Reasons behind Ryu Hyun-jin’s recurring shoulder injury

Reasons behind Ryu Hyun-jin’s recurring shoulder injury. March. 25, 2015 07:01. moonsy1028@donga.com.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin returned to his team Monday after a thorough physical examination by team medical doctors. A club source said that the results would be out on Tuesday. Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly has five opening game starting pitchers on his list for Ryu’s possible inclusion in the disabled list. Media weighs more on Ryu playing at the opening game.

Since April last year, Ryu was injured three times on his left shoulder. There can be two reasons for Ryu’s frequent injury in Major League, which is well known for strict control of pitching innings and number of pitches.

First, Ryu already has thrown so many balls before joining Major League. When he joined professional baseball after graduating Dongsang High School, he pitched 1,269 innings for seven years at Hanwha Eagles, which translates into average 181.2 innings per season, before coming to the U.S. This more than tops the Major League’s regulation on the number of innings. Like a piece of chalk wearing out, a pitcher’s shoulder wears out as much as he uses it.

Second, Ryu`s shoulder is overloaded due to maximum power pitching. “Not only Ryu, but Japanese pitchers, suffer injury after two to three years following their entry to Major League, because they throw at their maximum against all batters,” Commentator Heo Koo-yeon said. “Ryu controlled pace when playing against bottom of the lineup in Korea. It was the same with Darvish Yu and Tanaka Masahiro. At Major League, however, pitchers also hit homeruns. No player has time to rest there. Since Korean and Japanese players are not accustomed to maximum throwing every inning, it is inevitable for them to suffer frequent shoulder and elbow injuries. The way to prevent injury is to train thoroughly every day to strengthen muscles."