A match between Ha-seong Kim (28, San Diego) and Hyun-jin Ryu (36, Toronto) is scheduled to take place at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada in July.
On the 29th (Korean time), MLB.com, the official website of the US Major League, introduced new stars who will debut in other stadiums in 2023.
Last year, the Major League Secretariat announced that it would expand the interleague, which means a confrontation between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), from the 2023 season. The two leagues are each made up of three districts, the West, the Central, and the East, and have played interleagues by changing the opponent’s district every year. For example, Ha-seong Kim’s San Diego, a member of the NL West Division, faces 5 teams in the AL West Division in 2021 and 5 teams in the AL Central Division in 2022. In this way, it took three years for each team to face all the clubs, playing 20 games against 5 teams each year.
However, starting this year, the interleague has been expanded to 15 teams and 46 games, allowing players to meet all teams in the opposing league in one year. Instead, 76 games in 6 series will be reduced from 66 to 64 in the same league and 52 games in 4 series for the same district, and 66 to 64 games in the same league and other districts.
At the same time, a confrontation between the two teams, Ha-seong Kim’s San Diego, a member of the NL West Division, and Ryu Hyun-jin’s Toronto, a member of the AL East Division, also took place. MLB.com noted, “Fernando Tatis Jr. (24, San Diego) will visit the Toronto Rogers Center from July 18 to 20. Toronto fans will be able to see his outstanding talent in every way.”
This may be the last chance. Ryu Hyun-jin’s four-year contract with Toronto ends at the end of this season. Moreover, it is also an important season for him to continue his major league career in the future as he underwent an elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John surgery) in June of last year and is concerned about his health.
If Ryu Hyun-jin and Kim Ha-seong meet at the Rogers Center, it will be the first confrontation on the professional stage. The two have yet to meet in either the KBO League or the Major Leagues. When Kim Ha-seong was nominated by Nexen (now Kiwoom) with the 29th overall in the 2nd 3rd round of the 2014 KBO Rookie Draft, Ryu Hyun-jin was already a second-year major league player. After entering the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013, Ryu Hyun-jin built a successful big league career with a career record of 75 wins and 45 losses with a 3.27 ERA in 175 games despite frequent injuries.
Ha-seong Kim, who entered the major leagues through San Diego in 2021, has established himself as a clear starter in the 2022 season, the second year. The possibility of seeing him in the major leagues for the remaining two years of his four-year contract has increased as he showed excellent defense and above-average batting in the final three candidates for the National League shortstop Gold Glove category. Recently, AJ Preller has been embroiled in trade rumors due to San Diego general manager’s remarks. However, it is likely that the teams that were considered his destination will all find replacements and will start the opening game as San Diego’s starting second baseman. 토토사이트
The key to the confrontation between the two is the recovery of Ryu Hyun-jin. At the time of his departure last month, Ryu Hyun-jin aimed to return in July, but due to his age and tight schedule, it is not certain that he will be able to return to the big league stage within July. However, as Ryu Hyun-jin, who came back from a labrum injury that everyone was skeptical about and eventually finished second in the National League Cy Young Award, there are not a few eyes to look forward to.
