Bae Ji-hwan, ‘2-hit catcher-baser’, must use his ‘feet’ for the team

Two hits against Nathan Eovaldi (Texas Rangers), who pitched a complete game. Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates), who is a good hitter, had an “overzealous” base running that resulted in an overthrow and an overrun.

Bae should realize that there is a difference between confidence and arrogance.

Pittsburgh suffered a 1–6 defeat at home against the Texas Rangers in the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, on April 24 (ET).

On the day, Texas right-hander Iboldi pitched nine innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out five. He threw 104 pitches in the complete-game victory.

The Pittsburgh offense managed just six hits against Iboldi. The only two Pittsburgh batters with two hits were Andrew McCutchen, batting first, and Bae Ji-Hwan, batting eighth.

Bae hit a clean single to left in the third inning to lead off. After getting on base, Bae continued to steal second base. He had a long lead, and the catcher was so aware of him that he threw a throw to first base after catching the pitcher’s throw. Again, Bae lived by the skin of his teeth.

Despite this, when McCutchen came up to bat in the first inning, Bae ended up being thrown out at first on the pitcher’s throw. The lead was too big, Bae was sliding, and the video replay didn’t change the fact that he was called out on Iboldi’s throw. McCutchen then drew a walk to put runners on first and second with one out, but Bae’s interference meant that the runners were only on second and first.

After McCutchen’s walk, the next batter, Brian Reynolds, hit a two-run double to center field. If Bae hadn’t been thrown out at the plate, it could have been a 2–2 tie instead of a 1–2 count.

In the end, Bae’s overzealousness at the plate cost his team the chance to tie the game.

Bae also hit an infield single to third base in the bottom of the eighth inning, trailing 1–6. McCutchen then singled to right and Bae advanced to second. It wasn’t a deep enough pitch to go all the way to third, but Bae got greedy and ran for third, then realized his mistake and went back to second. The throw to second was made and Bae was out. There was another video review, but it didn’t change Bae’s run.

Had Bae not been greedy and stopped at second base, Pittsburgh would have had runners on second and third in the bottom of the eighth. However, Bae grounded out to end the inning. Trailing 1–6 in the bottom of the eighth, it was more beneficial for the team to have runners on base than for Bae to try to advance to third base. However, Bae’s overconfidence and overzealousness with his feet ended up killing the team’s chances of catching up.

In the end, even with two hits, Bae made two unforgivable base running plays. In the third inning, a walk and a double later, he could have tied the game, and in the eighth inning, when it was important to keep runners on base with a big deficit, he unnecessarily went for one more base and ended any hopes of a comeback.

Bae has stolen 14 bases this season, but has been caught five times. His 74% success rate on stolen bases is not a great statistical number to allow stolen bases. 메이저놀이터

No matter how fast your feet are, you need to utilize them at the right time. If you rely on your speed and try to steal in every situation, you’ll only hurt your team if you overrun and get thrown out.

It’s great that you’re a rookie in the major leagues and are motivated by your confidence in stealing bases, but you should use your feet for the team, not for yourself.