'Groundball judo pitcher' Ryu Hyun-jin shows off his dazzling skills every time he takes the mound The starting shortstop returned and made a big performance in offense and defense A loud cry of resurrection

Second base out, what about first base?

Ha Joo-seok(30), the starting shortstop of the professional baseball Hanwha Eagles, transformed into a helper for the ‘returning Korean monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin (37).

Ha Joo-seok is showing top-level defense in every game Ryu Hyun-jin starts.

He saved Ryu Hyun-jin several times during the home game against KT Wiz held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 29th.

Defense was the highlight in the top of the first inning.

With one out and runners on first and second base, he turned Park Byeong-ho's batted ball into a double play with brilliant technique.

Instead of catching the fast ball right away, he waited for it to bounce on the ground, caught it with one hand, and threw the ball to second base, resulting in a double play.

It was a scene where split-second judgment and animal sense stood out.

Commentator Lee Dae-hyung, who was broadcasting, praised the game, saying, “It’s a difficult play to play if you don’t have experience and skills.”

It's not just this. Ha Joo-seok also cleanly handled Jang Seong-woo's batted ball in the second inning.

Ha Joo-seok boasted stable defense in the away game against the LG Twins on the 26th, which was the first game after Ryu Hyun-jin's return.

In the first inning, he smoothly handled all consecutive ground balls by Park Hae-min and Hong Chang-ki, and turned the balls that came toward him into outs without a single mistake.

Ha Joo-seok's defense is a great help to Ryu Hyun-jin.

Ryu Hyun-jin is a typical ground ball-inducing pitcher. He breaks down batters' hitting timing with excellent ball control and a variety of breaking balls, effectively leading to hits.

Ryu Hyun-jin's ability to induce ground balls shone when he played in the Major League Baseball (MLB).

His teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, operated the infield with top defenders, and Ryu Hyun-jin saw a synergy effect by comfortably inducing ground balls.

Because of this background, concerns arose when Ryu Hyun-jin returned to Hanwha this year.

It was expected that Hanwha's infield defense would be able to hinder Ryu Hyun-jin.

However, Ha Joo-seok is lightening Ryu Hyun-jin's shoulders with his defensive skills that are on par with those of the Dodgers and Toronto infielders.

Ha Joo-seok's performance is also welcome to the Hanwha team.

Ha Joo-seok was punished last season and was limited to playing in 25 games, and had a difficult time losing his starting spot to Lee Do-yoon.

This year’s position was also uncertain. However, Ha played very well in offense and defense, regained his starting position, and returned as the leader of the infield.

He is also showing outstanding skills at the plate, recording a batting average of 0.304 in 6 games this season. 일본야동