Ryu Hyun-jin (36‧ Toronto) is a player who has returned from the ‘hell’ of shoulder surgery, where the chance of a comeback, seen as an example, is less than 10%. After overcoming the aftermath of his shoulder surgery, he took first place in the National League ERA in 2019 and came in second in the Cy Young Award voting, opening his “second heyday” wide.
Even in 2020, right after signing a 4-year, $80 million contract with Toronto, he was ranked third in the American League Cy Young Award voting with good performance. He was the first Asian player to go back and forth between the two major leagues and vomited his spirit to rise to the top 3 in the Cy Young Award voting for two consecutive years. But it wasn’t just bright lights. The shadow behind the light was quite dark. Ryu Hyun-jin was battling elbow pain.
Ryu Hyun-jin said that the elbow ligament was not cut off at any moment. There was continuous pain, which accumulated and eventually reached the point where surgery was unavoidable. Even when he came in 2nd and 3rd in the Cy Young Award voting, he had elbow pain. Ryu Hyun-jin always had to fight fear the night before. Ryu Hyun-jin honestly confessed, “I always had anxiety that I shouldn’t get sick on the day I throw.”
Toronto coach Jang Se-hong, who is taking care of Hyun-jin Ryu, is more specific. During spring training in February of this year, coach Jang said, “Elbow ligaments can be compared to screws in mechanical parts. In a situation where one screw was missing, problems were occurring throughout the elbow,” he said. “It was already a situation where the damage was continuing. However, since he continued to maintain his performance, it was difficult for him to undergo surgery in that situation,” he recalled.
It was painful, but following the splendid results in 2019 and 2020, the first half of 2021 was not bad. With such a record, it was difficult to suddenly say, ‘I’m going to have surgery because I’m sick’ or ‘Let’s do surgery’.
At first, the doctors also suggested, “Once you get on the operating table and look at the damaged area, if there is a way to fix it other than ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John surgery), let’s try it.” However, the decision to operate was correct. It was already broken to such an extent that it was difficult to use my hands in any other way. Coach Jang said, “The doctors said, ‘When he went into the operation, Ryu Hyun-jin’s ligaments were already bone-like’. To put it simply, it can be said that the leaves fell from the trees in the fall and were in a dry and twisted state.” 메이저사이트
Coach Jang praised Ryu Hyun-jin’s patience and responsibility, saying, “If it were another player, it would have been difficult to put up with that condition and throw.” Even for Ryu Hyun-jin, who is in his mid-30s and has a ‘history’ of having knifed his elbows and shoulders, this surgery is a considerable adventure. However, he is very diligent and proceeds with his rehabilitation carefully. Ryu Hyun-jin’s great will and mental strength are being displayed not only on the mound but also on the rehabilitation stage.
Rehabilitation from elbow surgery is a burdensome journey, but if it goes smoothly, Ryu Hyun-jin will be able to spend the end of his active career shaking off the fear that has made him tremble. There are criticisms that he has passed his heyday, but Ryu Hyun-jin, who has been in Cy Young’s ‘TOP 3’ twice, even when he is sick. If Ryu Hyun-jin is not sick, he has enough ability to open the ‘third heyday’. Many fans are waiting for that time to come soon.