Batting 0.615 OPS 1.566 Bae Ji-hwan, a huge hard hit, no one talks about it, but you can't rule it out! Fans are exploding
Mar 08, 2025
|
Bae Ji-hwan started the home exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bradenton Lecombe Park in Florida on the 8th (Korea time) and scored two hits and one point in two at-bats to lead the team to a 3-2 victory.
It is the first time in three days that Bae Ji-hwan has played since the match against the Boston Red Sox on the 5th. At that time, he started as a leadoff left fielder in the game against Boston and led the lineup by swinging a fire bat with three hits, one RBI, and two runs in three at-bats, including a solo home run in the middle of the third inning. That's why he has made five hits in five at-bats in the last two games.
With this, Bae Ji-hwan marked a batting average of 0.615 (8 hits in 13 at-bats), one home run, one RBI, four runs, one walk, two strikeouts, two steals, and an OPS of 1.566 in seven spring training games.
Bae Ji-hwan went as a leadoff hitter in the bottom of the third inning, trailing 0-1, and made an infield hit using his fast feet. Left-hander Christopher Sanchez hit a 98.4-mile fastball that penetrated the body of left-hander Christopher Sanchez, hit a ground ball flowing next to the pitcher and toward center field, and sprinted to safety at first base.
Opponent shortstop Edmundo Sosa caught it and threw it to first base, but Bae Ji-hwan's foot was fast.
|
Bae Ji-hwan also hit an infield hit in his second at-bat in the fifth inning when the score was 1-1. Bae Ji-hwan, who entered as the leadoff hitter, hit a changeup of 86.3 miles outside the sixth pitch of the opponent's right-hander Tyler Phillips in the ball count 1B2S, but fell in front of him due to poor play by third baseman Cody Clemens, who failed to set a falling point as it floated high to the left.
Bae Ji-hwan then tried to steal a base at the Palacios at-bat, and the opposing catcher Garrett Stubbs slipped the ball back during the throwing motion and settled comfortably on second base.
Pittsburgh widened the gap to 3-1 with Joey Bart's timely hit after Bae scored when Nick Gonzalez grounded out to shortstop in a one-out full base chance made by Bae Ji-hwan's infield hit, stolen base, and two walks by subsequent batters.
Bae Ji-hwan was replaced by pinch hitter Matt Goreski in the bottom of the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead.
Despite Bae Ji-hwan's hot performance, local media's reaction is grave.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the largest media outlet in the Pittsburgh region, reported Pittsburgh's victory on the day, only mentioning Bae Ji-hwan as `the only multi-hit player in the Pirates and scoring two hits and one point in two at-bats.' On the other hand, he highlighted starting pitcher Jared Jones, second baseman Adam Frazier, and bullpen pitcher Dennis Santana.
Then a fan named 'David Rosenberg' commented on the article, "No one talks about it, but the growing spring training story is Bae Ji-hwan. He is showing great performance in the exhibition game. Everyone gives up on him without hesitation because of his weak batting, and he only entered 441 at-bats in the major leagues. "We don't think we should rule him out completely."
|
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
