'Veteran vs. Deau' aimed for a loophole in bunt defense. The reality of the `ghost steal' that allowed stolen bases even after waking up is
Jul 15, 2024
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LG Twins' Park Hae-min stole second base as soon as no defender saw it in an away game against the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 14th. It was simply 'ghost steal'.
It makes sense that no one cares when Park Hae-min is on first base, but there was such a moment, and Park Hae-min did not miss the moment and ran to second base to be safe. And it happened in an important situation, and LG came from behind to win as the team's batting line broke out.
The situation was like this. After Park Hae-min, who was the leadoff hitter in the top of the seventh inning, trailing 1-2, got on base with a left-handed hit, the incident occurred in the first pitch of the follow-up hitter Shin Min-jae. Weiss didn't run when he threw the first pitch. He threw it and became a high ball, and it happened after getting the ball back from catcher Choi Jae-hoon. At this time, no one, including Weiss, catcher Choi Jae-hoon, second baseman Hwang Young-mook, and shortstop Lee Do-yoon, paid attention to Park Hae-min, and Park Hae-min ran to second base using this time.
When the first pitch Shin Min-jae made a bunt motion, Hwang Young-mook ran toward first base, and Lee Do-yoon headed to second base. However, the ball came too high and became a ball. Lee Do-yoon was turning to the shortstop position, and Hwang Young-mook, who came to first base, was in a similar position to Park Hae-min. And Weiss, who received the ball from catcher Choi Jae-hoon, also looked down as if he was thinking of the next ball, and Park Hae-min immediately ran to second base. Weiss, who raised his head, saw Park Hae-min running late and tried to throw the ball to second base, but the problem was that there was no defender at second base. Lee Do-yoon, who also noticed late, ran to second base, but was late to receive the ball. It was a second base steal that puzzled everyone. It was a bold baserunning play that could not have been carried out if it had not been prepared to steal bases after seeing the defenders' movements during the bunt defense.
LG did not miss the opportunity created by Park Hae-min. Shin Min-jae struck out, but Hong Chang-ki's hit tied the score, and Kim Hyun-soo's right-handed hit with one out and runners on the first and second bases made a 3-2 turnaround to replace Weiss. In addition to Moon Bo-kyung's sacrifice fly and Oh Ji-hwan's timely hit, he scored as many as four points to lead 5-2 and eventually won 8-4, allowing him to win two consecutive games after four consecutive losses in the second half.
After the game, Park Hae-min asked about the stolen base situation "I've done it once before."," he hesitated. It's because it's a trade secret. "When bunt defense, the second baseman comes to first base and the shortstop comes to second base and then goes back," Park Hae-min said. "I was watching defenders in a situation where I led, and then I saw the shortstop turn around and ran." Park Hae-min continued "If the pitcher was watching, it would have been difficult to run, but the pitcher was also able to run because he was looking down."
Park Hae-min, who was replaced the previous day due to pain in his left shoulder while sliding at first base, said, `It was originally a little bad, but yesterday I was going to make a hit, but it was a little bad, but he treated me well in the training part, so I got better and I told him that I could play the game because I could play it.' Park Hae-min contributed to the team's victory with a perfect performance of one hit, two walks and two points in two at-bats.
indyk@sportschosun.com
