Three hits in a game are no use. Batting out the Pittsburgh Pirates manager Bae Ji-hwan is going crazy at bat. He has a batting average of 0.444+ in the last four games, his fifth in the season, and his triple in one game

Aug 14, 2025

Bad Ji-hwan (far right) of Triple-A Indianapolis under Pittsburgh smiles brightly with his teammates after winning a 3-2 home game on June 30. Bae Ji-hwan scored two hits, one RBI, and one run from five times at bat on the day. In particular, he hit a timely hit in the bottom of the seventh inning when he was trailing 0-1, leading the game to come from behind.

Photo = Indianapolis official SNS capture

The best way to relieve the unfairness in my heart is to hit a hit as scary as possible in the game.

Bae Ji-hwan, a member of the minor league Triple-A Indianapolis Indians under the Pittsburgh Pirates, sublimated the anger of a series of major league call-ups to a hard hit. Nevertheless, the possibility of a Major League call-up is still low. Basically, Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly is completely turning a blind eye to Bae Ji-hwan.

Even when Bae Ji-hwan's call-up was reasonable, Kelly chose another player.

The Pittsburgh club included center fielder O'Neill Cruz in the 7-day injured list (IL) on the 14th (Korea time). Cruz suffered a concussion in the game against the Milwaukee Brewers the day before when he collided with left fielder Jack Swinsky while trying to catch Joey Otis' ball in the fourth inning of the defensive inning.

As a result, the Pittsburgh club hurriedly put Cruz on the injured list and conducted a thorough examination. For now, I put it on the short-term IL, but if the cruise is in bad condition, the period may be extended. Manager Kelly responded, `It's a serious situation. You should be very careful about concussion symptoms."

In this case, it is usually necessary to call outfielders in the minor leagues, especially players with a lot of experience in center defense. If the player is particularly lacking in terms of hitting, you can choose another player with outfield defense experience.

In the end, Bae Ji-hwan, who has consistently played center field in Triple-A, was the No. 1 player. Bae Ji-hwan had a batting average of 0.286 (66 hits in 231 at-bats) with one home run, 20 RBIs and 22 steals before the day. It is an easy attack indicator. There was no difficulty in calling up as a substitute.

Kelly's choice, however, was outfielder Ronnie Simone. Simone was released by waivers from the Miami Marlins in June and signed with Pittsburgh to play in Triple-A. Since joining Pittsburgh, he has played 52 games consistently and has a batting average of 0.291 with seven home runs, 30 RBIs, and 24 steals with an OPS of 0.832 . Compared to Bae Ji-hwan, he has similar hitting accuracy with base running, and he has a better slugging power.

However, Simone has very little experience in center field. In Miami this year, he appeared in 10 games (9 games at second base and 1 game at shortstop) as an infielder, and in the outfield, he appeared in corners (6 games at left and 1 game at right field). In the minor leagues, he mainly played corner outfield. Like Bae Ji-hwan, he is a utility player who can defend at home and abroad, but as a center fielder, there is a big factor of anxiety.

Therefore, there is no special reason to call up to the Major League over Bae Ji-hwan. Rather, it could have been a more reasonable option to call up Bae Ji-hwan, who has a lot of experience in center field, which is the centerpiece of defense.

However, coach Kelly did not choose Bae Ji-hwan. This is not the first time it has happened. In early July, Bae Ji-hwan's rival Jack Swinsky was also called up. At that time, Swinsky had a batting average of 0.280 with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs in Triple-A, but he didn't see a better side than Bae Ji-hwan except for home run productivity. In the end, Swinsky hit two home runs in 21 games after the big league call-up, but his batting average is only 0.118 (11 hits in 93 at-bats).

After all, there is only one meaning of these circumstances. The only meaning remains that coach Kelly has completely excluded Bae Ji-hwan from his brain plan. This means that no matter how well Bae Ji-hwan performs in Triple-A, he will not use it. If the major league roster expands in September, there is still a possibility of a call-up, but this is also hard to guarantee. Anyway, there is a high possibility of safety within August.

Despite this, Bae Ji-hwan again recorded '3 hits in a game in Triple-A to relieve the regret of the call-up failure.

Bae Ji-hwan started as the first center fielder in an away game against Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Leiliders (under the New York Yankees) on the 14th and scored three hits and two runs in four at-bats, including his 16th double of the season. It was Bae Ji-hwan's fifth three-hit game in Triple-A this season. With this, Bae Ji-hwan's batting average soared to 0.294 (69 hits in 235 at-bats), and his OPS also reached 0.804.

However, even with such a good performance, the possibility of a Major Leake call-up is still slim. This is because Kelly is not paying much attention. While it is difficult to even guess when Bae Ji-hwan will be on the big league stage again, the season is nearing the end.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.