‘6 Days of Training + 1 Day of Rest → Hell of Training + No Night Eating’ Ryu Hyun-jin loses weight with a vengeance, hopes to regain his old form

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu, 36, is working hard to make a successful return from Tommy John surgery.

MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball, reported on April 26, “On April 24, a man resembling Hyun-jin Ryu took the field at Tropicana Field. The man’s gait was unmistakable. His gait is somewhere between a shuffling walk and a Wild West gunslinger riding into town with his arms flailing wildly. The only difference is that he looks like he’s lost about 20 percent of his weight,” he said, referring to the weight he lost during his rehabilitation.

Ryu, who is 75-45 with a 3.27 ERA in 175 career major league games (1003⅓ innings), struggled last season, going 2-2 with a 5.67 ERA in six games (27 innings). He underwent Tommy John surgery and did not take the mound in the big leagues until his last start on June 2 last year.

As he continues to rehab, Ryu is not expected to return until later this season. Now that he’s started pitching out of the bullpen, he’s progressing faster than expected. “From the beginning, I thought it would be ideal to come back after the All-Star break and join the team in the second half of the season. That’s my goal at this point. I plan to schedule my rehabilitation accordingly,” he said, explaining his current status.

MLB.com notes that “Ryu has never been in better shape physically, having lost a significant amount of weight while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Most pitchers are reluctant to commit to a specific timetable for a return, but Ryu is different,” emphasizing that Ryu has a strong commitment to his rehab.

Ryu has been training harder than usual in the offseason. In previous years, he would train for three days and then take a day off, but this winter he was on an intense schedule of six days of training and one day of rest. Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom), who worked out with Ryu last winter, said, “I think Ryu worked out on a six-day rotation because he needed to come back quickly. It was hard for me to work out as much as I did last year, but I realized that it was fun to work out with him and that we were spending precious time together. I felt honored and always tried to work out hard,” he said.

Ryu, who is preparing for his comeback with such determination that he has drastically increased his training volume, talked about his weight loss, saying, “I prepared for the season by working hard on cardio and weight training, and I think I lost weight well by stopping eating late at night.”

With a completely different look, fans are eager to see if Ryu can overcome his Tommy John surgery and dominate batters once again this season 안전놀이터.