Trio blowing up myth of jinx
The Eagles’ starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin [YONHAP]
Opposing batters. Nagging coaches. Veterans looking for practical jokes at his expense.
And last but not least ― the sophomore jinx.
“I know the teams had the whole winter to study my tendencies, and this year will be much more challenging than last year,” said the left-handed Ryu of the Hanwha Eagles. “But I want to fight off the sophomore jinx.”
In sports, the term refers to the tendency for a player to follow a good rookie season with a disappointing second year.
But a trio of second-year pitchers this season, Ryu, Kia Tigers’ right-handed closer Han Ki-joo, and Hyundai Unicorns’ lefty starter Jang Won-sam, are taking the word ‘jinx’ out of the phrase.
Just as he did in 2006, Ryu is leading the charge for the young hurlers. He is 3-1 with a 2.83 earned run average, and has 38 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings (All statistics are through last night’s games).
Ryu’s season in 2006 was so great that matching it would be equally remarkable. Ryu won 18 games to lead the league, struck out 204 and had an earned run average of 2.23.
Yes, it’s early in the season, but Ryu’s first five starts have shown the kid is for real.
In a recent start against the LG Twins, Ryu established a new personal-high with 13 strikeouts in a game.
Ryu modestly hopes to win “more than 10 games” this season, but his manager, Kim In-sik, thinks Ryu’s commend is as good as it was last season. “His management of different in-game situations is even better,” Kim said.
The concern, as was the case last season, is his pitch count. The fewest number of pitches he’s thrown in a start this year is 111. In the 13-strikeout game, Ryu threw a whopping 132 pitches.
For a pitcher who had reconstructive elbow surgery, known as Tommy John Surgery, in high school, and who pitched more than 200 innings last year, that workload appears excessive. But Kim is giving Ryu five days off between starts, rather than the usual four-day break.
The manager’s point is that Ryu thrives with a lot of work, and his arm doesn’t tire even after 90 pitches. And that’s why “It’s better to give him the extra day’s rest and let him loose on the sixth day,” Kim said.
Ryu’s arch rival on the mound isn’t even a starter. Han, the closer with the Tigers, was the most anticipated rookie to come on the pro baseball scene in several years, thanks to a fastball that reached nearly 97 miles per hour in high school.
Last year, Han stumbled out of the gate, losing five of his first seven career starts. Han even had a stint in the minors.
His manager, Seo Jeong-hwan, publicly lashed out at the young pitcher after a poor start in the summer, saying he had no idea if Han would ever become the pitcher that the team had expected him to be in the future.
Han, who turned 20 yesterday, had his first closing assignment in the fall, and now is the undisputed closer for the Tigers.
He has seven saves in nine opportunities, with an ERA of 2.92. He has struck out 17 batters in 12 1/3 innings.
Unicorns’ starter Jang Won-sam have shown no signs of a sophomore jinx so far this season. Ryu leads the league in strikeouts with 38, while Jang is tops in ERA with 0.28. Provided by the team
“I want to help the team win the championship, and personally, I’d like to get 30 saves or more.”
Han pitched more than one inning in three of the six saves. His fastballs are complemented by a wicked slider, which arrives at the plate in the high 80s and is effective at disrupting a batters’ timing.
Perhaps putting a 20-year-old pitcher in the closer’s role may not be conducive to his development as a pitcher. And for all his bravado, Han admitted that the two-inning save last week was “pretty tiring, to be honest.”
Han may also need to attack the inside corners on right-handed batters.
But the confident player said he is feeling better by the day, and Seo also said his closer is improving each day.
Somewhat lost amid the hype surrounding these two flamethrowers is the Unicorns’ starter Jang.
Given that he has yet to notch a victory through Saturday, it is little wonder that he is flying under the radar. But don’t let the raw statistics fool you.
When you’ve given up only one earned run in five starts, you expect more than one win, but that’s exactly where the hard-luck lefty stands this season.
Jang’s streak of bad fortune began last season. He was 12-10 with a 2.85 ERA and 142 strikeouts. Those numbers would have won him top rookie honors in most other years, but Ryu’s historic season overshadowed Jang’s.
But this year, Jang has outshone Ryu in some ways. Having added a changeup to his arsenal of a fastball and slider, Jang has yet to give up a home run in 2007, after allowing 19 long balls last season.
This year Jang hasn’t conceded a run in his last 27 1/3 innings. His record stands at 1-0 with a microscopic 0.28 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings.
With a little more run support, the victories should come, and the team will certainly score more runs than the two runs it scored in Jang’s four starts so far this season. And with the Unicorns apparently protecting Jang ― he has yet to throw more than 100 pitches in a game ― the 23-year-old should only go up from here.
“He is a strong-minded young man, and he knows how to handle batters,” said Unicorns’ manager Kim Si-jin. “Just the look in his eyes tells me he won’t have the sophomore jinx.”
By Yoo Jee-ho Staff Writer [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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