Reunited LG Three Musketeers

Back then, it was incredible.

The Cham-shil stadium was overfilled with fans, and the LG Twins won every game. The “exciting baseball” that was led by the three musketeers, Ryu Jee-hyun(33), Suh Yong-bin(33), and Kim Jae-hyun(29) became a sensation with their talents and good looks.

“At that time, playing baseball was pure joy and happiness. I used to run wild with excitement hours before the start of a game. I just looked forward to being on the ground again.” (Ryu Jee-hyun)

In the year 1994, LG was at its peak after winning the Taepyungyang Dolphins with four wins and no losses in the Korean Series.

On February 6, we visited the Champion Spark, the LG training field located in Kyungi Kuri-shi.

“Hey, why do you want to take pictures of someone past their season?” The words “someone past their season” was uttered by Kim Jae-hyun, the youngest of the three when they were asked to strike a pose.

Since last season, Ryu Jee-hyun who was released from being a Free Agency (FA) player signed a contract for a year with LG two days before the deadline after not receiving any “love calls” from other teams. The contract was for 100 million won, with another 100 million won option, which added up to a yearly salary of 230 million won, the same conditions as last year.

His grief was understandable for being on the back-burner considering the fact that others were signing a contract for a couple 1000 million won.

There was tension between Kim Jae-hyung and the team because of his “memorandum.” His memorandum stated that he would not hold the team responsible when his injury of the hip joint relapsed. It was a memorandum that he inevitably had to write in order to return to the ground last year.

Suh Yong-bin served in the army at age 31. He is serving as a public officer for a 28-month period. Suh will finish his service this November at the age of 34, but his comeback is not certain. Would he be able to rise again among the young rookies?

Considering this situation, it’s not a far-fetched idea that Kim Jae-hyun used the expression “someone past their season.” However, there is still hope for these “three musketeers.” That is what drives them to train and sweat in the field amidst the freezing sub-zero weather.

Currently, the first tier players of LG are training in Australia but since the contracts of Ryu Jee-hyun and Kim Jae-hyun were delayed they are training at the Kuri training field with the second tier players. When the first tier players return from Australia these three will join them and leave for Osaka, Japan around February 13.

Since late last year, Suh Yong-bin has been training whenever he finds time at the Kuri training field. After his exercise during his spare time, he returns to his work as a public officer. He says that “he will run in practice games this year to get a feel of things.” This season Kim Jae-hyun wants to clear his name of disgrace of being called a “half” for his defense. Ryu Jee-hyun says that “he will not end it this way.” Suh Yong-bin assured us that “he is confident that he can play baseball until 40.”

The reunited “LG three musketeers” - Would they be able to revive the same glory that they achieved ten years ago? Well, who knew that Suh Yong-bin who was the 41st player on the 1994 rookie nominee would do so well?