PIT Bae Ji-hwan ruined the final CSAT. He was hitless in 3 at-bats for the final start of the exhibition game, and he couldn't hit the real Major League pitcher ball

Mar 25, 2025

AFP Yonhap News

'Is it not good for a real Major League pitcher?'

Bae Ji-hwan (25, Pittsburgh) collapsed in the final test stage to enter the Major League's opening roster.

Bae Ji-hwan started in center field 9 times against the Minnesota Twins in the 2025 MLB exhibition game held at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida, in the early morning of the 25th (Korea time), but finished the game with no hits, one walk, and one score in 2 at-bats.

As a result, he played in 20 exhibition games during Bae Ji-hwan's 2025 spring training, with a batting average of 0.381 (16 hits in 42 at-bats) with one home run, four RBIs, 13 points, and a final OPS of 1.017 for three steals. This is Bae Ji-hwan's best career performance.

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Bae Ji-hwan has held Major League Spring Camp for the eighth year since 2018, and his performance is the best this year. He showed excellent batting indicators such as most games, most at-bats, most hits, most RBIs, and most doubles.

However, it is unclear whether this performance will lead to the entry into the Major League's opening roster. Most of Pittsburgh's opening roster (26) is currently filled. The only position Bae Ji-hwan is aiming for is one outfield backup. He is competing with Jack Swinsky, 27, for the position, and external evaluations show Swinsky leading.

Swinsky is a player who has been recognized for his slugging ability by hitting double-digit home runs (19 in 2022 and 26 in 2023) for two consecutive years in the Major League. On the other hand, Bae Ji-hwan did not leave a big impact in the Major League. He played 111 games in 2023 and got more than 300 at-bats (334 at-bats), but only had a batting average of 0.231 (77 hits in 334) with 32 RBIs and 54 runs. In particular, while he had 30 walks, he had 92 strikeouts. Last year, he had only 74 at-bats in 29 games due to injuries.

Therefore, the Pittsburgh bench planned to give Swinsky a chance, who had a more significant record in the big leagues.

However, Bae Ji-hwan continued to hit hard in the 40% range in this year's exhibition games, creating a hot competitive structure on his own. Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton also gave Bae a chance to compete until the end. At the end of the exhibition game, Swinsky and Bae Ji-hwan were alternately used as starters one game each, giving them an opportunity to compete fairly. Players who are not starting are put in as pinch-hitters in the second half of the game.

Swinsky came out as the eighth center fielder against Boston on the 22nd, and Bae Ji-hwan started as the first left fielder against Baltimore on the 23rd. Swinsky then started in center field at No. 5 against Toronto on the 24th. In the match against Minnesota on the day, it was Bae Ji-hwan's turn to start.

Bae Ji-hwan started as the ninth center fielder and entered his first at-bat after one out in the top of the third inning when he was trailing 0-4. The opponent was Minnesota right-handed starter Bailey Ober. Ober is the second starter who took full-time starts last season and went 12-9 with a 3.98 ERA. During this exhibition game, he also pitched in four games, winning two games and losing with a 1.59 ERA. I'm not a fastball pitcher, but I have good control. It's a real Major League Baseball pitcher.

The first match against the over was not bad. When the first and second four-seam fastballs and changeups came into the high course outside, he watched and got two balls. The 81.6-mile changeup on the second pitch (about 131 kilometers per hour) was worth pushing once, but Bae Ji-hwan put up with it. It wasn't a bad choice because it was a ball.

Over put his third fastball (89 miles per hour, about 143 kilometers) in the middle of the strike zone. Bae Ji-hwan swung the bat without delay, but it was a foul. The changeup on the fourth pitch fell down the zone and became a ball. The fifth ball goes outwards as well. Bae Ji-hwan drew a walk in the match against Minnesota's first-inning second-inning over. It's a meaningful record.

He looked good as a runner. After walking to first base with a walk, Ober threw wild pitches twice in the match against the follow-up hitter. Bae Ji-hwan occupied one base each time and provided a chance to score with one out and third base with his foot. In the end, No. 2 Brian Reynolds' timely hit to the right came out with two outs and third base, and Bae Ji-hwan achieved his team's first score.

However, Bae Ji-hwan did not have good results in his second and third at-bats. In his second at-bat in the top of the fifth inning, he met Lewis Balland, his third pitcher, and struck out standing. At the ball count of 1B1S, he was helplessly hit by a changeup (90.8 miles) and a knuckle curve (86.1 miles) that came in slightly across the outside strike zone.

In the top of the seventh inning, he also hit a mistake in his third at-bat with two outs and a runner on first base. As a key Minnesota bullpen agent, he targeted the third pitch in the ball count of 1B1S against Cole Sands, who had 9-1, 5 holds and 4 saves with a 3.28 ERA last year, but he only grounded out in front of a normal second baseman.

Bae Ji-hwan was replaced by Sammy Siani during the defensive inning in the bottom of the eighth inning. Swinsky did not compete. Bae Ji-hwan's batting average, which soared to 400, has also reached the .300 range again. He showed off his strong batting performance against minor league pitchers who are aiming for a major league call-up. However, the breaking balls and fastballs of Major League Baseball's built-in pitchers also revealed their weaknesses in the final test stage.

It's time for a choice. Attention is focusing on whether Bae Ji-hwan will be able to be selected by the Pittsburgh coaching staff.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.