“The Pittsburgh Pirates have Bae Ji-Hwan (24) to thank. Not only did he send the game into extra innings, but he made an incredible catch that could be the best of the season.”

Bae started in center field, batting seventh, against the Seattle Mariners in the 2023 Major League Baseball game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, USA, on April 29 (KST).

On the day, Bae had a 스포츠토토strong performance in the offense. At the plate, he recorded a multi-hit game, and on defense, he made two spectacular diving catches.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with his team trailing 1-2, Bae Hwan made a sharp throw to first base on Julio Rodriguez’s grounder.

His second highlight came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied 3-3, when he made a clean catch of JP Crawford’s deep fly to center field. The ball dropped and curved, making it difficult to get an accurate catch, but Bae stretched out his arm to make the catch. The ball then hit the fence hard, but he was able to hold on to it for the final out.

Pittsburgh went on to lose the game 3-6 in extra innings, but Bae’s impressive performance in the field certainly stood out.

After the game, American sports media outlet The Comeback had nothing but praise for Bae. “Pittsburgh should be grateful to Bae Bae-hwan (24). Not only did he send the game to extra innings, but he also made an incredible catch that could be the best of the season.”

Pittsburgh columnist Dejan Kovacevic, as well as Pittsburgh’s official social media outlets and Talk in Baseball, shared videos of Bae’s defensive play, calling it “catch of the year” and “how in the world did he catch that?”

In 48 games this season, Bae is batting .275 (38-for-138) with two home runs, 12 RBIs, 15 doubles and a .699 OPS. With a batting average in the 2-for-7 range, the ability to steal bases and move into scoring position at any time, and the versatility to play both the infield and outfield, he’s developing into the player teams have come to expect.