Ryu Hyun Jin’s Possible Return to Korea: Was it Predicted?

Ryu Hyun Jin sends two 5-ton truckloads to South Korea

Baseball commentator Kim Tae Kyun mentioned Ryu Hyun Jin.

The Hanwha Eagles and the Australian baseball team had their second practice game on the 18th. During the match, commentator Kim Tae Kyun said, “Ryu Hyun Jin is coming to Hanwha.” He quickly clarified that the comment was just from excitement. However, the next day, on the 19th, as the countdown for Ryu Hyun Jin’s return began, baseball fans again paid attention to Kim Tae Kyun’s remarks.

In this situation, commentator Kim Tae Kyun said during the broadcast, “I see many positive things in Hanwha this year. If Ryu Hyun Jin joins, we could have a Fantastic 4. Felix Pena, Ricardo Sanchez, Ryu Hyun Jin, and Moon Dong Ju. Lee Beom Ho has been appointed as the coach of the KIA Tigers, hasn’t he? I predicted it right. I had a hunch. I had already congratulated the coach over the phone. If I use my intuition, Ryu Hyun Jin is coming. It came to my heart. Let’s look forward to it.”

At that time, it was taken as a joke. However, as the atmosphere changed in just a day, fans who overlooked the remarks now pay attention to Kim Tae Kyun’s words again. Various possibilities are being mentioned, such as whether there was prior communication or whether he received a hint from Ryu Hyun Jin.

Son Hyeok, the director of the Hanwha Eagles, said, “(Ryu) Hyun Jin and I are close, and we’ve been frequently talking on the phone for ten years. We had various conversations before going to Australia. We joked around and asked, ‘How many did you throw?’ ‘How many years should we contract if you come to Korea?’ and naturally formed a consensus. The atmosphere has indeed changed recently. It’s positive. The change in atmosphere means that the probability (of return) has increased.”

It was previously reported that Ryu Hyun Jin sent two five-ton trucks’ worth of belongings, which he had stored in Toronto, to Korea on the 19th.

Major League Baseball (MLB) teams often sign free agent contracts during the exhibition game season in mid-March after spring training camp. However, as Ryu Hyun Jin’s original KBO League team, the Hanwha Eagles, is expecting his return and he has decided to send his belongings that he had been storing in a local warehouse back to Korea since last November, it’s speculated that he’s preparing to return to Korea.

Ryu Hyun Jin became a free agent last October after Toronto was eliminated from the postseason. As the 30 MLB teams started spring training this year and he hasn’t found a new team yet, the possibility of returning to the Hanwha Eagles is increasing.