In his first few outings in a Dodgers uniform this spring, Hyun-Jin
In his first few outings in a Dodgers uniform this spring, Hyun-Jin Ryu wasn’t overly impressive. One of those starts was against the Angels, who cuffed him around in his first of two innings and judged his stuff as relatively ordinary.
Ryu will reintroduce himself to the Angels on Thursday night at Angel Stadium in his Southern California debut. If manager Mike Scioscia’s hitters have trouble recognizing him, it’s because he’s a new Ryu, getting closer to the real Ryu — the one Chan Ho Park, his former teammate in Korea, knows very well.
“Wait until May, June,” said Park, who was a big brother figure for Ryu in 2012 on the staff of the Hanwha Eagles of South Korea and has been in the Dodgers’ camp late this spring. “He’s going to get better. That’s how he is. He gets stronger and sharper as the season goes on. As long as he stays comfortable, he’ll be fine.”
Early this spring, as Ryu was rounding into shape, the question was whether he’d crack the rotation. That became a non-issue as he began to find his rhythm.
Finishing with a flourish, Ryu, 26, is set to go in the second game of the season on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium against Giants southpaw Madison Bumgarner. Clayton Kershaw engages San Francisco ace Matt Cain on Monday on Opening Day.
“They are the World Series champions,” Ryu said. “But last year’s World Series champions. This year will be different. It’s exciting to face a top caliber team.”
Ryu is following in the footsteps of Park, a hero to every youngster playing ball in his homeland. Chan Ho, in some respects, is the Jackie Robinson of baseball in Korea. When he signed with the Dodgers in 1994, not long removed from Kong Ju High School, he was paving the way for Ryu and other South Koreans.
Park was 2 ½ months shy of his 21st birthday when he made his Major League debut on April 8 that season. He came in to finish a 6-0 loss to the Braves, giving up two runs in the ninth inning. There were 36,546 fans in attendance, and those who stuck around can say they saw the start of a terrific career.