The Pittsburgh Pirates, who were evaluated as the weakest before the start of this season, are creating a sensation by being reborn as the No. 1 strong team in the Central Division of the National League.
After advancing to the wild card in 2015, Pittsburgh continued to move in the lower ranks. The biggest reason was that it was a small market team with a small market size. The annual salary of Pittsburgh’s entire team this season is 76 million dollars (27th in the league), which is less than the total amount of free agents won by one Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto) three years ago.
Over the years, there has been no significant success in training. Because of that, there were some promising young players such as Brian Reynolds, Roancie Contreras, Mitch Keller, and Bae Ji-hwan, but this year, they were evaluated from the bottom of the list by many media. As a representative example, Baseball America (BA), an American media, ranked the team power 26th in the pre-season power rankings, even though “young key players have begun to form”.
However, as of now, after 25 games, Pittsburgh is showing a reversal activity, ranking first in the Central Division of the National League and second among all 30 teams in the Major League with an odds ratio of 0.680 (17-8). Looking at the offense and pitching staff alone, the team ranks 7th overall in OPS (0.770) and 8th in ERA (3.66). The number of home runs, which is considered the most efficient way to score points, is tied for 14th in the league (28), which is in the middle.
Meanwhile, there is one offensive indicator that Pittsburgh ranks first in the major leagues. 34 team steals. He is single with the Cleveland Indians in second place by three points. In the meantime, stealing has been in an atmosphere of being gradually abandoned with the evaluation that it is inefficient in producing runs if the success rate is not over 75%. However, if the success rate could be increased, it could help to improve the competitiveness of small market teams, where it is difficult to find home run hitters due to high ransom prices.
Of course, there are plenty of things to see. For that reason, the Major League Secretariat has widened the base size and introduced the pitch clock system from this season in order to increase the success rate and number of stolen bases. Pittsburgh and Cleveland are representative small market teams that are actively using this system and benefiting from it. Cleveland also ranks second in the Central Division of the American League by diversifying scoring routes through active stealing, even though team home runs are only 29th in the league with 13.
On this day, Pittsburgh also showed the charm and potential of stolen base without hesitation. And there was Bae Ji-hwan (24) at the center. Bae Ji-hwan started as the 8th and 2nd baseman in the 2023 Major League home game against the LA Dodgers held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 27th (Korean time), recording 3 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs and 3 steals in 4 at-bats, leading the team to victory. Towed. The batting average for the season rose significantly from 0.224 to 0.254. 바카라사이트
Indeed, he flew. After striking out in his first at-bat, Bae Ji-hwan took the lead in the bottom of the 5th inning and scored a heavy hit against Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin. Not long after he got on base, he stole second base and advanced to third base on Jason DeLay’s sacrifice bunt. He scored the first and final point on the day while stepping on the home plate when Brian Reynolds hit the left.
His activity continued. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Bae Ji-hwan, who went on base with a single out and 2nd base with a heavy hit, reached second base when Delay’s 1 RBI hit was timely, and immediately stole third base. He couldn’t hit home due to a misfire on the follow-up, but he did go home in the next at-bat.
In the bottom of the 7th inning, Bae Ji-hwan, who reached base with 2 outs on 1st and 2nd base, succeeded in stealing a double with Rodolfo Castro, and when Delay hit a double at the right time, he scored the team’s last score, the 8th run. The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a 1-8 loss, allowing as many as six stolen bases, including Bae Ji-hwan’s three.
Bae Ji-hwan’s record of 3 steals in one game was the first time since his big league debut that he tied for second in all major league stolen bases in one game. 1st place Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta) and 3 gaps. It has become a symbol of the ‘running pirate ship’ as it is responsible for about one-third of the team’s stolen bases.