There was no change. A big difference in skill was acknowledged. The Korean women’s baseball team ended the tournament with a 5-game losing streak in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) 2024 Women’s Baseball World Cup Group A qualifiers. However, he did his best until the end, and in the final game against Canada (3rd place) on the 14th (Korean time), he showed hope by finishing an uneasy defensive mistake with only one.안전놀이터
Surprising cheers arrived for the Korean national team, which had poor results but never bowed their heads. It was on the way home after the tournament. There was no direct flight to Incheon from Thunder Bay, where the preliminaries were held, so the national team moved to Toronto on the 15th and had a simple breakfast.
Suddenly someone called out. “Ryu Hyun-jin is here!” After a moment of buzz, major leaguer Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) came with his wife, Bae Ji-hyun, and his daughter.
The person who invited Ryu Hyun-jin was senior coach Jeong Geun-woo, who shared the joys and sorrows with the players as the national team coach. Chief Jung said, “I have been with Ryu Hyun-jin for a long time in her national team life and have maintained a close relationship until now. Our national team was passing through Toronto, and I lightly asked, ‘Can you come?’ I called the night before, and they came like this.”
Chief Jung wanted to give the women’s baseball team a last gift before returning home, and that was Ryu Hyun-jin’s support. Chief Jeong said, “I invited the players of our women’s baseball team to instill confidence and hope. Ryu Hyun-jin won her first victory yesterday (14th Korean time) and visited her national team, so her timing was also very good,” she said with a characteristic bright smile.
When Ryu Hyun-jin, who had only seen it on the screen, appeared, the women’s national team players cheered loudly. Pitcher Lee Ji-sook said, “I can’t believe it,” and opened her eyes wide, and she followed Ryu Hyun-jin’s every move. Pitcher Min-Jeong Kwak said, “You’re so cool,” and greeted the big league senior she idolized.
However, no one has been able to approach the special star. Then someone took courage and asked for a handshake. After that, everyone asked for autographs, photos, and handshakes. Ryu Hyun-jin was happy to respond to the requests of the national team players.
Ryu Hyun-jin watched the women’s national team in the Taegeuk mark uniform with a warm expression and said, “I think it’s great to see women’s baseball players. He came to Canada and held an international competition, but was told that he couldn’t come because he received great support. Even so, it was really nice to see her working hard with passion every moment,” she encouraged with all her might.
She continued, “I hope that many women’s baseball international competitions will continue to be held, so that women will challenge a lot. And I hope that someday good results will come out,” she conveyed motivation, dreams, and happiness to the players.
Coach Yang Sang-moon of the women’s baseball team said, “I heard that coach (Jeong) Geun-woo contacted Hyun-jin Ryu last night. There was no certainty that she would come. But, I had a surprise visit today. Thank you so much for coming. It was a meaningful meeting for the players.”
On the other hand, Ryu Hyun-jin, who won his first victory, said, “I think it’s better to return well after surgery than the joy of victory. I think I have to work hard so that I can continue to contribute to the team. Rather than thinking about how to pitch, I want to play the role that a starting pitcher can play. Rather than my personal victory, I hope my team can win on the day I throw it,” he said.
Regarding the rehabilitation process, “Rehabilitation is a problem that I can solve. Elbows get better with time. So I don’t think the rehabilitation period was that boring or difficult.” “Thank you for waiting for the fans for a long time. I will repay you with grades to match your support.”
Bae Ji-hyun, who accompanied Ryu Hyun-jin, said, “He won his first victory yesterday, and his family were all happy and congratulated him. Although his rehabilitation period has been long, his husband does not show his true identity. He went through a lot of rehabilitation, so he quietly did well.”
Ryu Hyun-jin started the home game against the Chicago Cubs held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 14th and became the winning pitcher with 2 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs in 5 innings. He became the winning pitcher in the major leagues 444 days after the Los Angeles Angels match on May 27 last year (6 hits, 2 runs in 5 innings).
In addition, Ryu Hyun-jin added a major league starter at the age of 36 years, 4 months and 20 days, and rewrote the record for the oldest starter win in the Korean Big League. The previous record was 35 years, 10 months, 13 days, which was set by Park Chan-ho on May 13, 2009, when he was a member of Philadelphia, and won a start against the Los Angeles Dodgers (6 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs).
Meanwhile, Ryu Hyun-jin’s next appearance is expected to be an away game against the Cincinnati Reds on the 20th in terms of rotation, and he is expected to make eight starts for the rest of the season.