Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays), whose fastball restraint is at the bottom of the major leagues in the American professional baseball league, is equipped with a ‘slower ball’ as a weapon to recover.메이저사이트
Ryu Hyun-jin’s curve average speed this season is 70.1 miles per hour (about 112.8 km), which is the lowest in the major leagues (342nd). However, the effect is perfect.
The major leagues are also admiring the way he overpowers opponents with a ‘slower curve’.
Rob Friedman, an expert in major league pitching analysis, was confident in the scene where Ryu Hyun-jin struck out the last batter Andres Jimenez with a curveball in the 4th inning in a home game against the Cleveland Guardians held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 27th (Korean time). posted on Twitter.
On the video, Friedman said, “Ryu Hyun-jin’s beautiful curve at 64.6 miles per hour (about 104 km). This season’s starting pitcher is the slowest among the balls that induce misses.” When Ryu Hyun-jin pitches, you see how slow he threw the ball.”
On this day, Ryu Hyun-jin blocked 5 innings with 4 hits and 3 runs (2 earned), and took his 3rd win (1 loss) of the season. Toronto won 8-3 thanks to Ryu Hyun-jin’s reverse fight and escaped from a three-game losing streak.
Among Ryu Hyun-jin’s pitches, the pitch that caught the most attention was the curveball.
Ryu Hyun-jin filled 70 balls with 29 fastballs, 19 changeups, 13 curveballs, and 9 cutters.
The speed of the fastball is 142 km per hour on average,
Instead, Ryu Hyun-jin lowered the velocity of the curve, aiming for the effect of making other pitches feel faster.
On this day, Ryu Hyun-jin’s curve average speed was 108.5 km per hour, which was 4 km slower than the season average. The slowest ball was a 104 km/h curveball that struck out Jimenez on a swing.
Ryu Hyun-jin took 7 swings with 13 curves, 4 of which were misses.
He hit a solo home run from Tyler Freeman while throwing a curveball after one out in the fifth inning, but Ryu Hyun-jin threw two curveballs in the sixth inning as well, confusing the heads of Cleveland batters.
Ryu Hyun-jin’s curve usage rate this season is 18.6%, similar to last year’s (21%).
However, the frequency of his use of curveballs as a decision ball has increased, and he is enjoying the effect.
Hyun-Jin Ryu’s curb swing rate this season was 31.0% before the game, up 16.7% from 13.3% last year. The curve hit rate was 0.182 this year, including the game on the 27th, lowered by 0.049 from 0.231 last year.
When Ryu Hyun-jin was a student at Dongsan High School, he was called a ‘curve bowler’ because he mainly used fastballs and curveballs.
He learned the changeup in 2006 when he joined the Korean professional baseball Hanwha Eagles, and after conquering the Korean stage with this pitch, he entered the big leagues in 2013. After he turned pro, his curveball rate dropped.
The type of pitch that led to a soft landing in the major leagues was also a changeup.
However, as he played the game, he realized the need for various pitches, and used cutter and curve as pitches to pair with his main weapon changeup, adjusting the rate of use.
In August 2023, when he returned to the mound after a long rehabilitation after undergoing elbow ligament joint surgery, Ryu Hyun-jin’s game was a curve.