Ryu Hyun-jin (34, Toronto Blue Jays) will not be able to play at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada, the home stadium this year. The Toronto club decided to set the spring camp ground, Dunedin TD Ball Park, Florida, as a temporary home for the 2021 season.
On the 18th (Korean time), the Canadian media Sportsnet reported, “The US Professional Baseball Major League (MLB) Toronto team decided to play the opening game of the new season at Dunedin TD Ball Park,” citing multiple officials. The media explained, “The Toronto club notified the information to its employees by e-mail, and the official announcement will be made on the 19th of the first spring camp training.”
With this, Ryu Hyun-jin joined Toronto last year, but was prevented from attending the Toronto Rogers Center for the second consecutive year. However, it is fortunate that the ball was thrown in a comfortable environment rather than a minor league facility. The Toronto club used Salen Field in Buffalo, New York, USA, as a temporary home stadium last year.
At the time, the Canadian government closed the border due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). Toronto chose Salen Field as its home stadium, as Toronto is the only one out of 30 MLB clubs based in Canada. Dunedin TD Ball Park was not available in Florida due to the number of corona19 confirmed cases.
However, this year, as the spread of Corona 19 in Florida has weakened, the Toronto club chose Dunedin TD Ball Park as a temporary home stadium. The facilities at TD Ball Park are excellent. The Toronto club spent a large amount of money last year to complete the renovation work of TD Ball Park and built various facilities. However, the hot summer weather is a burden. Ryu Hyunjin’s thorough physical strength management is required.
Reporter Heo Jong-ho