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On the verge of hitting free agency for the second time in his major league career, South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was careful not to reveal too much about his future plans Wednesday.Ryu returned home after completing his fourth and likely final season with the Toronto Blue Jays. His four-year, US$80 million contract expired this season, and Ryu will officially become a free agent after the end of the World Series, either at the end of October or early November.

So will Ryu give Major League Baseball (MLB) another shot or return to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO)?”I don’t know what to tell you at this point,” Ryu told reporters gathered at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. “I think we’ll have to wait and see. Only time will tell.”

Ryu signed that four-year pact with Toronto when he hit the open market for the first time in 2019. He was coming off his best season in the bigs, leading the majors with a 2.32 ERA and finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award voting for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Things are much different this time around. Now 36, Ryu was limited to just 17 starts over the past two seasons, missing the second half of 2022 and then the first half of 2023 seasons after undergoing and recovering from a Tommy John elbow operation.The left-hander pitched to a solid 3.46 ERA in 11 outings this year, going 3-3 while striking out 38 batters in 52 innings.

When asked if he felt he would have had more wins with better luck, Ryu smiled and said, “I just didn’t pitch well enough.”When Ryu had said at the end of last year that he would try to return to the big league mound by the summer of 2023, it raised more than a few eyebrows. Skeptics doubted Ryu would be able to come back at all, let alone pitch as well as he did, at this point in his career.

“When I left home in December, I said I would be ready to come back in the second half of the season, and I am satisfied that I was able to live up to that word,” said Ryu, who made his 2023 season debut on Aug. 1. “I think I did pretty well this season just by returning from the surgery. I think my velocity will tick up a bit next year, but for now, I think I’ve done pretty well this year.”

Though Ryu doesn’t blow by hitters, he can still be effective with his guile. He was particularly effective with slow curveballs and changeups this year, leading to speculation that he could still command a major league deal even at his advanced age and a recent injury history.Whether or not he signs another big league deal this winter, Ryu said he remembers the pledge he’d made with fans of his former club, the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO, that he would end his career there.

“I haven’t changed my mind on that front,” said Ryu, who starred for the Eagles from 2006 to 2012. “I’ll absolutely make that happen.”Ryu said his four years with the Blue Jays “flew by faster than I’d expected.” His first season there was cut short from 162 스포츠 games to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of travel restrictions in Canada, the Blue Jays were forced to play their home games in their minor league facilities in Dunedin, Florida, and Buffalo, New York.

The Blue Jays reached the postseason in two of Ryu’s four seasons there. In 2020, he was the losing pitcher against the Tampa Bay Rays in the deciding Game 2 of an expanded Wild Card Series, after allowing seven runs — only three earned — on eight hits and two homers in 1 2/3 innings.Ryu never got a shot at his postseason redemption. The Jays qualified for the Wild Card Series this year, but Ryu didn’t make the team’s roster for the showdown against the Minnesota Twins.

Ryu, as the team’s No. 5 starter, wasn’t going to start in the best-of-three series, and with only one career relief appearance, he wouldn’t have been an option in the bullpen, either. The Blue Jays lost the first two games to take a quick exit from the postseason.”I completely understood the situation,” Ryu said of his exclusion from the postseason. “But I was preparing to pitch in the later rounds after the Wild Card Series. It would have been nice if the team had kept winning, but it didn’t happen.”

Ryu watched helplessly as the Jays dropped Game 2 against the Twins 2-0 after a controversial decision. Toronto starter Jose Berrios got pulled with no out in the fourth inning of what was then a scoreless game. The Blue Jays instead chose left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi to come out of the pen, but the move backfired as Kikuchi gave up the game’s only two runs in that inning.

“As Berrios himself said, there’s nothing a player can do about that situation. You just have to accept it,” Ryu said. “But from a pitcher’s perspective, it must have been disappointing. It was still early in the game, and he hadn’t allowed any runs at that point. But a player can’t do anything about a situation like that.”

In the midst of the Blue Jays’ postseason drama, Ryu said he kept tabs on the South Korean national team’s run to the gold medal at the Asian Games in China earlier this month. A 2010 Asian Games champion himself, Ryu said South Korea’s young players — the national team was built almost entirely of under-24 players — gave the nation “a valuable gift.”

