Ryu Hyun-jin’s Resurgence: The Power of the Changeup

The professional baseball game between Hanwha and Doosan was held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th. Hanwha won 3-0. Ryu Hyun-jin, who won his first win after returning from the match, is congratulated by his teammates. Jamsil = Reporter Jeong Si-jong capa@edaily.co.kr /2024.04.11. The change is the pitch that made Ryu Hyun-jin (37, Hanwha Eagles) a pitcher representing Korean baseball. In 2006, when he was a rookie in the KBO League, he learned from his senior Koo Dae-seong (retired) and perfected it as his own weapon. In his first season in the Major League (MLB) (2013), he won 14 games with his changeup. At the time, the strike percentage of the change was 0.168.

After returning to the KBO League, Ryu Hyun-jin struggled due to a boring shift. In the game against KT Wiz on the 29th of last month, where he pitched well by allowing 2 runs in 6 innings, he recorded a 0.333 fielding percentage, including 2 hits in the bottom of the first inning. In the game against Kiwoom Heroes on the 5th, where he gave up the most runs (9 points) in a professional debut, 3 changeups used as the deciding pitch in the 5th inning only resulted in hits.

In the first three games he played after returning to the KBO League, Ryu Hyun-jin’s hitting percentage was a staggering 0.359. I am already thirty seven years old. In a situation where the average speed of a four-seam fastball was only 141 to 3 km/h, he didn’t listen to the changeup, so he had no choice but to struggle.

The professional baseball game between Hanwha and Doosan was held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th. Hanwha starter Ryu Hyun-jin is struggling. Jamsil = Reporter Jeong Si-jong capa@edaily.co.kr /2024.04.11.

Ryu Hyun-jin regained his ‘monster’ instincts in the away match against the Doosan Bears held at the Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 11th. He allowed just one hit and no runs in six innings. He led Hanwha to a 3-0 win securing his first win in his fourth attempt. In addition, he recorded his 99th win (54 losses) in his KBO League career.
After the match, Ryu Hyun-jin said, “I was sorry that the first win was so late. Because of me (who performed poorly against Kiwoom on the 5th), the team fell into a 5 game losing streak . Before today’s game, I told head coach Jeong Kyung-bae, ‘I will definitely break the losing streak that started with me.’ “But fortunately the team won,” he said with a laugh.

The driving force behind Ryu Hyun-jin’s rebound is his change. He said, “I had a problem with my changeup when I came to Korea, but I seem to have solved the problem by making my throwing arm a little faster than before and correcting my posture so that I can throw it at an angle similar to a fastball.

Of the eight shots recorded by Ryu Hyun-jin in the Doosan game, four of the decisive balls were change-ups. After showing a fastball or a curveball, he would often use this ball with the intention of throwing off the timing. The number of change-up pitches was 31. In the bottom of the second inning, Park Joon-young, facing 2 outs and runners on first base, threw all 7 balls with change-ups.

The average speed was 131.8 km/h, much faster than the Kiwoom game, which was 125.2 km/h. The highest speed was recorded at 136 km/h. Based on his MLB career, the season in which Ryu Hyun-jin had the lowest strikeout rate (0.161) was the 2018 season, when he recorded an average velocity of 81.1 miles (130.5 km/h).

The professional baseball game between Hanwha and Doosan was held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th. Hanwha Ryu Hyun-jin, who won his first win back in Korea, raises his hand in greeting after the match. Jamsil = Reporter Jeong Si-jong capa@edaily.co.kr /2024.04.11.

Ryu Hyun-jin closed in the bullpen two days before the Doosan game on the 11th. It’s common for starting pitchers to warm up their shoulders and check pitch types 2-3 days before pitching, but Ryu Hyun-jin rarely pitched from the bullpen even in MLB. However, after giving up a whopping 9 runs, he decided a change was needed, and refined his changeup, his main weapon. It seems that there will be changes in the use of changeups in the future.

Ryu Hyun-jin will make his 5th start of the 2024 season against the Changwon NC Dinos on the 17th. In this game, he aims to become the 33rd individual in KBO League history to reach 100 career wins. Since he has regained the power of his main weapon, the changeup, he is expected to continue winning.

Reporter Ahn Hee-soo anheesoo@edaily.co.kr

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