“If you go to the minor, you’ll lose a lot of money.” Bae Ji-hwan, who is looking forward to the confrontation between Lee Jung-hoo and Ko Woo-seok, said, “I don’t have an excuse to be a rookie.”

“If you go to the minor league, you’re going to steal the best.”

Utility resource Bae Ji-hwan of the Pittsburgh Pirates boarded a flight to the U.S. through Incheon International Airport on Wednesday. Bae, who played full-time for the first time since his debut in last season, left Korea one month earlier than last year and will be in Los Angeles, California in the U.S. for the upcoming season.

The 2023 season will be an unforgettable season for Bae. He was emotionally called up to play in 10 games at the end of the 2022 season, and he joined the opening roster of the season last season, recording 77 hits in 111 games with two homers, 32 points, 54 points, and 24 stolen bases with a batting average of 0.231 OPS of 0.607.

He played as a utility resource in both the infield and the outfield, and was praised locally for his good defense. “Rumbunter,” which mainly deals with Pittsburgh news in the U.S. media “Fanside,” predicted that Bae would join the opening roster this season, and said, “Bae Ji-hwan is the best defensive center fielder in Pittsburgh. He can play shortstop and second base. He has weaknesses offensively, but he has good defense. He can replace Zack Swinski in center field at a close game in the second half.”

“We have one more person to take responsibility for,” Bae told reporters before leaving the country. “I think that will be reflected in how I look in the stadium. Since I played a full-time season once last season, I have high expectations for the upcoming season this year based on my experience,” Bae said.

Bae plans to train individually in the U.S. to strengthen his physical condition. He will likely meet Kang Jung-ho (retired) and Heo Il (coach of Aju Pacific University).

“I’m leaving the country early because I want to train outdoors in warm weather. I’m going to see (Kang) Jung-ho and (Heo)il, too. There are some things I want to do in terms of my swing and batting. That’s why I decided to leave the country early,” Bae said.

“I’m going to train with him in LA at Azusa Pacific University, where Heo Il is a coach. I’m going to join the spring camp a few days earlier than other players in mid-February,” he said.

I plan to train for batting ahead of this season. “I believe that every position except for catcher should have an offense capability. One of the reasons I received so many opportunities last year is because I was a rookie,” Bae said. “That excuse doesn’t work this season. I think we need to develop to secure a position in various fields such as ball, water, and state.”

Ahead of this season, the number of Korean Major Leaguers has increased by two. They are Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) and Ko Woo-seok (San Diego Padres). Both of them successfully advanced to the big leagues through the posting system. Lee Jung-hoo signed a mega six-year, $113 million contract, and Ko Woo-suk joined hands with San Diego one day before the deadline for posting, worth 4.5 million dollars for two years.

There is also Kim Ha-sung (San Diego Padres), who had a career-high season last season. If Ryu Hyun-jin and Choi Ji-man, who are in the free agent market, find a team, a total of six players will play in the Major League.

Bae welcomed the growing number of Korean big leaguers. “I’m glad to see Japanese players as there are not many Asians,” Bae said. “I’m so glad to see that there are more Korean players now. If I move to the Minor League, everything will be ridiculous. I want to play in the Major League together.” 랭크카지노

Bae had a hard time with ankle injury last season. After returning to Korea this time, he also underwent rehabilitation to prepare for this season. “It was a ligament issue, but I think it’s okay because I don’t use it anymore. I feel okay with my ankle. My top priority is not to get hurt this season. I don’t want to be on the injured list anymore. I have a goal that I want to be on the active roster all year long rather than the goal of the number of games that I can play in. And I want to see my record after the season ends,” Bae said.