Can Bae Ji-hwan (24스포츠토토) of the Pittsburgh Pirates aim for the major league stolen base king?

On the 27th (Korean time), Bae Ji-hwan started as the second baseman and 8th hitter in the 2023 Major League Baseball LA Dodgers home game held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and went 4 at bats, 3 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run and 3 steals, leading the team to 8 points. -1 contributed to the victory.

Bae Ji-hwan, who flew wildly the previous day (26th) with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, 2 runs and 2 steals, recorded multi-hits and multi-steal for two days in a row. His batting average for the season also rose from 2.24 to 2.54.

What we should pay attention to is the running baseball that Bae Ji-hwan is doing well. He stole a whopping five bases in two games. He has stolen 10 bases in 23 games this season. At this pace, it is worth aiming for the king of stolen bases.

By the 27th, Bae Ji-hwan was tied for second in the stealing category after Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna (13). Getting on base is the key, but Bae Ji-hwan is also a player worthy of competing for stealing.

It is the first time in Pittsburgh history since 2017 that it has stolen bases in two consecutive games. Starling Marte, who is now wearing a New York Mets uniform, succeeded in stealing two bases in two consecutive games, from the Milwaukee expedition on September 14th to the home game against Milwaukee on the 20th, during Pittsburgh in 2017.

Recently, the king of stolen bases comes from less than 50 players. Last year, the stealing king stole 41 bases as Miami’s John Bertie. In 2021, Marte became the king of steals with Oakland, recording 47 steals.

The key is how much Bae Ji-hwan can create a situation where he can steal bases himself. In the case of Marte, when he steals the base, he has a batting average of 3 1/2 and an on-base percentage of .383. Last year, the batting average against the king of stolen bases was low at 2.4, but the on-base percentage was .324.

By the 27th, Bae Ji-hwan had a batting average in the mid-200s and an on-base percentage of .312. There are still many games left. It remains to be seen how well Bae Ji-hwan can take care of his body and get on base many times to successfully steal bases.