Beijing Olympic gold medallist Hyun-Jin Ryu picked up his 100th career win in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league. He is the 33rd pitcher in the league's history to reach the milestone.
Ryu pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits. He helped the Hanwha Eagles beat the SSG Landers 8-2 before a sellout crowd of 12,000 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon.
After playing 10 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, Ryu returned to KBO, where his professional career began in 2006, for the 2024 campaign. The 37-year-old left-hander signed an eight-year contract with the Hanwha Eagles worth 17 billion won (US$12.8 million).
Ryu's KBO debut in 2006 was impressive. He led the league in wins, strikeouts and Earned Run Average (ERA), earning a Gold Glove and the first of seven trips to the All-Star game. He was named the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP.
The left-hander starred at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, starting the final against Cuba and leading Korea to a gold medal.
He left the KBO after the 2012 season with a record of 98 wins and 1,238 strikeouts, signing a six-year deal worth US$36 million. The Eagles received a $25.7 million compensation fee.
Ryu played through the 2019 season for the Los Angeles Dodgers and from 2020 to 2023 for the Toronto Blue Jays. He started 185 games, pitching 1,055.1 innings and recording 78 wins. He struck out 934 and has a 3.27 career earned run average (ERA).
Ryu's best MLB season was 2019, when he posted the best ERA and appeared in the All-Star game.
