In 2006, the professional baseball team SK (now SSG) exercised the first round of draft selection for local players to Incheon High School catcher Lee Jae-won (35, photo) rather than Dongsan High School pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (36). While Ryu Hyun-jin, who joined Hanwha, has been on a roll since his debut season, winning both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, Lee Jae-won only became the starting catcher in his 9th year as a professional. At the same time, the expression ‘Ryu Geoi’ (rejecting Ryu Hyun-jin and choosing Lee Jae-won) began to become popular among baseball fans.
Lee Jae-won also later established himself as a star of the SK franchise by winning the Korean Series as a ‘special pinch hitter’ and as the starting catcher. After the 2018 season ended, he signed a four-year free agent contract worth a total of 6.9 billion won. However, it was not enough to keep up with Ryu Hyun-jin, who became the ace representing not only Hanwha but also Korean baseball. Ryu Hyun-jin earned more than $130 million (about 168.3 billion won) during the 11 years he played in the Major League Baseball (MLB).
If Ryu Hyun-jin chooses to return to Hanwha during the Stove League period, we may be able to see the ‘Ryu Guai’ (Ryu Hyun-jin and Lee Jae-won) battery for the first time in 19 years. Lee Jae-won, who had a batting average of only 0.091 (4 hits in 44 at-bats) this season, requested to be released from SSG and signed a contract with Hanwha on the 28th for 50 million won, the minimum annual salary for a first-team player. The two players formed a battery in the youth national team in 2005. 토토사이트