Pittsburgh’s ‘Korean duo’ Choi Ji-man (32) and Bae Ji-hwan (24) participated in an exhibition game together for the first time.
Choi Ji-eun and Bae Ji-hwan were named side by side in the starting lineup for an exhibition game against Toronto held at TD Ball Park in Dunedin, Florida, USA on the 16th.
Bae Ji-hwan, who started as the first hitter and second baseman, recorded no hits, one walk, and one strikeout in one at-bat.안전놀이터 Choi Ji-man, who played as first baseman 4 times, had no hits and 2 strikeouts in 3 at-bats.
Bae Ji-hwan struck out on a swing in the first inning. He completed his mission with a successful sacrifice bunt in front of the pitcher from second base with no out in the third inning. In the fifth inning he got a walk and walked out.
Choi Ji-man struck out on a swing with two outs on first base in the first inning. He struck out again in the third inning with two outs and second and third base opportunities. In the sixth inning, he got out as the leadoff batter and grounded to second base. The two players were replaced during defense in the bottom of the sixth inning and the game was over. Pittsburgh lost 1-7.
Until last season, Pittsburgh’s Korean batters were Park Hyo-jun and Bae Ji-hwan. After the season, Park Hyo-joon was released and Choi Ji-man was traded to Tampa Bay, creating a new Korean duo. The two players also participated in an exhibition game the day before and produced hits, but they did not play the same game. Choi Ji-man played in the home game against Baltimore, and Bae Ji-hwan played in the away game against Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Toronto infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was unable to join the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Dominican Republic team due to a knee injury that day, started as a third baseman and hit 1 RBI and 2 bases in the 3rd inning. Toronto eased concerns in the new season with Guerrero Jr.’s timely hit.