Director Song Jin-woo, “Ryu Hyun-jin, Run for All 8 Years and Break my Record as the Oldest!”
Ryu Hyun-jin signs the second 8-year contract in history… If the period is fulfilled, active duty until the age of 44
Song Jin-woo (58), coach of the Oneston semi-professional baseball team, who holds the record for the oldest player to play in professional baseball, sent a message of support to Ryu Hyun-jin (36), who returned to the KBO League after signing an eight-year contract with the Hanwha Eagles, asking him to break his record.
Coach Song Jin-woo said in a phone call with Yonhap News on the 22nd, “It is surprising that Hanwha signed an 8-year contract with Ryu Hyun-jin.
There may be internal circumstances at the club, but I hope Hyun-jin completes the entire contract period.” E스포츠
He added, “I hope to break my record by running for all eight years without any injuries and in good health.”
On the 22nd, the Hanwha club announced that it had signed an 8-year contract with Ryu Hyun-jin, who returned from his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, for a total of 17 billion won.
The total amount was somewhat expected, but the contract period was surprising.
The 8-year contract is the longest contract in KBO League history, and is the second following the free agent contract (5+3 years, total KRW 14 billion) signed by NC Dinos with Park Min-woo in November 2022.
The situations of Park Min-woo and Ryu Hyun-jin are different.
Park Min-woo signed an 8-year contract when he was 29 years old, but Ryu Hyun-jin is currently 36 years old.
He will turn 37 next month when the regular season opens.
In order to fulfill the eight-year contract, Ryu Hyun-jin must remain active until 2031, when he turns 44.
If Ryu Hyun-jin completes the contract period, he will far exceed the record of the oldest player in KBO League history (43 years, 7 months, 7 days) set by coach Jin-Woo Song in 2009.
Some say it is unrealistic.
There is also an interpretation that Hanwha signed an 8-year contract as a way to extend the payment period to solve the problem of exceeding the salary cap (total annual salary cap).
However, the Hanwha club explained that this contract contained ‘symbolism’.
Hanwha said, “This contract contains the meaning of a new history in the KBO League.
If Ryu Hyun-jin remains active during the contract period, he will surpass Hanwha legend Song Jin-woo and set a new record in Korean professional baseball.”
Aside from the salary cap issue, coach Song Jin-woo left warm advice to Ryu Hyun-jin as a senior at Hanwha.
Coach Song said, “For Ryu Hyun-jin to break my record, she needs to focus more on preventing injuries and taking care of her body,” and she recalled, “As she gets older, her physical condition changes every year.”
He continued, “It is also important to reduce the rate at which skills decline,” and added, “We need to pay more attention to the training part.”
When asked to predict Ryu Hyun-jin's performance this year, he said, “I think I will have to wait for 2-3 exhibition games to find out.
However, he showed good performance in MLB last season when he returned from injury, so he will be able to show off his best skills.” I answered.
Coach Song also looked forward to the performance of his former team, Hanwha, in the new season.
Coach Song said, “Ryu Hyun-jin’s mere presence will have a significant impact on the team atmosphere,” and added, “I believe Hanwha will achieve good results this year.”
Coach Song Jin-woo is a franchise star who started his professional career with the Binggrae Eagles in 1989 and played for the same team until 2009.
The number 21 he wore as a player remains permanently retired by the Hanwha team.
After retiring as a player, Coach Song Jin-woo coached at Hanwha from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2020.
Coach Song was also in charge of the Hanwha mound with Ryu Hyun-jin from 2006 to 2009.
In 2012, Manager Song Jin-woo served as the first team pitching coach, and Ryu Hyun-jin served as the team's ace.
