Can Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates) summon Suzuki with Ichiro? There are plenty of possibilities.
Bae Ji-hwan started as second baseman in No. 8 in an away game against the 2023 Major League Tampa Bay Rays held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the 5th (hereinafter Korean time), and only had no hits in 3 at-bats. Still, he is second in the National League in steals alone with 13 steals on the season. Even in the major leagues, he is tied for second with Estruli Ruiz (Oakland Athletics).
He was two behind Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves, 15 stolen bases), who ranked first in the major leagues in this category. Acuna stole his 15th base of the season in an away game against the Miami Marlins that day, but was hit in the knee by his own foul in the 6th at bat and was replaced with the start of defense in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Acuna was replaced on the 2nd against the New York Mets after being hit in the left shoulder by a pitch from Mets starting pitcher Tyler Megil. However, he returned to the game on the 3rd and added a stolen base. Acuna’s health, which is also at the top of the major leagues in hitting, is a very important point for Atlanta.
Apart from that,메이저사이트 Bae Ji-hwan has an advantage in stealing base competition if Akuna is absent or in poor condition. As for Bae Ji-hwan, he has the speed and sense to steal bases at any time if he is constantly given opportunities to play. However, since it is the first full-time race of 162 races, physical strength management is emerging as a challenge. If your stamina drops, your batting balance or mechanics will be shaken, and as your on-base rate drops, the opportunity to steal a base may decrease.
Excluding these variables, there is a good chance that Bae Ji-hwan will leave his name in the history of Korea’s major league this year. First of all, it is highly likely that Choo Shin-soo’s 22 stolen bases in 2010, when he was with the Cleveland Guardians, will break the record for the most stolen bases by a Korean major leaguer in one season. With 13 stolen bases already, it’s practically a matter of time.
The key is Asian records. The most stolen bases by an Asian major leaguer in a season is Ichiro Suzuki (then Seattle Mariners) with 56 stolen bases in 2001. Ichiro beat Roger Cedeno (then Detroit Tigers, 55 stolen bases) by one car and became the king of stolen bases. It is still the only case of stealing in Asian major leaguers. It was even Ichiro’s major league debut season.
Bae Ji-hwan’s major league debut was in 2022. However, his major league full-time debut season should be seen this year. By simple calculation, Bae Ji-hwan is capable of stealing 69 bases this year, far exceeding Ichiro in 2001. He stole 13 bases in 30 games, and assuming he plays in all of Pittsburgh’s remaining 130 games, he can add 56.3 steals.
Of course, it seems difficult for Bae Ji-hwan to actually steal 69 or 70 bases. As mentioned above, this is because there are many variables in long-term races. However, there is no law against writing Asian history beyond Ichiro’s 56 stolen bases. Bae Ji-hwan is already an indispensable multiplayer player in Pittsburgh. Will a new history of Asian major leaguers be written after 22 years? You have to keep watching.