What I was afraid of happened.
Pittsburgh Pirates Bae Ji-hwan is injured. Bae Ji-hwan suffered an ankle problem in the home game against the Toronto Blue Jays held at PNC Park on the 6th (hereafter Korean time) and was replaced.
Bae Ji-hwan, who started as second baseman in the first, gave up running after limping his left foot while running out after hitting a ground ball in the fourth at-bat with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning when the score was 0-4. Bae Ji-hwan, who pulled David Bednar’s 83 mph splitter in the ball count 1B1S, seems to have strained his left ankle the moment he took his first step right after hitting.
Bae Ji-hwan, who frowned and turned to dugout, was replaced during the defense in the top of the 9th inning. He entered the dugout alone without a trainer and was judged not to be seriously injured.
In fact, Bae Ji-hwan prepared for the match normally ahead of the Toronto game on the 7th.
Out of 22 hits hit by Bae Ji-hwan this season, 11 were infield hits, half of them. Four of those were bunt hits. Among all hitters, he ranks first in infield hits and first in bunt hits. Hitting a ground ball and sprinting is a good posture. On the same day, he twisted his ankle while trying to sprint after hitting a ground ball to the second baseman in the 8th inning.
However, the concern for Bae Ji-hwan is not an injury, but an excessive desire to steal bases. Failure to steal base is a typical ‘minus play’ that pours cold water on the offensive flow. The reason why checkers and stealers are lethal is that they blow away opportunities while increasing outcounts. It is the stolen base that makes him lose his strength more than strikeouts or double strikes.
Bae Ji-hwan went out as the lead batter in the bottom of the first inning and walked away after picking up a slider from Toronto starter Chris Bassitt’s 5th pitch at 83 mph.
Then, Brian Reynolds at bat quickly stole second base while the 90-mile sinker on the third pitch went into the outside ball. Toronto catcher Danny Jansen’s throw to second base was biased to the left, but even if accurate, it couldn’t be faster than Bae Ji-hwan’s hand.
The problem arose the next moment. Bae Ji-hwan jumped to third base again the moment Bassett’s 90-mile sinker on the fifth pitch became a strike in the middle of the ball count 3B1S. When opposing third baseman Matt Chapman blocked the bases, Bae Ji-hwan, who made a head-first slide, struggled to touch the base with his hand, but Chapman’s glove touched his leg first and was out.
Even after examining innings, out counts, ball counts, and the characteristics of batters, there was no justification for stealing bases. It is reckless for a runner on second base to play third base in the situation of ‘one inning no 2nd base, three ball one strike, 30% left-handed hitter’. The local relay team also showed Bae Ji-hwan’s stealing third base through replay twice and pointed out that it was not appropriate.스포츠토토
As of this day, Bae Ji-hwan is second overall in this category with 14 stolen bases. It is one behind Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves and Esteuri Ruiz of the Oakland Athletics, who are tied for first with 15. The number of stolen bases also increased to two.
Stealing is timing. It doesn’t matter if a fast runner runs when he has a reason to run. Of course, 3rd base is better than 2nd base. However, the second base runner who came directly into the catcher’s field of view in the team’s only left-handed hitter with a batting average of 30% attempted to steal third base with a ball count of 3B1S, but failed.
Of the 23 players in both leagues who have stolen six or more bases so far, Bae Ji-hwan is the only one who falls short of the regulation at bat. Bae Ji-hwan is the lowest among 23 players with 30 on-base hits and 4 walks. Nevertheless, he attempted stealing 16 times, the second most after Acuna Junior (17). Running also requires rapid adjustment.