Why are you wary of Hanwha when Doosan's '8-game win' is confirmed
Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop was wary of the Hanwha Eagles joined by "monster" Ryu Hyun-jin (37). Hanwha turned the KBO league upside down when it signed an eight-year contract worth 17 billion won with Ryu in mid-April. Ryu was agonizing over staying in the U.S. Major League, and there was an FA contract offer from the Major League club, but he chose to return this year to keep his promise that he would return to Hanwha when he is healthy. Ryu is a veteran among the veterans who recorded 190 games, 98-52 innings, 1269 innings, 1238 strikeouts, an ERA of 2.80, 186 games, 78-48, 1055 ⅓ innings and an ERA of 3.27. 스포츠토토
Manager Lee said Ryu Hyun-jin himself is a big reinforcement, but he looked positively at the changes that will occur in the Hanwha team since Ryu Hyun-jin joined the team. "He throws well, of course. Ryu Hyun-jin is also Ryu Hyun-jin, but I think there will be a lot for young players to learn from watching him work out, practice together, and throw in the game. Adding to that, I think Hanwha will become very strong."
Lee met with Ryu Hyun-jin, who came to greet the Hanwha Eagles at an exhibition game held in Daejeon on Tuesday, and had a conversation with him for nearly 30 minutes. "I told him he did a great job. He said he had been in the U.S. for 11 years. He told him not to get sick and to do well. We will do well this year, so you will do well next year," Lee said with a smile.
He told Ryu Hyun-jin, who returned to the KBO League after a long hiatus, to come and enjoy himself. Lee also had similar experiences as a player, having played in the Japanese professional baseball league for about eight years before returning to Korea.
"The U.S. and Japan are different (from Japan). The stage is completely different," Lee said. "Didn't Ryu use to be an All-Star starting pitcher in the Major League Baseball? I'm not in a position where I can say this or that." Lee displayed a humble attitude that it would be difficult to leave advice to Ryu.
"I just said one thing. I thought baseball would be fun. I think America would be fun, but I've never played baseball before. Korea's baseball is like a family now. (Ryu Hyun-jin) came after 12 years and 11 years, so he said it would be fun because it's a very interesting league."
Lee was wary of Ryu's performance at Hanwha Eagles, but Doosan completely dominated the KBO league when limited to exhibition games. With all eight games won, the team has taken the top spot regardless of the outcome of any remaining one game. As of Tuesday, the LG Twins (5 wins and 2 losses) ranked second, and the Hanwha Eagles (5 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw) ranked third. They have harmonious pitching and hitting. The team ranks first in both batting average of 0.279 (74 hits in 265 times at bat) and ERA of 2.50. Kim Jae-hwan, the fourth batter who showed poor performance last year, is signaling a revival, while Young guns such as Kim Taek-yeon, Kim Dong-ju, Park Shin-ji and Choi Jong-in stand out on the mound.
"We haven't had a single game that we wanted to win. We just thought about how to play today's game according to the order, and we all went in that order," Lee said of confirming the first place in the exhibition game. "The main players went for two or three at-bats, rested when they rested, and just went according to that plan, but I think the players prepared well. Fielders can't afford to give at-bats more than four to five times (because of the exhibition game), but I think they prepared well so that they wouldn't miss a chance," Lee said.
Catcher Yang Eui-ji said, "I think the overall team's hard work in Australia has resulted in some results. Also, I know that the coach, the coaches, and the entire team were not as good as last year's batting, so I think I trained a lot (as a result). As I gained a lot of confidence, I boldly played the bat at the bat, and the result was later on. After running again, I think I got good results and a lot of scores came out like this."
"Coach Cho Woong-cheon (this year) came and played in the exhibition game and worked with young friends a lot, and I was surprised that there were a lot of friends who improved a lot and had various speed limits. In addition, there are a lot of pitchers who throw boldly without hesitation, so I don't think there are many walks these days, and the results are a little good," he added, hoping that the good atmosphere of the exhibition game will continue until the regular season.