‘Shoulder surgery → elbow surgery’, the Korean Monster’s monstrous resilience in both comebacks

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu, 36, is hoping for a successful return from his second Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament splicing) following a shoulder injury.

Hyun-jin Ryu earned his first win 먹튀검증 of the season on Thursday (July 14) against the Cubs at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, pitching five innings of two-hit ball with two walks and three strikeouts.

Ryu, who underwent Tommy John surgery last June, returned to the majors after 13 months, a faster-than-normal recovery time. He struggled in his comeback start against Baltimore on Feb. 2, giving up four runs on nine hits (one homer) in five innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Against Cleveland on Aug. 8, he pitched four innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts and no walks, but left the game early when he was hit in the right knee by a 97.7 mph (157.2 km/h) fastball from Oscar Gonzalez.

After an unsatisfying first two games, Ryu was finally able to showcase his Ryu-jin Ryu stuff in this game. His fastball reached 91.1 mph (146.6 km/h), his fastest since returning, and his main weapon, his changeup, was on full display as he struck out three batters. On the season, he is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts (14 innings).

What’s remarkable about Ryu is that he has bounced back from two major injuries in his major league career. After making his big league debut in 2013, Ryu suffered a shoulder injury in 2015 that led to arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder in May of that year. Despite the potentially life-threatening surgery, Ryu made a successful comeback in 2017 and was at his best in 2019, leading the majors in ERA (2.32) and finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award voting.

After struggling in 2022 after joining Toronto, Ryu had to undergo Tommy John surgery. This was Ryu’s second Tommy John surgery, having previously undergone the procedure as a high school sophomore. At 36 years old, there were concerns about his success, but he surprised everyone by returning and throwing his old pitches sooner than most pitchers.

Toronto manager John Schneider said, “(Ryu’s pitching) was really impressive. He didn’t hesitate, he was aggressive, and he limited the hard contact. He did all of this in just three games after returning from injury. It’s unbelievable that he’s pitching like this at his age. It’s not easy, but he makes it look easy.”

Cubs manager David Ross, who faced Ryu that day, said, “He hasn’t reached the velocity he wants yet, but he pitched well. His changeup was awesome. From the moment we gave up the lead, it was very hard to score. We had to make sure we didn’t miss pitches to score against him, but he just cruised as soon as we got ahead.”

With his victory, which came 444 days after his five-inning, two-run win over the Angels on May 27 last year, Ryu broke Park Chan-ho’s record for the oldest start by a Korean major leaguer (35 years, 10 months, 13 days) at 36 years, 4 months, 20 days. This record will continue to be rewritten, as Ryu will continue to receive starting opportunities barring any changes.

The “Korean Monster” has overcome a devastating injury with monstrous resilience. It will be interesting to see what he can do now that he’s back in the major leagues.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu, 36, is hoping for a successful return from his second Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament splicing) following a shoulder injury. Hyun-jin Ryu earned his first win 먹튀검증 of the season on Thursday (July 14) against the Cubs at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, pitching five innings of two-hit…