“These are the players who will be leading the country at international competitions in the future,” Ryu said. “I am sure this gold medal will help them a great deal.”One of South Korea’s brightest young stars, Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, could soon join Ryu in the majors. Lee’s KBO club plans to post the 2022 league MVP for interested MLB clubs this offseason. Lee has been scouted heavily in the past couple of years and offers strong bat-to-ball skills with solid defense.”Everyone knows he’s the best hitter in Korea today,” Ryu said. “If he can find his footing quickly, then I think he’ll be competitive in the majors.”

The Korean baseball league on Thursday unveiled finalists for its inaugural award recognizing excellence in defense.The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will hand out the KBO Field Award for nine positions: pitcher, catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, left field, center field and right field.

The manager, nine coaches and the general manager from each of the 10 clubs will cast their votes for the next seven days, starting Thursday, and they may not vote for players on their own teams. The fielding index developed by the KBO and its official statistics provider, Sports 2i, will be used as a reference. The official fielding score, which accounts for fielding percentage and range factor, will be used for all nine positions.

For pitchers, fielding bunts and pickoff throws will be considered, while blocking and caught stealing percentage for catchers will come into the equation.Votes by managers and coaches will comprise 75 percent of the selection total, and the fielding 한국을 stats will count for the remaining 25 percent.To become finalists, pitchers must have thrown at least 48 innings and catchers must have appeared in at least 72 games. Infielders and outfielders must have played in at least 720 innings at their respective positions.

Under these criteria, 108 pitchers, 14 catchers, four first basemen, 10 second basemen, nine third basemen, nine shortstops, five left fielders, nine center fielders and seven right fielders will be up for the award.The award ceremony is scheduled for late November. Winner will each receive a trophy and 2 million won ($1,470).

Bucheon Hana One Q selected three rookies at the 2022-2023 WKBL rookie competition. Park Jin-young (178 cm, G) was at the center. Park Jin-young is a versatile player who was selected as the second overall pick. However, he couldn’t play many games due to his injury.

However, Hana OneQ acquired another first-round pick in May 2022 in a trade with Asan Woori Bank. It chose Lee Da-hyun (179 cm, F) as the fifth pick in the first round. Lee has a long shooting distance compared to her height. However, Lee also did not get many chances. 안전한 카지노사이트

Ko Seo-yeon, who was selected as the fifth player in the second round, stepped on the court the most among rookies. She spent an average of 9 minutes and 54 seconds on the court for 19 games and recorded 3.79 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. Her aggressive offense, which has not been recorded, also captivated manager Kim Do-wan and Hana One Q.

Of course, since Hana One Q’s main players and first-round rookies left due to injuries, Ko could get many opportunities. However, it is also difficult to seize the opportunities given. It can be more so for rookies who have no professional experience.

Ko also gained quite a few opportunities during the 2023-2024 season. She averaged 8:48 in 21 regular league games, scoring 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. And she experienced the playoffs two years after her professional debut. She averaged 2 minutes and 32 seconds in three games.

Ko Seo-yeon said, “(Kim) Jeong-eun joined the team anew, and my experience in the game has increased. So I thought I should focus more than before. That’s why I tried to be more accurate from the small one,” looking back on the 2023-2024 season.

Meanwhile, Ko visited Woori Bank Woori WON 3×3 Triple Jam in 2024 on June 29 and 30. She competed against Japanese players, including Duesseldorf Juice and Toyota Antelopes.

She also has to compete against a Japanese player in Hana One Q. She also has to compete against Yurina Watanabe (166 cm, G) and Yuzuki Ishida (168 cm, G). So, Ko should focus more on her training this off-season.

Ko said, “Japanese players are very fast. They are strong in defense. But in my case, ball control and strength are my weaknesses. I have to practice dribbling a lot, and I have to build up my body more,” explaining what I have to do in the offseason.

After that, he said, “You have to pass fast and run faster. You have to get more accurate in the movement of sending and running,” adding, “I thought it would be an option to install fast ball flow.”

Finally, he said, “As Japanese players join, my chances to play may be reduced. But I want to work harder and give the team more strength. At the same time, I want to increase my competitiveness.” Regardless of the Japanese players joining, I thought of ‘team performance’ and ‘individual competitiveness.’

The Changwon LG Twins has reorganized its squad and strengthened its coaching staff. It promoted Kang Byung-hyun, a scout who retired after the 2021-2022 season and spent two seasons as a scout, to a coach.

