"By the end of my eight-year contract..."You'll be the oldest." Puig in Ryu Hyun-jin's arms, time has passed, but friendship remains the same

"By the end of my eight-year contract..."You'll be the oldest." Puig in Ryu Hyun-jin's arms, time has passed, but friendship remains the same

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It feels like just yesterday when we were rookies of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but a lot of time has passed. Ryu Hyun-jin (38) and Yasiel Puig (35) of the Hanwha Eagles who met in Korea after leaving the U.S. talked to each other for the first time in a long time. They just smiled and played around with each other when they were with the Dodgers.

Ryu Hyun-jin and Puig faced off as pitching and hitting at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 11th, which made headlines. The two players, who debuted in the Major League in 2013 side by side in Dodgers uniforms, shared a team-up for six years until 2018. Both Ryu Hyun-jin, the first direct player in the KBO League, and Puig, who defected from Cuba, had something in common as rookies from other countries, and quickly developed into a "best friend" relationship with their extraordinary affinity.

Puig was traded to the Cincinnati Reds after the 2018 season, and the two players faced off for the first time in the Major League on May 20, 2019. At the time, Dodgers starter Ryu Hyun-jin stopped Puig, the fourth batter of Cincinnati, from three times at bat, but Ryu Hyun-jin overwhelmed him with one hit and one strikeout in three times at bat in the rematch, which he played after moving to South Korea for the first time in six years.

In the first at-bat of the first inning, they greeted each other by touching hats and hats, but they relaxed their laughter and focused on the game. After the game, Ryu said, "I had a showdown with Puig after a long time, and it was great. It was great to see him after a long time. I didn't expect that I would have a showdown (in Korea) with a player I was close to and who I had been with for a long time. I tried my best not to get hit," adding, "I thought Puig would stare or anything after hitting a fly at the first two times, but he didn't. I couldn't meet him before the game today (because it was the starting day), but I think I can do it tomorrow."먹튀검증

After finishing pre-game training on Wednesday, Ryu waited for the Puig in front of the dugout on the first base. The Kiwoom team arrived and started warming up at the third base, and Ryu waved his hands to the Puig with open arms. Puig rushed to Ryu. The two players, holding hands together, gave a big hug and greeted him warmly. The Puig that was hugging Ryu gave a big smile to his arms, and the smile spread on Ryu's face.

Ryu then immediately took away the bat that Puig was holding. He also tapped the bat, smacked it, and swung it. When Puig, who was blocked by Ryu the previous day, shot him, saying, "I should have bunt him. I would have saved him because he was four feet slow," Ryu made people laugh by pretending to run in place. When the Kiwoom team's meeting began, Puig returned to third base, leaving behind a short meeting. The bat was in Ryu's hands.

Puig met with Ryu again even after finishing pre-game training, and decided to give one of his bats as a gift. He decided to hand over the bat that does not fit him.

Kiwoom's 40-year-old best outfielder Lee Yong-kyu also talked with the two players and naturally talked about his annual leave. Puig joked to Ryu, "I think I will be the oldest pitcher in the league by the end of my eight-year contract."

Ryu, who signed an eight-year, 17 billion won contract with Hanwha in February last year, is under contract through 2031. In 2031, Ryu will be 44 years old. Until now, no active player in the KBO league was 44 years old. Song Jin-woo of the Hanwha Eagles in 2009 and Oh Seung-hwan of the Samsung Lions in this year are the oldest seasons in history.

The first time the two players met at the Dodgers in 2013 was when Ryu was 26 years old and Puig was 23 years old, young and full of spirit. Twelve years later, both players are in their mid to late 30s. As veteran players, they now have conversations about age and career. Still, they were the same when they were in their 20s when they were both laughing and playing around with each other.

Although many years have passed, both players are still in good shape. Ryu has been playing strong roles in this season with one win and a 2.35 WHIP 0.91 hit rate. Puig returned to Kiwoom in three years and is currently preheating with a batting average of 247 (three hits in seven at-bats), three homers and 11 RBIs in 18 games, and an OPS of 726.