Ryu Hyun-jin may win most winds in American League

Will Ryu Hyun-jin win the title of most wins after his record of the lowest ERA of 2.32 in the 2019 Major League Baseball season?

There is a new change in the competition for most wins in the American League. Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees who is in first place with 14 wins is injured. The pitcher stepped off the mound during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday due to some pain in his left hamstring. He allowed two runs for three and two-thirds innings and his team lost 1-5.

It was reported that his injury is a ruptured hamstring, which is not serious, but it requires careful management as it can often reoccur. “He is not sure if he will make his next scheduled start against the Mets on Sunday,” said MLB.com. “I know he was getting ready to jump on the treadmill right now. I think that the next 24 or 48 hours is going to determine where we move and how he responds,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

The Oakland Athletics’s ace Chris Bassitt, who was considered to be a prominent candidate for the Cy Young Award as the top record holder in the numbers of wins and innings pitched until last month, has stopped with 12 wins. He is out for the remaining season after suffering a serious injury of getting hit in the face by a baseball bat by a Chicago White Sox batter on August 18. His win record has fallen to third place since then.

The most healthy player among the top 3 American League most wins record holders is Ryu. The South Korean pitcher who wasn’t performing well in August – two ins and three losses for six games with a 6.21 ERA – earned his 13th win of the season by allowing no run for six winnings in his first September game against the Yankees. He was in great condition during the game throwing his fastballs at 147.7 kilometers per hour in comparison to his season average of 144.7 kilometers per hour. He stepped off the mound after 80 pitches due to some pain in his arm but is scheduled to pitch for the next game. Currently, in the second place for most wins, he will aim for his 14th win of the season against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. The Baltimore Orioles has the lowest winning rate among 15 teams in the American League.

Ryu held the most wins record in the MLB in 2019 as a pitcher of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 2.32 ERA. However, his overall win record was in sixth place with 14 wins that year in the National League. Ryu who has been playing diligently as the ace of the Toronto Blue Jays now has a chance to win the most wins title for the first time in the U.S. as his competitors stall.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com