This type of batter was stuck in the second team? He almost competed with Ahn Hyun-min for the Rookie of the Year award
Sep 01, 2025
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He is 1 m 92 and weighs 100 kg. Ryu Hyo-seung, a college graduate rookie from Daegu Sangwon-Sungkyunkwan University, joined the professional team in 2020 after receiving the second round of sixth-round nomination from SK Wyverns (SSG predecessor).
At the time of joining the team, he was attracting attention as a batter with great capability, but his age was a stumbling block because he was a four-year college graduate. After solving the military service first, he began to play in the Futures League in earnest from the 2023 season.
From the 2023 season to this year, he hit a batting average of .300 for the third consecutive year in Futures, and consistently recorded a slugging percentage of over .500.
There was a possibility, but few first-team call-up opportunities came. He played eight games in 2020, three games in the 2023 season, and one game in the 2024 season as a rookie.
The most stumbling block is defense. SSG has been accompanied by foreign hitter Guillermo Herredia, who is S-class in both offense and defense for the past three seasons, and another spot is occupied by Han Yu-sum, a big-handed hitter. On top of that, as there is a Jihoon Choi with the widest range of defense as a center fielder, it is not easy for prospects to get a chance. In particular, Ryu Hyo-seung has been evaluated as having poor defensive skills compared to his batting qualities. If the defense is unstable, you have to trust and use only one bat in the end, but the competition was too fierce for that. That's why he spent a longer time in the second division.
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Director Lee Soo-yong agonized a lot. There was an injury when I first tried to raise it. Also, I felt pressured because I had to use the designated hitter because of the defense, but I thought that a player like this should come up and change the atmosphere"I explained the background of the call-up. He also said he will ease the burden on defense this season and use it only as a designated hitter. Of course, considering the team's situation in which Choi Jung, Han Yu-sum and Herredia should be used as designated hitters in turn, it may be overloaded, but now it is decided that the priority is to break through the tight lineup by transfusing 'new blood'.
The judgment was right. Ryu Hyo-seung has been flying with a batting average of 375, three home runs and six RBIs in 11 games since the call-up. It has a slugging ratio of 0.675 and an OPS of 1.065.
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It is strong even in clutch situations. On August 31st, when SSG led 4-0 and allowed a 4-8 turnaround, Ryu Hyo-seung, who was in charge of the fifth batter, hit an RBI double from his first at-bat, hit in the fifth inning, and hit a timely hit again in the sixth inning. In particular, at the bottom of the sixth inning, when SSG overturned the game 10-8, it was a timely hit to bring down the opponent's key bullpen Kim Young-kyu from the mound immediately after Park Sung-han's two-run home run made a thrilling turnaround.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the current momentum will be maintained if the number of games played increases and the number of at-bats increases. However, for Ryu Hyo-seung, who joined in 2020, this is the last year to qualify for the Rookie of the Year. If you had this performance in the first half of the year, you might have been able to compete for the Rookie of the Year award.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
