Pittsburgh’s Korean major leaguer Bae Ji-hwan, who jumped 12 times and stole the 11th base, was nominated for the ‘next big sword’.
The Athletic said on the 4th (Korean time), “Stealing bases is recommended due to the expansion of bases, shortening the distance between bases, and limiting the number of checks. By May 2, the number of stolen bases per game was 1.8, more than 1.4 in 2022 and 1.2 in 2021. , It is the highest record since 2012. The overall stolen base success rate is 79.4%, the highest level ever.”
However, the media’s evaluation is that there is still no super-class swordsmen like Ricky Henderson (1406 stolen bases, 80.8% success rate), who, if exaggerated, are ‘likely to be faster than the ball’.
The Athletic classified pitchers with 250 innings, .30 hitters, and ‘burners’ as major league ‘endangered species’. At the same time, he mentioned candidates for the post of Henderson, including Bae Ji-hwan. Bae Ji-hwan decorated the title photo of this article.
Pittsburgh coach Tarik Brock, who is in charge of running first base, said, “Bae Ji-hwan is a player who can become a great swordsman.” However, there are still limitations. Because he is an injury-risk play, he cannot use all his power to steal bases.
The long sword here does not simply mean a player with a high stealing success rate. Cleveland’s Sandy Alomar Jr. coach (227 career steals) rated Ronald Acuña Jr., who currently leads the league in stolen bases with 14, only “a good stealer.” “A clever runner,” he said of Toronto’s Whit Merrifield. Philadelphia’s Trey Turner is a candidate for a “true sword” like Henderson, whom Coach Alomar acknowledged. 스포츠토토
Cleveland’s Miles Straw and Washington’s CJ Abrams were also mentioned as potential candidates. David Hamilton, a Boston prospect who stole 70 bases in the minor leagues last year, is also drawing attention.
Meanwhile, Bae Ji-hwan played 122 times in the minor leagues and succeeded in stealing 91 bases. In the major leagues, both last year and this year, he played 17 times and lived 16 times. The success rate is 94.1%.