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Who is Hyun Jin Ryu?
Hyun jin Ryu is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher. Hyun Jin Ryu is now a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. In his native language, Ryu Hyun-jin, he played in the Korea Baseball Championship for a long time before being drafted into Major League Baseball.
He is the first Korean pitcher to appear in Major League Baseball.
Early Life, Childhood, and Education
Hyun Jin Ryu was born on March 25, 1987, in South Korea.
Ryu’s father, Jae-Cheon Ryu, bought him a lefthander’s glove that generally goes in the right hand when he was 10 years old.
Because of this, Ryu finally learned to throw with his left hand despite being a right-handed person.
Even today, he is a left-handed pitcher.
He went to Dongsan High School in Incheon. He is presently a master’s student at Daejeon University.
Height and Weight
Hyun Jin Ryu is a 255-pound pitcher who stands 6 feet 3 inches tall.
He pitches left-handed. Hyun fastball Jin’s has a velocity of 89-92 mph.
He employs a cutter, curveball, slider, and change-up.
Many consider his change-up to be his greatest pitching style.
He has attracted a lot of attention because of his ability to locate pitches; notably, he throws within the strike zone.
Ryu is also the first and only Asian pitcher in major league history with a career ERA less than 3.00.
Married
Hyun Jin Ryu is a husband.
On January 5, 2018, he married Korean broadcaster Ji-Hyun Bae.
His wedding was officiated by Kim-In Sik, his boss at Hanwha. On May 17, 2020, his wife gave birth to their daughter, Lucy Ryu.
At a game, Hyun-Jin Ryu was joined by his wife.
Hyun-Jin Ryu is a hugely popular sports figure in South Korea and around the world.
In practically every venue where he pitches, he attracts Korean baseball fans.
One unusual illustration of his popularity is when he won a game at the Rodgers Center against the Toronto Blue Jays; hundreds of Korean fans waited after the game only to give Ryu a standing ovation, a common occurrence during the game but unheard of after the game.
His inability to interact with his colleagues was exacerbated by his lack of sufficient English language education when he first joined the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ryu, on the other hand, gradually improved over time.
Hyun-Jin is well regarded in the South Korean baseball community.
This is demonstrated by the fact that no one has worn his Jersey Number 99 since he left the Hanwha Eagles for Major League Baseball in 2012.
Early Career, Teams, and Success
Championships for High Schools
Hyun-Jin was a high school baseball player before turning professional. Before 2005, he had never pitched in an official game.
He was slated to pitch in 2004, but Tommy John’s surgery rendered him ineligible for the season.
He represented his high school team in the Blue Dragon Open National High School Championship in 2005, tossing an incredible 22 consecutive shutout innings as the team’s ace and batting.389 in the competition.
For his great performance, he was naturally chosen Best Pitcher at the end of the competition.
Ryu was chosen for the South Korean national junior squad, which finished second in the 6th Asian Junior Baseball Championship in South Korea.
He began the semifinal game against Taiwan’s Chinese Taipei and guided his side to the finals.
More Facts about Hyun Jin Ryu
| Full Name | Hyun-jin Ryu |
| Profession | Baseball Pitcher |
| Date Of Birth | March 25, 1987 |
| Place Of Birth | Incheon, South Korea |
| Father’s Name | Jae-Cheon Ryu |
| Mother’s Name | Seong-Soon Park |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Age | 35 Years Old |
| Married | Yes |
| Spouse’s Name | Ji-Hyun Bae |
| Spouse’s Profession | Broadcaster |
| Children | 1; Lucy Ryu |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Height | 6 feet and 3 inches |
| Weight | 255 pounds |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| College | Daejeon University |
| Current Team | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Nationality | South Korea |
| Merch | Jersey, Bobblehead |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
| Last Update | August 2022 |
Eagles of Hanwha (2006 – 2012)
Hyun-Jin Ryu began his professional baseball career as the first pick in the second round of the KBO League draft with the Hanwha Eagles.
On April 12, 2006, he made his professional debut. His debut season ended with a win-loss record of 18-6. It’s an incredible record for a rookie like him.
He was named rookie of the year and player of the year for his great performance.
He was also named MVP for the same season. It’s safe to say that Hyun-Jin Ryu had a successful season.
Hyun-Jin was a member of the South Korean National Baseball Team for the 2008 Olympics.
His baseball team won the gold medal in the competition.
Hyun-effort Jin was critical in the gold medal-winning victories over Canada in the semifinals and Cuba in the finals.
