Restraint is not enough… Ryu Hyun-jin’s 106km curve, who won the 160km fastball
The value of a fastball in baseball is very great. This is because it is an important card that can preoccupy and put pressure on opponents. The reason why pitchers make constant efforts to raise the speed of fastballs to 1~2km/h is also the background in which the ‘young gun’, which throws fastballs, is in the limelight.
But that doesn’t mean the pitcher who throws the fast ball always wins. If a fast ball is not in control, it is badly beaten, and even a slow ball can overwhelm batters based on speed control and control.
The match against the Cincinnati Reds on the 21st (hereafter Korean time) by Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays), a “Korean Monster,” was exactly that. On this day, the average fastball speed was 87.4 miles per hour (about 140.7 km), and the highest speed was only 89.6 miles (about 144.2 km).
Even based on the KBO league, it is hard to say that he is competitive. However, Ryu Hyun-jin had the best pitching since his return that day with 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts and 2 runs (visa book). Although he barely exceeds 140 km/h and his top velocity does not reach 145 km, he has struck out 7 against hitters at the big league level.메이저사이트
It was thanks to Ryu Hyun-jin’s unique perfect control and gradual control through breaking balls. Along with Ryu Hyun-jin’s main weapon, the changeup, he perfectly stole the opponent’s batter’s timing with a slow curve.
Ryu Hyun-jin threw 16 slow curves that day, including throwing a ball with a minimum speed of 66.8 miles per hour (about 107.5 km). The fastest of the curves was 71 miles (about 115 km). The young batters in Cincinnati were helpless because they perfectly snatched the batting timing and even had their own pitches.
Ryu Hyun-jin struck out three pitches by throwing consecutive curveballs against Eli de la Cruz even in a crisis with two outs on first and second base at the end of the fifth inning. Ryu Hyun-jin’s final outcount, which met the winning pitcher requirements, was also a slow curve.
MLB.com, the official homepage of the major leagues, said after the game that day, “Ryu Hyun-jin doesn’t throw harder than other pitchers, and he doesn’t have pitches to arouse admiration, but he’s smart.” .
The reason Ryu Hyun-jin’s ‘specialty’ shined more was because the opponent selection that day was ‘young gun’ Hunter Green (24), whose main weapon was a fastball.
Green is well known beyond the major leagues as a starting pitcher who throws the fastest fastball in the world. His average speed is close to 100 miles per hour (about 160.9 km), and his highest speed is 104 miles (about 167.4 km).
On this day, he threw his strong fastball from the first inning, but the result was not good. He allowed Toronto hitters a lot of extra-base hits while not getting his pitches right.
After giving up one run from the first inning, he hit two-run home runs in succession from Kevin Kiermeier and Brandon Belt in the second inning.
He narrowly passed the third inning without a run, but in the fourth inning, he hit back-to-back home runs from Bo Bichet and Belt and a two-run home run from George Springer, and went down the mound without getting an out count.
He gave up 10 hits in 3 innings, 5 of which were home runs, and gave up 9 runs (8 earned) with 3 walks. He also struck out four, fewer than Ryu Hyun-jin.
Green should have performed better based solely on velocity numbers, but the result was the exact opposite. It was a game in which ‘veteran’ Ryu Hyun-jin reminded young pitcher Green of the lesson that “redemption is not everything.”
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