It is not easy for Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates) to rank first in the National League in stolen bases. But he doesn’t have to give up either.
Bae Ji-hwan failed to report the stolen base for nearly 10 days. After successfully stealing the 14th base of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays on the 6th (hereinafter Korean time), the news of base stealing stopped for 7 consecutive games until the 15th against the Baltimore Orioles. On the 13th against Baltimore, there was also a stolen base.
There were residual injuries in early May, and the sense of hitting slightly decreased. However, he is showing signs of reviving recently. In 4 games from the game against the Colorado Rockies on the 11th to the game against Baltimore on the 15th, he went 12 at bats, 4 hits, and had a batting average of 0.333. He hit a right-handed right-handed hit with two outs, 2nd and 3rd base in the 3rd inning, leading 2-0.
Anyway, stealing is a fight against stamina and health. When stamina falls, the batting balance collapses and the on-base rate drops, and if you don’t get on base, the chance to try stealing disappears. And he has to be healthy to run. It is a great experience for Bae Ji-hwan, who is spending his first full-time season in the major leagues, and is studying well.
Until the 15th, Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves) boasts a 10-year, $124 million (approximately 165.9 billion won) contract that ranks first in the National League stealing base. Acuna succeeded in stealing 15 bases against the Miami Marlins on the 5th, and then succeeded in stealing bases 16 and 17 against the Toronto Blue Jays on the 14th, 7 games in a row. On the 15th, against Toronto, he went 2 hits in 4 at-bats (1 home run), 1 RBI, 2 runs, and 1 walk, but there was no opportunity to steal a base.메이저놀이터
The gap between Bae Ji-hwan and Acuna is three. enough to chase. However, Bae Ji-hwan also needs to be careful with his pursuers. ‘Bahamas Express’ Jazz Chizom Jr. (Miami) succeeded in stealing his 14th base against the Cincinnati Reds on the 14th, forming a tie for second place with Bae Ji-hwan in stolen bases in the National League.
In addition, Nico Horner (Chicago Cubs) is 4th with 12 steals, Tylo Estrada (San Francisco Giants) is 5th with 11 steals, Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Starling Marte (New York Mets) are tied for 6th with 10 steals. up They can also pursue Bae Ji-hwan at any time.
If you broaden the range to the entire major leagues, Esteuri Ruiz (Oakland Athletics) leads with 18 stolen bases. Ruiz is 5 strokes ahead of Anthony Wolf (New York Yankees, 13 stolen bases), who is first and second in stolen bases in the American League. Bae Ji-hwan is tied for third in the major leagues with Chisom.