Hyun-Jin had a good year in 2009 because he played for the South Korean National Baseball team in the 2009 World Baseball Classics.
As a result, South Korea finished second, with Japan taking first place.
Hyun-Jin Ryu was the first pitcher in baseball history to strike out 17 batters in nine innings.
He often stated his desire to play in the MBL. As a result, many MBL scouts traveled to South Korea to watch him pitch.
The Eagles accepted the Los Angeles Dodgers bid of $27.5 million to negotiate a contract with Ryu on November 9, 2012.
Ryu had inked a six-year, $36 million contract by December.
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Dodgers of Los Angeles (2013-2019)
On St. Patrick’s Day, Ryu earned his first win as a Dodger in a spring game.
In 5 2/3 innings, he struck out 11 batters.
He struck out six batters and only allowed five to reach base.
On April 2, 2013, Hyun-Jin Ryu made his Major League Baseball debut against the San Francisco Giants.
He earned his first MBL victory when he faced the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On April 13, the same year, he got his first major league hit and a double against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
His MBL personal record was broken in the game against the Colorado Rockies.
He struck out 12 hitters, a personal high for the MBL.
Hyun-Jin Ryu is also the only South Korean pitcher to appear in a Major League Baseball postseason game.
Ryu had a successful 2014. His season kicked off in Sydney, Australia.
Throughout the five innings, he kept the D-backs scoreless.
Despite missing time due to numerous injuries throughout the season, he started 26 games for the Dodgers.
Hyun-Jin was injured and rested frequently during the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2015 season.
From the start of the training sessions, he experienced a tight back.
He also had shoulder pain, which kept him on the injured list for the time being.
Later, he needed shoulder surgery to relieve his shoulder problems.
This forced him to miss the rest of the season and his dreams of pitching a career-high 200 innings.
Hyun-Jin returned to the stage in 2016 in top shape.
He made his Dodgers debut against the San Diego Padres.
Ryu reported elbow discomfort following the game and was reinstated to the disabled list.
He also underwent debridement surgery to address the issue with his left elbow.
Spotrac has more information about his contract and career earnings.
Later in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ryu recorded his first major league hit since 2014 in a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
He also pitched four scoreless innings out of the bullpen and earned his first major league save in a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Ryu appeared in 24 games for the Dodgers that year.
He was placed on the disabled list again in 2018 due to a groin injury.
However, he started 15 games for the team and went 7-3 with 85 strikeouts.
He was also the first Korean pitcher to make a World Series start.
Hyun-Jin Ryu became a free agent after 2018 but chose to accept the Dodgers’ $17.9 million offer.
As a result, he will remain with the Dodgers through the end of 2019.
Hyun-jin had a busy year in 2019 since he had to play in a lot of games after being injured for a few years.
After Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill were hurt, he took the field against the Atlanta Braves.
He also pitched for the Washington Nationals as a starter.
These two pitches earned him NL Player of the Week honors.
In addition, he holds the Dodgers record for the eighth longest scoreless innings pitched.
In May, Ryu was named MLB Pitcher of the Month.
Furthermore, he was named the National League’s starting pitcher for his first-ever All-Star Game participation at the 2019 aLL-Star Game.
He hit his first professional home run against Colorado Rockies pitcher Antonio Sanzatela.
Hyun-Jin finished the season with a 14-5 record and an MLB season-best ERA of 2.32.
He also had the lowest walk-to-inning ratio (1.183).
As a result, he received the second-highest number of votes for the National League Cy Young Award.
Blue Jays of Toronto (2020 – present)
The Toronto Blue Jays signed Hyun-Jin Ryu to a four-year, $80 million contract.
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the season did not begin until July.
He made his Blue Jays debut as the starting pitcher on Opening Day.
He pitched 4 2/3 innings in Toronto’s 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Hyun-Jin concluded the season with a 5-2 record in 12 appearances.
He has a pretty impressive record thus far, becoming the first Blue Jays pitcher this season to pitch into the seventh inning and the second starter to throw 100 pitches while allowing zero runs, five hits, and two walks in a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees.
Ryu led the Blue Jays to their first postseason appearance since 2016.
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Stats
| Year | WAR | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | SO | WHIP |
| Career | 19.4 | 73 | 45 | 3.20 | 169 | 168 | 1 | 976.1 | 880 | 1.174 |
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Online Presence
Hyun-Jin Ryu can be found on Instagram and Twitter. As a result, he has 193 thousand Instagram followers.
Furthermore, he has 98.5 thousand followers on Twitter.
