Ryu Hyun-jin soon to play his 1,000th inning in MLB

‘Blue Monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin is soon to play his 1,000th inning in the Major League Baseball (MLB). The Toronto Blue Jays announced on Tuesday that Ryu will start a home game against the Chicago White Sox, which will begin at 8:07 a.m. on Thursday.

After Ryu pitched for five innings of the last game on Friday, his current record of the number of innings he played stands at 999 and one-third innings since his debut in the MLB in 2013. Once he earns two outs in the top of the first inning, his record will reach 1,000 innings in total.

So far, Park Chan-ho is the only South Korean pitcher who has pitched for more than 1,000 innings in the MLB. Park who debuted as a pitcher of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 9, 1994 broke the 1,000th inning record on May 10, 2001 against the Florida Marlins on May 10, 2001. It was 2,588 days after his debut.

If Ryu breaks his 1,000th inning record on Thursday, he will have reached the record 3,347 days after his MLB debut on April 3, 2013. The biggest reason why Ryu is slower than Park to reach the record is his shoulder surgery. He skipped a whole year in 2015 and pitched for four and two-third inning in one game in 2016. He also only played for 81 and one-third innings in 2018 due to injuries and completed only 67 innings in 2020 due to a shortened season schedule as a result of COVID-19.

Ryu is particularly weak against the Chicago White Sox. Ryu who dealt with the team for the first time last year allowed 12 hits and 10 runs during two games, both of which ended in loss.


leper@donga.com