Hyun Jin Ryu (Baseball Player)

Hyun-jin Ryu ranked 4th on the list of the most powerful celebrities in Korea. It is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and in the KBO League for the Hanwha Eagles. He became the first player from the KBO to join an MLB team via the posting system in 2013, after seven seasons with the Eagles. Ryu is the first Korean pitcher to start a game in the World Series. Ryu was named to his first career Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2019. He led the Majors in earned run average (ERA) during that season, posting a 1.26 ERA through his first 14 starts, the lowest by a Dodgers pitcher since the metric was introduced in 1912.

Ryu was chosen first overall in the second round of the 2006 KBO League Draft by the Hanwha Eagles in July 2005, and he made his professional debut on April 12, 2006. Ryu had an 18–6 win–loss record, a 2.23 ERA, and 205 strikeouts in 201.2 innings pitched in his rookie season of 2006. He earned the Triple Crown in pitching and was voted Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year. He became the first and only player in KBO history to earn Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. In August 2008, Ryu was a member of the South Korean national baseball team, which won the gold medal in the baseball event at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Ryu pitched a full game shutout against Canada in the team's third round-robin game, allowing only five hits. He pitched 81/3 innings in the gold medal game against Cuba, conceding two earned runs in a 3–2 triumph.

In March 2009, he was a member of the South Korean national baseball team, which finished second to eventual champion Japan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Ryu represented South Korea at the 2010 Asian Games, where the national baseball team won the gold medal. On May 11, 2010, against the LG Twins at Cheongju Sports Complex Baseball Stadium, Ryu became the first pitcher in history to strike out 17 batters in a nine-inning game. Ryu had a 2.66 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 2012, although he only had a 9–9 win–loss record and ten no decisions. Ryu has declared his desire to play Major League Baseball in the United States on numerous occasions, and scouts from a number of MLB teams have visited Korea to observe Ryu's pitching.

• Born: March 25, 1987 (age 35)Incheon, South Korea
• KBO: April 12, 2006, for the Hanwha Eagles
• MLB: April 2, 2013, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Win–loss record: 98–52
• Earned run average: 2.80
• Strikeouts: 1,238