For Blue Jays ace Hyun-Jin Ryu, starting on opening day isn’t a big deal

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This article was published 31/03/2021 (1683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For a lot of starting pitchers, getting the call on opening day is the honour of a lifetime. For Hyun-Jin Ryu, it’s just another day at the office.

Ryu has been down this road too many times before to put much stock into being named the No. 1 guy. When he takes the ball for the Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, it will mark his third consecutive opening day appearance. At this point, walking to the mound during the first game of the season has just become part of his normal routine.

There is a symbolic importance to the opener. It’s the one day when all teams find themselves on equal footing and front offices finally get to see the fruits of their off-season labour. When one season ends, the countdown until the next one begins almost immediately. Everyone wants to get off to a good start, but it’s still just one game of 162. For someone like Ryu, who has been to the post-season in each of the last three years, there are much bigger things to worry about it.

The 34-year-old cares so little about the ace label that he claimed to not know for most of spring training that he was going to be the guy. Considering he was the only candidate in the race, perhaps someone just forgot to tell him. Because if not Ryu, then who? Unless Pat Hentgen or Dave Stieb were planning to stage a last-minute comeback, he was the only man in the conversation.

“I don’t think it’s that important to be honest,” Ryu said of the opening day start through an interpreter from Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m more worried about having a successful season, in the end. I’m just trying to prepare myself for the whole season, rather than the opening day start. It doesn’t mean that much to me.”

Nor should it after everything Ryu has accomplished in his career. This isn’t 2011 when Ricky Romero broke down in tears after hearing the news, finally receiving validation after a long road to the big leagues. It’s not 2019 when Marcus Stroman basically demanded the ball and dared anyone to get in his way. For Ryu, it’s a been there, done that, kind of feeling.

The Blue Jays had a simple decision to make, and it was met with indifference. There are plenty of starts to go around and either way Ryu is going to get his work in. Despite Ryu’s nonchalant attitude about the whole thing, he did admit to experiencing more nerves than normal when he throws for the first time each year. To date, Ryu’s been able to handle it just fine.

In 2019, Ryu allowed just one run across six innings in a 12-5 win over the Diamondbacks. Last year, he allowed three runs vs. the Rays but was an out shy of factoring into the decision.

“I think it’s pretty similar to last year,” said Ryu, who went 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA in 12 starts last season. “Obviously going into the opening day, you might be a little nervous at times. When (Thursday) comes, it might feel different. But some nervousness is good, in a positive way, I think overall it’s the same as last year.”

Ryu was the Blue Jays’ prized acquisition heading into last season, but his importance to this year’s version of the club is much higher. The Korean has been tasked with leading a starting staff that, despite a pair of injuries to Robbie Ray and Nate Pearson, contains depth. What it doesn’t have much of is upside.

The only proven front-line starter the Blue Jays have is Ryu. Ray and Pearson both have the potential to assume similar roles, but until they’re healthy and having success on a regular basis, Ryu will be alone on an island. When his team needs to snap an extended losing streak, or desperately needs to rest the bullpen with a reliable six-inning start, Ryu will expected to step up.

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That’s one of many reasons the Blue Jays can ill afford to lose him for very long at any point on the schedule. Ryu has been to the injured list 10 times before in his career, avoiding a prolonged absence this year could be just the thing Toronto needs to complement what should become one of the best offensive teams in the league.

So far, so good in that regard. Ryu finished camp feeling strong and not showing any ill effects from a minor shoulder issue that plagued him leading into last year’s post-season.

“I don’t think anything stood out this spring training,” Ryu said. “Everything felt good. I felt everything was going in the same direction and everything felt like it belonged. I didn’t feel like there were any difficulties so getting ready for the upcoming game felt pretty good.”

The first test of many tests for a team with post-season aspirations will take place Thursday afternoon. Ryu would prefer to come away with a victory, but don’t expect him to be too upset about it if he doesn’t. This is a guy who doesn’t really care how he starts the year, what’s far more important is how he finishes it.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca