RealGM

Ryu baffles teammates more with his process than with his results. They have all seen the way he dances five different pitches in four different quadrants, giving hitters 20 different possibilities for which to prepare. If only he could pitch a full season at full health, they have thought for years, Ryu could dominate every fifth day. It’s the other four they still don’t quite understand.

Ryu does not throw bullpens between starts. He does not lift heavy weights. He does not play catch at full strength.

Righty Walker Buehler, who throws as hard as he can as often as he can, jokes often with Ryu, “Everything you do makes me sick.”

The applause is another joke. Ryu works with a personal trainer, Yong-il Kim, who acknowledges each completed set with a clap. Given how hilarious they find his workouts, the rest of the Dodgers have begun joining in.

Even Ryu’s post-workout regimen fascinates his teammates. The Dodgers have a steam room that can fit half a dozen players at a time. Most of them set the thermostat around 110 degrees and spend 10 minutes inside chatting. Ryu prefers 125 for up to half an hour, cross-legged and quiet. Everyone else uses the hot tub at 100 or so and the cold tub around 50. Ryu adds some five degrees to the hot and subtracts some five from the cold.

Righty Ross Stripling saw an episode of Modern Marvels on the History Channel about people who don’t feel extreme temperatures. “I think he’s one of them,” Stripling says. “He’s a modern marvel.”

Ryu demurs. “I don’t really think that’s that special,” he says. “But I sometimes hear from my teammates how hot it is or how cold it is.”

The difference in Ryu’s tolerance is so extreme that the room clears when he enters. The other players know they can’t take it.

“A lot of us time our steam rooms around Hyun-jin’s schedule so we’re not in there,” Stripling says.

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