Ryu Hyun-jin’s (Toronto Blue Jays) changeup is considered one of the best pitches in the major leagues.
Among the pitchers who passed the regulation innings in 2019, who ranked second in the Cy Young Award voting, Ryu Hyun-jin in the “Run Value” category of the changeup was -24, third after Luis Castillo (-28) and Mike Minor (-25). . The run value is a numerical value of the expected score of an event played by an attacking team, and from a pitcher’s point of view, the lower the number, the better.
Former Toronto coach Charlie Monteyo evaluated Hyun-jin Ryu as “vintage Ryu” on the day he pitched well, mostly indicating that his pitching and changeup were good.
Ryu Hyun-jin learned his changeup after he joined the pros. It was Koo Dae-sung who taught him the changeup. In 2006, when Hyun-Jin Ryu joined Hanwha, Dae-Sung Koo just returned from overseas after playing for New York Mets in Major League Baseball. Ryu Hyun-jin, who was introduced to the changeup by Koo Dae-seong at spring camp that year, immediately made it his own. 슬롯사이트
When Koo Dae-sung published his autobiographical essay “Koo Dae-sung Doesn’t Lose” in January 2021, Ryu Hyun-jin said in a recommendation, “When I was a 20-year-old rookie who just joined Hanwha, I learned a lot from senior Koo Dae-sung. Among them, the changeup he taught me is really the best gift. It was,” he said thanks.
This story was recently introduced in the major leagues as well. On the 7th (Korean time), MLB.com published an article highlighting Goo Dae-seong under the title of ’53-year-old pitcher who seems to throw forever’.
Reporter Matt Monaghan, who wrote the article, mentioned a story related to Ryu Hyun-jin while reporting that Koo Dae-sung played for Geelong Korea in the Australian professional baseball league this winter at the age of 50.
Ryu Hyun-jin went to Sydney, Australia for the opening game in March 2014 and said in an interview with the LA Times, “Senior Koo Dae-sung has had a great influence on my life. He not only taught me how to throw the ball, but also taught me many things as a mentor. He taught me everything, including the mindset in the game, how to manage myself, and the etiquette to follow in the game.”
In an interview at the time, Koo Dae-seong said, “When Ryu Hyun-jin was a rookie, he followed me around and asked me to teach him his changeup for the first month. So, while playing catch, I taught him how quickly he learned, and he threw as much as I did in less than 30 minutes.”
Ryu Hyun-jin has been on a downward trend since the second half of 2021. As the stamina problem arose, his pitch fell and his pitch faltered. The same goes for the changeup. Eventually, as his physical balance collapsed last year, he underwent surgery on his left elbow ligament in June and entered rehabilitation. Ryu Hyun-jin is training in Florida with the goal of returning to the opening season in July this year. He needs to bring back the power of his changeup in his prime.
Meanwhile, on the 8th, ESPN placed Toronto at 8th place in the 30 starting team rankings, predicting Ryu Hyun-jin’s starting team record of 3 wins and 4 losses. This estimate is Alec Manoa 22-8, Kevin Gausman 23-9, Chris Batt 22-10, Jose Berrios 13-14, and Yusei Kikuchi 7-11.
