If only Ryu Hyun-jin appears, there will be mass hysteria in defense… There is a misfortune that only Ryu Hyun-jin has experienced in MLB.
Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto), who returned to the major league stage after completing elbow ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John surgery), is literally proving his ‘class’. He is thriving even with a fastball in the upper 80s, which is too slow these days.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s unique advantage of not relying on restraint is shining. He freely throws a four-seam fastball that tops out in the low 90s, a cutter and sinker in the 80s, a changeup in the 70s, and a curveball in the 60s. He is not at the level where he can just throw, he can throw wherever he wants whenever he wants. As a hitter, it’s amazing because the changeup lands in the same spot where he threw the four-seamer. The moment the bat goes out, there are many cases where Ryu Hyun-jin loses to his skill.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s hitting percentage in six games since his return is only 0.213. Since he is not a player with many 4-ball outings to begin with, his outstanding 1.03 bases allowed per inning (WHIP) naturally follows. He has many positive indicators even in details. Ryu Hyun-jin’s average exit speed this season is only 86.9 miles per hour (139.9 km). This is not much different from the 86.6 miles in 2019, which is remembered as Ryu Hyun-jin’s peak period. In an era where hitting balls are getting stronger, Ryu Hyun-jin is suppressing crazy power with efficient pitching.
It was his comeback game, and he was on a roll after allowing 4 runs in 5 innings against Baltimore on the 2nd when his feel on the mound was not perfect. Since then, Ryu Hyun-jin has pitched 24 innings in 5 games, showing excellent pitching with 3 wins and an ERA of 1.50. Although he has not yet completed 6 innings, he is efficient with 15.41 pitches per inning. The bench’s strategic intention to save Ryu Hyun-jin, who is not yet in 100% condition, can also be seen. Given the current pitching content, it is reasonable to expect that the number of innings will increase naturally.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitching content in the last five games was at a level that was not common in the major leagues this year. As of 2023, there were only 61 instances in which he pitched more than 24 innings in a 5-game period and had an earned run score of 4 or less (including multiple instances of one player). If we consider only the number of pitchers who achieved this, it decreases even further. Ryu Hyun-jin is also proudly included in this list. But one strange number is read. He is the player with the largest difference between runs conceded and earned runs.
Ryu Hyun-jin had 4 earned runs during this period, but allowed 9 runs. In 61 cases, the only cases in which runs conceded and earned runs differed by more than 5 points were Ryu Hyun-jin’s last 5 games. This means that his colleagues made frequent mistakes. If only his errors had been reduced a little more, Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitching results could have been better.
The error parade began with the home game against the Chicago Cubs on August 14th. In the first inning, with one out and runners on first base, Happ’s ordinary ground ball to first base was not caught by the first baseman’s belt, resulting in 1st and 2nd base. After two outs, Ryu Hyun-jin hit a timely RBI double from Swanson, allowing two runs. If it had not been for Belt’s error, there would have been no runs, so all of them were unearned runs.
In an away game against Cincinnati on August 21, with one out and runners on first and third base, Chapman cut Marte’s shallow fly ball to left field and tried to keep the runner in check, but Chapman’s throw missed and two runners hit home at the same time. As expected, if there had been no error in the throw, it would have been an unaccounted point because it would not have been made if the player had just stayed quiet.스포츠토토
In the game against Cleveland on August 27th, Ramirez and Gonzalez’s hits on first base with no outs in the 6th inning led to a series of errors in the infield, leaving the bases loaded with no outs. If they had calmly dealt with just one out, it would have been 2 outs and 3rd base at best, and the moment the second pitcher Garcia struck out Jimenez, the inning would have ended without allowing any runs. It was also treated as a non-conviction point.
Support for the batting line is not strong. However, there is no defensive support whenever Ryu Hyun-jin takes the mound. If we say that the Toronto defense was a poor defense from the beginning, this can be understood as a fate that Ryu Hyun-jin must accept. But again, that is not the case. Chapman is the best third base defender in the league, and the rest of the infielders are average defenders. The outfield, dominated by Kevin Kiermaier and Dalton Basho, is by far the strongest defense in the league. However, if only Ryu Hyun-jin takes the mound, it will be a group hunt.
Non-earned runs have no significant effect on calculating ERA. However, the conceded points remain and have a negative impact on some calculations, such as the contribution to victory compared to replacement players (WAR). Above all, because victory and defeat are not determined based solely on earned runs, this could lead to a loss for Ryu Hyun-jin as well as the team. So, not necessarily for Ryu Hyun-jin, but the fewer mistakes he makes, the better.
This is especially true because Toronto has a tough schedule ahead of it. Toronto, which is in the midst of a fierce American League wild card race, is in 4th place as of the 4th. The gap between them and 3rd place Houston is 1.5 games. Every game is on thin ice. Starting on the 5th, they will play a six-game series against the league’s weakest teams, Oakland and Kansas City, and must win as many games as possible. Ryu Hyun-jin will appear in the final game of the three-game series against Oakland, which will be held at 4:37 a.m. on the 7th.
From then on, formidable teams such as Texas, Boston, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay are waiting in line. The only team with a winning percentage below .500 is the Yankees, and even the Yankees are close to .500 with 68 wins and 69 losses (.496) as of the 4th. Even if the team is below .500, there is no team that can ignore the Yankees. Toronto absolutely needs harmony between Ryu Hyun-jin and the defenders, and furthermore, harmony between the mound and the defenders.
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