Bae Ji-hwan, who is playing a rehabilitation game for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians under the Pittsburgh Pirates, played as the first center fielder in an away game against the St. Paul Saints at CHS Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, on the 17th (Korea Standard Time).
He showed off his talent, speed, to the fullest extent. He got on base with a left-handed hit in his first at-bat in the first inning, and later dug home after taking advantage of the throwing error of opposing right fielder Dashon Cares Jr. when Nick Gonzalez hit a right-handed hit.
In the fifth inning, he also came out as the leadoff hitter and made a double with a grounder to left field. This time, opposing left fielder Gilberto Celestino made a throwing error, and he went around the third base to dig home.
The throw was fast, but he exquisitely avoided the catcher tag and scored. The official record was scored by an opponent’s error following a double.
In the seventh inning, he got on base with a walk and got on base three times in the game alone.
The team won 4-3.Nick Gonzalez scored the winning run with a left-handed hit in the ninth inning with one out and second base. In the previous at-bat, Bae Ji-hwan stepped down with a ground ball to shortstop and sent the first baseman to second base.
Bae Ji-hwan has played nine games in Triple-A and has 11 hits in 32 at-bats (0.344) with an OPS of 0.993.
Bae Ji-hwan, who started rehabilitation games on the 2nd, can play rehabilitation games for up to 20 days.
After 20 days, he will return to the big league roster or stay in Triple-A using minor options.