“Get healthy.”
Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates) had a breakout first half. In 76 games, he batted .238 with 51 hits in 214 at-bats, two home runs, 19 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 20 doubles, a .301 on-base percentage, a .308 slugging percentage and a .609 OPS. After hitting .159 with seven RBIs in June, he played in just one game in July.
He played through ankle soreness and ended up on the disabled list heading into the All-Star break. It seems like a long shot, but who would have thought that Bae would have played 76 games in the majors at the start of this season, a very strong first half considering it was his first full-time season.
With Major League Baseball making a number of changes this year to encourage running baseball, such as increasing base sizes, limiting walks, introducing a pitch clock, and limiting excessive shifts, it’s a great environment for Bae to showcase his strengths. It was also a good fit because Pittsburgh is a team that emphasizes young players.
Although his batting pace slowed down in June and July, reaching 20 steals in the first half of the year is a big accomplishment. Now it’s all about the second half. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list, so on paper, he was eligible to return on the 13th, according to a report from the Clearfield Porogres on Thursday.
The outlet took a multifaceted look at Pittsburgh’s second half, emphasizing the health of its players. “Second baseman Bae Bae-hwan is eligible to return from the disabled list on the 13th,” the report said, but it’s hard to say at this point when he’ll actually return. It is difficult for him to come back at the start of the second half on the 15th. The expectation is that he will take his time and focus on his treatment.
Health is literally the most important thing. If you have a bad ankle, you can’t hit, run, or play defense. If Bae wants to be competitive, he needs to take care of his ankle, even if it means missing more time. It’s probably more important than his performance this season.스포츠토토
It will be interesting to see how he performs in the second half of the season when he returns. A proper rest with ankle treatment will allow him to build up some reserves of strength. On the other hand, there”s also the idea that he”ll be less able to distribute his energy over the course of 162 games. If he can”t manage his fitness, he can”t have a good hitting balance, and if he can”t find a good hitting balance, he can”t show the power of his quick feet. In the end, the key to Bae’s second half is hitting.
Bae is on pace to surpass Choo Shin-soo’s (Cleveland Cavaliers) 22 stolen bases in 2010, the most by a Korean major leaguer in a single season. The big question is whether he can become the first Korean major leaguer to steal 30-40 bases in a single season.