A timely hit in the final against left-handedness against Pittsburgh… Choi Ji-man overcoming weaknesses
The Tampa Bay Rays Choi Ji-man (31) has a big meaning for the final blow in the US Major League Baseball (MLB) Pittsburgh Pirates match on the 27th (Korean time).
This is because the opponent that Choi Ji-man attacked is a left-handed pitcher.
In a 1-1 home game against Pittsburgh at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A. In the 7th inning attack, two-and-a-half opportunity, Choi attacked the opposing team’s left-handed bullpen Anthony Banda’s changeup to hit a double in the right-middle of the final. exploded
Tampa Bay made the decision not to replace Choi at an important moment, and Choi showed that belief as a result.
In the meantime, left-handed hitter Choi Ji-man has been weak against left-handed pitchers, so he did not get a chance to play in games where left-handed pitchers started.
Even when the opposing team used a left-handed bullpen during the match, Choi Ji-man was often replaced by a pinch hitter.
Tampa Bay is a club that thoroughly uses the platoon system (a method that alternates batters according to the type of pitcher), and Choi Ji-man was evaluated as a half hitter.
However, Choi Ji-man did not show a big push against the left-handed this season, and he blew a decisive shot in the match on that day.
Choi Ji-man, who reciprocated with the final blow, is expected to get more opportunities to play against left-handed pitchers in the future.
Choi Ji-man’s performance against left-handed pitchers this year is very good.
With a batting average of 0.520 (13 hits in 25 at-bats), it is much higher than the batting average of right-handed batters (35 hits in 0.246 and 142 at-bats).
A direct comparison is difficult due to the small sample size, but it is clearly a meaningful record.
Choi Ji-man recorded a batting average of 0.186 (13 hits in 70 at-bats) against left-handed pitchers last season and a batting average of 0.245 (46 hits in 188 at-bats) against right pitchers.
Even in 2020, after a 60-game shortened season, he achieved remarkable results with a batting average of 0.118 (2 hits in 17 at-bats) against left-handers and 0.248 (26 hits in 105 at-bats) against right-handers.
Choi Ji-man made great efforts to overcome this.
Sometimes I was under extreme stress.
He even switched to a switch hitter in 2020 when he didn’t get every chance to play against a left-handed pitcher.
Choi Ji-man’s switch transition ended in failure, but it shows how much effort he put into attacking left-handed pitchers.
If Choi Ji-man consistently performs against left-handed pitchers, his ransom is expected to rise significantly.
He will become a free agent at the end of the 2023 season.
His annual salary this season is 3.2 million dollars (about 4.1 billion won).
/yunhap news
