“He is a born pitcher.”
Manager Kim Kyung-moon commented this about Ryu Hyun-jin (38) of the Hanwha Eagles. I couldn't help but admire the crisis management skills Ryu displayed against LG on the 30th of last month in Daejeon.
On that day against LG, Ryu pitched 7 innings, allowing 6 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, struck out 6, and gave up 2 runs, setting the stage for Hanwha's comeback victory of 5-2. With this victory, Ryu improved to 3 wins (1 loss), reducing his earned run average from 3.15 to 3.05.
LG starting pitcher Yoni Chiriños also pitched well, resulting in a tight pitching duel at 1-1 until the 6th inning. Ryu faced a critical moment in the 7th inning. After allowing consecutive hits to Austin Dean and Moon Bo-gyeong, Kim Hyun-soo’s grounder bounced in front of the shortstop for an infield hit. The runner from third base scored, giving LG the lead, and it set up a crisis with runners on first and second with no outs.
If it had been a well-hit ball, it could have been acknowledged, but a questionable grounder led to a hit and a run. It could have been frustrating, but Ryu remained calm. In a 1 out, 2nd and 3rd base situation following Oh Ji-hwan's sacrifice bunt, he intentionally walked Park Dong-won to set up a bases-loaded strategy. Park Hae-min's ground ball was hit toward the pitcher; Ryu initially couldn’t field it cleanly but quickly picked up the ball and tagged out the runner from third at home. If he had made the play cleanly, it could have ended the inning in a double play, and Ryu showed a disappointed expression.
Another moment where he nearly faltered came during a continued crisis with 2 outs and the bases loaded, as he threw three consecutive balls to pinch-hitter Moon Seong-joo. As the slider on the 3rd pitch missed low outside the zone, Ryu momentarily tilted his head, showing a rare sign of struggle. One more ball would create a push-in run scoring opportunity. Ryu threw a fastball on the 4th pitch and found the strike zone, then laid in another fastball for the 5th pitch, also down the middle. Although it was only 143 km/h and not particularly fast, Moon Seong-joo was late on the timing, resulting in a ground ball to the shortstop that ended the inning.
Ryu finished the 7th inning without allowing any additional runs, and Hanwha seized its opportunity in the bottom of the 7th. After Lee Jin-young's single and Lee Do-yoon's sacrifice bunt, pinch-hitter Hwang Young-mook hit a two-run homer over the 8-meter right monster wall, leading Hanwha to a comeback victory. The moment Ryu, who had been in a losing position, turned into the winning pitcher. Hwang Young-mook's blast led to Hanwha's comeback, but it was Ryu overcoming the bases-loaded situation before that that was crucial.
On the 1st, before the LG game was canceled due to rain, manager Kim Kyung-moon recalled Ryu's performance in the 7th inning, saying, “That’s why he is a veteran. He really puts in a lot of effort, but he is a truly born pitcher,” adding, “If such a hit that could have been an out is recorded as a hit, the pitcher has to throw more pitches, and if he gives up runs, it becomes tougher. He could also lose his control, but he held strong until the 7th inning.”
Ryu also noted, “I was disappointed with the 7th inning, but the disappointment is the disappointment, and I'm glad there were no additional runs. If I had perfectly fielded Park Hae-min's ground ball for the double play, it would have been easier. The next time (when Moon Seong-joo was up), I was in a three-ball count, but at that time, there was only one thing: 'Even if I give up a home run, I just need to throw it down the middle.' That was all I could do.”
While it sounds easy, pitchers have a natural instinct against hitting balls to batters. Throwing two consecutive fastballs down the middle with bases loaded is challenging for a typical mental state. However, Ryu faced the situation accepting the risk of giving up a grand slam, and Moon Seong-joo, being unusually late with his timing, grounded the ball toward the shortstop.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also said, “In a 3B-1S count, Hyun-jin threw the ball down the middle. It was a ball that Seong-joo should have hit for a hit, but in baseball, things do not always go as planned.” In a sense, it was not Ryu's fastball that was effective, but rather a testament to his mental composure. The meaning of ‘a true pitcher’, as mentioned by manager Kim Kyung-moon, acknowledges Ryu's mindset of not shying away from confrontations in crisis situations.
It’s not that Ryu has never issued a walk that resulted in a run due to a push-in walk. In the KBO League, it has happened just once. On May 6, 2008, during his third year as a professional, he allowed a push-in walk to Kang Min-ho after throwing five pitches with the bases loaded in the 5th inning of the Lotte game.
In Major League Baseball, it happened twice. On June 18, 2017, while with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he gave up a push-in run due to a walk after a full count battle against Eugenio Suárez with the bases loaded in the 3rd inning against the Cincinnati Reds. Then, on April 3, 2018, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he allowed a push-in run with a straight walk to Jake Lamb in the 5th inning with two outs and the bases loaded.
With Ryu Hyun-jin being in the league for 20 years, it is unlikely that he would have no records of this nature. Even Greg Maddux, a four-time Cy Young Award winner known as ‘The Wizard of Control’, allowed 5 push-in walks throughout his 23-year career. He also had 3 incidents of push-in runs due to hit-by-pitches.
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