My shoulders are heavy. It’s been a long time since I wore the national flag, and I’m going to play an important match. This is the story of Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles).
The South Korean national baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun, will play Group C against coach Chung Hao-ji’s Taiwan in the first round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan, at noon (12 p.m. on the 8th).
Currently, the national team has one win and one loss. He defeated the Czech Republic 11-4 on the 5th, but lost 6-8 against Japan on the previous day (7th). They will leave their regrets behind and aim to advance to the second round (the quarterfinals) for the first time in 17 years at the 2009 tournament through victory over Taiwan.
사진 확대 The World Baseball Classic warm-up match between the Korean national team and the Hanshin Tigers of Japanese pro baseball took place at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on Sunday. Ryu finished the inning without allowing a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, and is heading to the dugout. Photo = Yonhap News 
사진 확대 At the World Baseball Classic warm-up match between the Korean national team and the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese professional baseball league held at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on Sunday. Korean Ryu Hyun-jin is pitching hard in the bottom of the seventh inning. Photo = Yonhap News
However, Taiwan is by no means an easy target. In the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12, it also beat South Korea 6-3. In the first and second rounds of this tournament, they knelt down to Australia and Japan with 0-3 and 0-13 (7 cold losses), respectively, but they beat the Czech Republic with a cold win in the 14-07th inning, showing a sense of momentum and hitting.
In addition, South Korea had to play a match against Japan at 7 p.m., while Taiwan met the Czech Republic at 12 p.m. on the 7th. Since then, he has to play the daytime game again, so he has no choice but to put on a physical burden.
In this situation, South Korea selected Ryu Hyun-jin as the starting pitcher. In name and reality, Ryu Hyun-jin is a left-hander representing Korean baseball. He made his professional debut in 2006 in Hanwha’s uniform and recorded 117 wins, 67 losses, one save and a 2.95 ERA in 244 KBO league games (1566.2 innings). In the 2013-2023 season, he entered the Major League Baseball (MLB) and played 186 games (1055.1 innings) with 78 wins, 48 losses, one save and an ERA of 3.27.
He also had a huge presence in international competitions. Starting with the 2006 Doha Asian Games, he played under the national flag at the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship, the final qualifying round for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2009 WBC, and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. However, he later entered the big league and moved away from the national team regardless of his will.
It’s different this time. He consistently expressed his positive intention to select the national team, and eventually wore the national team uniform for the first time in 16 years since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
사진 확대 At the World Baseball Classic warm-up match between the Korean national team and the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese professional baseball league held at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on Sunday. Korean Ryu Hyun-jin is pitching hard in the bottom of the sixth inning. Photo = Yonhap News
Initially, the national team considered Ryu Hyun-jin as a starting pitcher against Japan, but decided to be a starting pitcher against Taiwan, a watershed moment for advancing to the second round. Originally, Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears) was planning to go out first and Ryu Hyun-jin was going to support him, but Ryu Hyun-jin took the heavy responsibility after Kwak Bin’s fingernails were broken in a recent warm-up match.
It is the first time in 17 years that Ryu Hyun-jin has appeared on the WBC since the 2009 tournament. Coincidentally, the opponent was Taiwan at the time, and he pitched three scoreless innings to lead the 9-0 victory. South Korea, which gained momentum from Ryu Hyun-jin’s performance, finished second in the tournament, which remains the last group stage of Korean baseball before this WBC.
In addition, Ryu Hyun-jin has been strong against Taiwan. He threw powerful balls to Taiwan at the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship (two runs in five innings) and the first round of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games (one run in six innings). The national team also hopes that Ryu Hyun-jin will block a long inning with the minimum number of runs within the set number of pitches.
사진 확대 At the World Baseball Classic warm-up match between the Korean national team and the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese professional baseball league held at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on Sunday. Korean Ryu Hyun-jin is pitching hard in the bottom of the seventh inning. Photo = Yonhap News
Fortunately, I’ve been in good condition lately. In a warm-up match against the Hanshin Tigers on the 2nd, he showed excellent game management and control of the team level, recording one hit and no run in two innings.
The player’s will is also on fire. Ryu Hyun-jin said on the 5th when the match against the Czech Republic was held, “I will put importance on control (at Tokyo Dome where home runs well) and focus on producing a lot of weak pitches,” adding, “I will throw with all my strength every inning regardless of the limit on the number of pitches.” Will Ryu Hyun-jin be able to lead Ryu Ji-hyun to the second round by pitching well against Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Taiwan announced right-hander Gurin Lui Yang (Nipponham Fighters) as its starting pitcher in response. With a fastball in the mid-150km range, he dominated the Taiwanese professional baseball league (CPBL) and advanced to the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) last year.
사진 확대 South Korean national baseball team Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles) is interviewing reporters ahead of the first game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic against the Czech Republic at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 5th. Photo = Yonhap News
[Lee Hanjoo, MK Sports Reporter]