KBO's Hanwha Eagles name ex-nat'l team skipper Ryu Ji-hyun as new manager

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- The Hanwha Eagles on Tuesday named former national team boss Ryu Ji-hyun as their new manager.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club gave Ryu, 55, a three-year contract worth 2 billion won (US$1.48 million), saying he was the right person to develop the Eagles into a "sustainable contender."

This year, Ryu led South Korea to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic in March and then to the gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September -- the country's fifth consecutive Asiad title.

Ryu's previous KBO managerial stint came with the LG Twins from 2021 to 2022. On his watch, the Twins went 159-113-16 (wins-losses-ties) in the regular season, the best record in the KBO over those two years. However, they failed to mount a deep postseason run, getting knocked out of the first round in 2021 and then the second round in 2022.

The Eagles decided over the weekend not to bring back manager Kim Kyung-moon after his three-year deal expired. They went to the Korean Series last year, their first trip to the championship series since 2006, but lost to the Twins in five games.

This year, having lost their top two starters from 2025, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss, the Eagles stumbled to ninth place in the 10-team KBO at 57-83-4.

Ryu thanked the Eagles for giving him the opportunity and said he was looking forward to fielding a great team in front of "the best fans" in the KBO.

"I will do my best to realize the club's vision of building a top contender," Ryu said. "I will try to put together my coaching staff before my first meeting with the players on Friday."

Ryu, an All-Star shortstop during his playing days, has built a reputation as a team manager who gets the most out of his players in defense. While with the national team, Ryu embraced the use of advanced statistics and data analysis to scout and select players.