"I messed up the final college entrance exam." PIT Bae Ji-hwan, the final starting pitcher of the exhibition game, had no hits in three at-bats, and did not hit the real Major League pitcher ball
"I messed up the final college entrance exam." PIT Bae Ji-hwan, the final starting pitcher of the exhibition game, had no hits in three at-bats, and did not hit the real Major League pitcher ball
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"As expected, it's not good for a major league pitcher."
Bae Ji-hwan (25, Pittsburgh) collapsed in the final test stage to enter the Major League's opening roster.
Bae Ji-hwan started in center field 9 times against the Minnesota Twins in the 2025 MLB exhibition game held at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida, in the early morning of the 25th (Korea time), but finished the game with no hits, one walk, and one score in 2 at-bats.
Bae played in 20 exhibition games during his 2025 spring training, and posted a batting average of 0.381 (16 hits in 42 at-bats) with one homer, four RBIs, 13 runs scored, and three steals with an OPS of 1.017. This is Bae's best career performance.
Bae Ji-hwan has held Major League Spring Camp for eight years since 2018, and his performance is the best this year. He showed excellent batting indicators such as most games, most at-bats, most hits, most RBIs, and most doubles.
However, it remains to be seen whether this will lead to his entry into the Major League's opening roster. Pittsburgh's opening roster of 26 players is mostly filled up. Bae is targeting only one backup spot in the outfield. He is competing with Zack Swinsky (27) for the position, but external evaluation shows that Swinsky is leading the way.
Swinsky has been recognized for his slugging capability by hitting double-digit homers (19 in 2022 and 26 in 2023) for two consecutive years in the Major League. On the other hand, Bae did not make much of an impact in the Major League. He played in 111 games in 2023 and had more than 300 at-bats (334) opportunities, but only had a batting average of 0.231 (77 hits in 334) with 32 RBIs and 54 runs. Notably, he had 30 walks, while striking out 92 times. Last year, he had only 74 at-bats in 29 games due to overlapping injuries.
Therefore, the Pittsburgh bench planned to give Swinsky a chance, who had a more significant record in the big leagues.
However, Bae continued to display strong batting performance in the .400 range at exhibition games this year, creating fierce competition by himself. Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton also gave Bae a chance to compete until the end. In the final days of exhibition games, the team used Swinsky and Bae Ji-hwan alternately as starters, giving them an opportunity to compete fairly. Players who are not starters should be substituted in the second half of the game.
Swinsky played in the eighth center field in the match against Boston on Tuesday and Bae started in the first left field in the match against Baltimore on Sunday. Then, Swinsky started in the fifth center field in the match against Toronto on Sunday. It was Bae's turn to start in the match against Minnesota on the day.
Starting as the ninth center fielder, Bae took the batter's box for the first time after one out in the top of the third inning when his team was losing 0-4. His opponent was right-handed Minnesota starter Bailey Ober. Ober was the second starter who took the full-time role last season and posted 12 wins and nine losses with a 3.98 ERA. During the exhibition game, he pitched in four games, winning two and losing, and posting a 1.59 ERA. He is not a fastball pitcher, but he has good ball control. He is a real pitcher of the Major League.
His first game with the over was not bad. When his first and second pitches, four-seam fastballs and changeups went out on the high course, he got two balls. His changeup of 81.6 miles per hour on the second pitch could have been pushed once, but Bae put up with it. Being a ball was not a bad choice.
He put his third fastball (89 miles per hour, 143 kilometers per hour) in the middle of the strike zone. Bae swung the bat without delay, but it turned out to be a foul. The change-up on the fourth pitch became a ball as it fell below the zone. The fifth pitch was also a ball that went outwards. Bae got a walk in the match against Minnesota's second starter, Ober. It is a meaningful record.
He also looked good as a runner. After walking to the first base with a walk, Bae had to throw wild pitches twice when competing with a follow-up hitter. Bae occupied one base each time, providing chances to score with his own foot on the third base with one out. Eventually, second Brian Reynolds made a timely hit to the right with two outs and runners on the third base, and Bae achieved his team's first run.
However, Bae failed to produce good results at his second and third at bat. At his second at bat in the top of the fifth inning, he met Lewis Balland, the opponent team's third pitcher, and struck out standing. He was helplessly hit by change-up (90.8 miles) and knuckle-curve (86.1 miles) that slightly crossed the outside strike zone with the ball count of 1B1S.
In the top of the seventh inning, when he was on the first base with two outs, he also hit a batter's box in the third at bat. As a key Minnesota bullpen agent, he targeted the third pitch with a ball count of 1B1S against Cole Sands, who recorded nine wins, one loss, five holds and four saves with an ERA of 3.28, but only grounded out in front of the regular second baseman.
Bae was substituted for Sammy Siani during the defensive inning in the bottom of the eighth inning. Swinsky did not participate. Bae's batting average, which soared to 40 percent, is now back in the 300s. He showed off his fierce batting performance against minor league pitchers who are aiming for call-ups in the Major League. However, he revealed his weaknesses in breaking balls and fastballs of established pitchers in the Major League that he failed to target properly even in the final test stage.
Now is the time to make a choice. Attention is focusing on whether Bae can be selected by the Pittsburgh coaching staff. 스포츠토토