LG let a single coach train D-League players. After Cho Sang-hyun took the helm of LG, coaches Park Yu-jin and Kim Dong-woo sweated with D-League players for one season at a time. 슬롯사이트 순위

The coach in charge of the D-League did not follow away games during the season but remained in Changwon to lead the training of D-League players.

In other words, three coaches stood by Cho Sang-hyun’s side in Changwon’s home game and two coaches in away games.

From 2024-2025 season, LG will entrust coach Kang Byung-hyun to operate the D League so that head coach Lim Jae-hyun, coach Park Yoo-jin, and coach Kim Dong-woo can assist coach Cho Sang-hyun both at home and away.

The D-League does not play much games. Each team played 10 games last season in the D-League, which involved eight teams. For this reason, a season feels even longer for players who cannot play in a regular league.

LG is also considering participating in the 3×3 basketball tournament if the schedule fits to motivate D-League players.

I met coach Kang Byung-hyun, who has been benched in D-League games for the past two seasons, and heard how he felt about being promoted to coach.

After sustaining a bruise to his left rib on an errant pitch last week, SSG Landers third baseman Choi Jeong will likely resume his chase of the all-time Korean home run record this week.Choi pulled into a tie with former Samsung Lions star Lee Seung-yuop last Tuesday with his 457th career home run in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). But Choi suffered that rib injury the very next day when he took a two-seam fastball from Kia Tigers starter Wil Crowe to his left side in the bottom of the first inning at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, just west of Seoul.

Choi exited the game with what Landers officials initially called a broken rib. After Choi underwent further tests the following day, the Landers said Choi had suffered a rib contusion, not a fracture.The Landers did not place Choi on the injured list, as the Landers enjoyed a six-game homestand last week. Choi even took some light swings during batting practice 커뮤니티 Sunday and, according to Landers manager Lee Sung-yong, came out of the session pain free.”He told me he’d try to get ready to play Tuesday, but we’ll have to see how he feels that day,” Lee told reporters Sunday. “If he takes harder swings, he may still feel some pain. It’s hard to say at this point exactly when he’ll be ready to come back.”

After playing all six games at home last week, the Landers will open the new week on the road in Busan, some 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with a three-game series against the Lotte Giants.They will come home again Friday to host the KT Wiz for three games starting Friday.While Choi was on the sidelines, his teammate Han Yoo-seom passed him to take the lead for this season with his 10th home run on Sunday.The next home run will give Choi the all-time record and also extend his double-digit home run streak to a record 19 seasons.Choi, 37, made his KBO debut in 2005 and has hit at least 10 home runs in every year since 2006. He has topped the KBO in home runs three times — 2016, 2017 and 2021

Korea defeated Japan 1-0 in their final group stage match at the Olympic men’s football qualifiers in Qatar on Monday, extending their winning streak to three as they gear up for the knockout phase.Substitute Kim Min-woo headed home the match’s lone goal in the 75th minute of the final Group B match at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, just west of Doha, and sent Korea into the quarterfinals with an unblemished record.

Both teams had already secured their quarterfinals berths as the top two teams of Group B by winning their first two matches. They were fighting for the top seed Monday. As the winner of Group B, Korea will face Indonesia, the Group A runner-up, in the quarterfinals at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha. The kickoff is 8:30 p.m. Thursday local time, or 2:30 a.m. Friday in Korea.Coached by Hwang Sun-hong, Korea earlier defeated the United Arab Emirates 1-0 and then China 2-0.

It will be the first must-win match of the competition for Korea as they try to extend their Olympic appearance streak to 10. This AFC tournament doubles as the qualifying event for the Paris Olympics. The top three teams — the two finalists and the 토토 winner of the third-place match — will grab tickets to France, with the fourth-place team taking on Guinea in an intercontinental playoff later. This means Korea will have to reach at least the semifinals to have a shot at earning an Olympic spot.

Indonesia, coached by former Korea boss Shin Tae-yong, lost to Qatar 2-0, but later defeated Australia 1-0 and Jordan 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.The Korea-Japan showdown was scoreless after an uneventful first half, with neither team registering a shot on target despite some dangerous-looking forays into the opposing boxes.Korea had one close call in the 44th minute, when Hong Yun-sang took a right-footed shot inside the six-yard box as he fell down but missed the net to the right.

