight-year contract with Hanwha on the 22nd for a total of 17 billion won (including opt-outs, not disclosed under the agreement of the two sides). It is the largest contract in the KBO League history. After playing in the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2013 to last year, he returned to his former team Hanwha for the first time in 12 years this year.
Ryu boarded the plane on the following day. He arrived at Gochida Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, where Hanwha’s spring camp is held, and joined the team. He exchanged greetings with Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho and the team before participating in training. He warmed up by stretching and catching balls, and participated in bullpen pitching.
At the time, Ryu played a total of 45 pitches, checking on fastballs, curves, cutters, and changeups. After the pitch, he told the coaching staff, “It wasn’t difficult. I did about half of it.” Choi said, “You said you weren’t tired, but the ball was going well. It’s nice to see your ball.”
Pitcher coach Park Seung-min also said, “The pitching strength was not that strong, but the pitching quality and pitching quality were very good. It was my first pitching, and I felt like, ‘As expected, it’s Ryu Hyun-jin.’ I think he has built his body very well.”
Ryu said, “I had no problem because I have been preparing steadily. I wanted to train indoors and exercise outdoors quickly,” adding, “I pitched in the bullpen as soon as I got here, and I think I threw well. I had a schedule that I had so far, and today (23rd) happens to be the day when I pitch in the bullpen, so I threw the ball right away.”
BY: 토토사이트