Veteran pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin reaches 200 wins, credits teammate for new pitch

At 39 years old, Hanwha Eagles left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin continues to evolve, recently achieving a significant milestone: his 200th career win combining his Major League Baseball and Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) careers. Ryu accomplished this feat during the Eagles' 5-2 victory over the Doosan Bears, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing only two runs. The win also marked the Eagles' third consecutive victory.

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It's really good to be able to complete it at home.

Ryu emphasized that personal records are secondary to his primary goal of helping the Hanwha Eagles win the championship. However, his continued development, particularly the introduction of a new "sweeping pitch" inspired by his Taiwanese teammate Wang Yen-chen, is noteworthy. This new pitch is seen as a key factor in his ongoing success and potentially puts him on track to surpass Song Jin-woo's KBO record of 210 wins.

The Hanwha Eagles are currently in fifth place in the KBO standings after sweeping the Doosan Bears over the weekend. Wang Yen-chen, a teammate from Taiwan, has also been instrumental, securing his fifth win of the season with a strong performance in the series opener. His contributions have even led some Korean media to jokingly question if the Eagles had found another Ryu Hyun-jin from Taiwan.

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Although I really feel old, as a father, I am very proud to be able to show this side in front of my children.

Ryu, who was drafted by the Eagles in the first round of the 2006 KBO draft, made his debut on April 12, 2006, at the young age of 19. Achieving his 200th win in Daejeon, a city he considers a second home, was particularly meaningful. He expressed pride in being able to showcase such an achievement in front of his parents, wife, and two children, despite acknowledging his age. The inspiration for his new sweeping pitch came from observing Wang Yen-chen's pitches, with Ryu expressing a desire to incorporate a similar outward-moving pitch into his arsenal. He and Wang Yen-chen reportedly practiced the pitch playfully during spring training.

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That is a pitch that senior Ryu Hyun-jin researched and explored on his own. I think it's the same for all pitchers, right? You watch how other pitchers throw, and you want to learn it. Everyone has that feeling.