Ryu Hyun-jin pitches four innings of preseason baseball in Hanwha Eagles return

Ryu Hyun-jin pitches in an exhibition game between the Kia Tigers and Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Ryu Hyun-jin made his first pre-season appearance since returning from the big leagues to rejoin the Hanwha Eagles on Tuesday, giving up one run in four innings of work against the Kia Tigers at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon.

Ryu threw 41 strikes in 62 pitches, allowing three hits and striking out three.

Ryu rejoined the Hanwha Eagles last month on an eight-year, 17 billion won ($12.8 million) contract, eleven seasons after leaving the club to play in the major league.

The ultimate KBO ace, Ryu arrived in the league in 2006 to win Rookie of the Year, MVP and All-Star honors and take the Triple Crown.

Ryu went on to make the All-Star team every year for the following six years, topping the KBO strikeout ranking five times, the ERA ranking twice and earning two Golden Glove awards.

Ryu moved to the big leagues in 2013, joining the Los Angeles Dodgers on a six-year, $36-million deal.

He pitched for the California club until 2019, when he was the MLB ERA leader and named to the All-Star squad. He will be the fourth Korean MLB All-Star to return to the KBO, after Park Chan-ho, Kim Byung-hyun and Choo Shin-soo. That year he also finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting, the closest to the prize a Korean pitcher has ever got.

Ryu joined the Blue Jays in 2020 on a four-year, $80 million contract, but was only able to play two full seasons before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2022 campaign. He returned to the mound at the tail end of the 2023 season.

Ryu made 11 starts in the second half of the 2023 season, going 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA over 52 innings of work. He leaves the MLB with a big league career 3.27 ERA with 78 wins and 48 losses. Back in the KBO, Ryu will pick where he left off with 98 wins and 52 losses for a career 2.80 ERA and 1,238 strikeouts to his name.

The 2024 KBO season begins on March 23.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]