“Bae Ji-hwan (24, Pittsburgh Pirates)’s big gamble did not pay off.”
Bae Ji-hwan cried메이저놀이터 over his failed base steal and once more over his injury. On the 6th (Korean time), Bae Ji-hwan started as the 1st batter and 2nd baseman in the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, recorded no hits, 1 walk, 1 base in 3 at-bats, and was replaced in the top of the 9th inning. done. Pittsburgh lost 0-4 and fell into a 5-game losing streak.
Bae Ji-hwan, who was in charge of the lead-off mission, moved actively from the start. He walked as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first inning, trailing 0-1, and got on base. Opposition starting pitcher Chris Bassett was unable to score the zero point, so he calmly picked out the ball.
In the next Brian Reynolds at-bat, he stole second base and recorded his 14th stolen base of the season. It was the moment when he reached second place alone in the major leagues. He pushed Esteuri Lewis (Oakland, 13 points) to third place and caught up with Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta, 15 points) by one car, raising the possibility of stealing king.
However, the attempt to stand shoulder to shoulder with Acuña Jr. at once was reckless. Bae Ji-hwan tried to steal the third base from the golden opportunity of second base, but at this time, opponent catcher Danny Jansen’s throw was faster, so he was tagged out generously. Pittsburgh was in a situation where there was no runner in the first runner while aiming for a safe third base, and even Reynolds missed the opportunity to chase as he withdrew with a floating ball from third baseman.
The Pittsburgh local newspaper ‘Pittsburg Baseball Now’ said, ‘There was Raenolds in the at-bat, but Bae Ji-hwan failed to steal third base. He succeeded in stealing second base, but had no success in the big gamble (stealing third base). Jansen caught Bae Ji-hwan, and Pittsburgh’s current best hitter (Reynolds) took away the opportunity to raise an RBI,’ he criticized.
Reporter Jason McKee of the ‘Pittsburgh Post Gazette’ also voiced regret, saying, “If you’re going to try stealing third base in a safe situation, it would be better to do it in a more certain situation. I don’t know if Bae Ji-hwan needed to go all the way to third base.”
Pittsburgh is ranked first in the major leagues with 45 stolen bases this season. Except for Pittsburgh, no team has more than 40 stolen bases. As such, Pittsburgh played the most this year and is having the most fun. It is no exaggeration to say that Bae Ji-hwan, who recorded 14 stolen bases, is the number one contributor to the Pittsburgh track and field team.
However, the American media evaluated Bae Ji-hwan’s aggressive stealing as ‘reckless’ on this day. Pittsburgh Baseball Now also expressed that ‘Pittsburgh’s strength worked as Pittsburgh’s weakness today (6th)’.
Bae Ji-hwan diligently tried to recover, but the result of the match did not change. To make matters worse, he injured his ankle in the process of running to first base after hitting a ground ball to second baseman in the last at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. As soon as he was about to run after hitting, the situation was not so good that he grabbed his ankle and stopped after taking a few steps.
MLB.com reported, ‘Bae Ji-hwan limped strangely when he came out of the plate after hitting a ground ball in the bottom of the 8th inning, and (the club) reported that he had a problem with his left ankle after the game.’ Bae Ji-hwan underwent a thorough examination immediately after his injury, and Pittsburgh plans to explain Bae Ji-hwan’s exact physical condition on the 7th.