Having bagged a crucial win at home, Korean champions Ulsan HD FC will now visit Japanese foes Yokohama F. Marinos this week as they chase their first Asian club football title in four years.Ulsan and Yokohama will square off in the second leg of the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Yokohama International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.Ulsan won the opening leg last week at home by 1-0, with midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong’s 19th-minute goal providing the difference.Ulsan just need to avoid a loss Wednesday, and they will punch their ticket to the two-legged final next month. The away goals rule is no longer in effect, and extra time and a penalty shootout will be used to determine the winner if necessary.

For the knockouts, teams have been split into East and West regions. Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates defeated Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia 4-2 in the first leg of the semifinals in the West Region last week, with their return leg set for Tuesday night in Riyadh. Ulsan have won two AFC Champions League titles, most recently in 2020, when they defeated the Iranian 스포츠 side Persepolis 2-1 in the one-and-done final match.They have since collected two domestic trophies, winning the K League 1 titles in 2022 and 2023. And their “three-peat” bid is off to a solid start this year, as they rank third with 14 points, three back of the league-leading Pohang Steelers but with one match in hand. Ulsan lead all clubs with 16 goals in seven matches.

Lee Dong-gyeong has been involved in 10 of those goals, with six goals and a league-best four assists. He was the lone goal scorer in last week’s win, and Ulsan will look to other attackers to step up their game.Forward Joo Min-kyu netted three goals in the round of 16 but has been held off the scoresheet since. The two-time K League 1 scoring champion is a threat to go off at any moment, though.Ulsan’s Hungarian forward Martin Adam leads Ulsan with five goals for this year’s Champions League, but all five came during the group stage.At the other end, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo has been sharp in the knockout stage, having conceded only two goals in five matches.

A classroom in Gwanak District, Seoul, buzzed with the energy of young gamers on Thursday with both students and instructors focused intently on the fine art of using a computer mouse, a seemingly simple yet crucial tool. This wasn’t just any classroom—it was a professional videogame player training academy. Here, mastering the use of a mouse is considered the first step toward competing in games where reaction times are measured in milliseconds.

Here, understanding the proper grip and movement of a mouse is taught with precision and detail, sometimes consuming over an hour of instruction. This foundational skill is crucial in a field where even a fraction of a second can distinguish between victory and defeat. By 6 p.m. daily, groups of middle and high school students gather here after school, their faces set with determination, dreaming of becoming the next esports champions. For instance, 16-year-old Kim Seung-hyun practices up to 15 hours a day, asserting his commitment, “I am definitely pursuing this path.”

The esports industry’s growth has led to increased academies dedicated to training professional gamers. With esports continuously expanding and even becoming an official part of the Asian Games, more teens are entering these academies with dreams of debuting as professional gamers, much like youngsters seeking out talent agencies to become idols. However, becoming a professional player today requires more than just gaming skills. Due to the global nature of competitions and the increasing number of international fans, proficiency in foreign languages is now essential.

For instance, middle school student Eom Jong-hwan has been attending English classes since early this year in preparation for joining an international team or competing abroad in first-person shooter games like Valorant. Moreover, physical fitness and character are also important. Another student, Lee Da-sol, 15, balances intense gaming sessions with four 한국을 weekly gym visits to strengthen his back muscles necessary for long gaming sessions. Group living skills are also honed in these academies, with some students like Shin Jung-woon, 18, undergoing communal living training to foster teamwork and cooperation skills prized by large esports teams during selection processes.

Despite the rigorous training, the reality is that very few make it to the professional level. The competitive nature of the games and the relatively short career span of players make it challenging to secure a spot on a pro team. Coach Choi Seong-min, a former Battlegrounds player, emphasizes the slim chances of making it big in esports, saying, “The probability of succeeding as a pro gamer is just 0.1 percent.” He advocates for students to explore diverse career paths as alternatives.

As the number of trainees increases and the starting age drops, there is a growing call for proper guidelines to support the aspirants’ “second life” in case they do not succeed in esports. Professor Kim Jung-tae from Dongyang University’s game sStudies department said, “It’s not wise for primary and secondary students to jump into becoming a professional gamer without a Plan B,” adding “There needs to be delicate communication between parents and children, and guidelines that ensure they do not lose interest and passion in their school education.” Choi also suggests quickly assessing students’ potential and guiding those with less likelihood of success towards other career paths, maximizing their skills in more viable directions.