2023 The buzzword in the early days of professional baseball is ‘speed competition’.
On the mound, 메이저놀이터the fastball competition between young “fireballers” such as Moon Dong-joo (19, Hanwha Eagles), who threw a fastball that exceeded 160 km per hour for the first time in Korea, Woo-jin Ahn (23, Kiwoom Heroes), and Kim Seo-hyun (18, Hanwha Eagles), is a fan favorite. are attracting great interest from
On the other hand, an all-time steal is being attempted on base.
In particular, the LG Twins, who are considered favorites for the championship this season, draw attention by repeating games in which they run and die a lot to the extent that they are unmatched.
As of the 24th, LG recorded 34 team steals during 20 games, comfortably beating NC Dinos (24 team steals) and ranked first in the category.
Calculating the current trend arithmetically, LG recorded 245 team steals this season, easily breaking the record for the most team steals (220) set by Lotte Giants in 1995.
However, LG’s stealing failure is also ‘previous’.
As of this day, there are a whopping 21 failed base steals, more than twice as many as the second-place Doosan Bears (9 failed base steals).
Although the team ranks first in stealing, the stealing success rate is 61.8%, which is the last among 10 clubs.
The probability is close to 10% lower than the league average of 71%, and it is also far behind Doosan (65.4%), which ranks ninth in the division.
LG suffered the most in Jurusa (14) and Checker (2).
Is LG’s stealing attempt really desirable?
Bill James, the founder of ‘Sabermetrics’, which newly established modern baseball, said that if the stolen base success rate does not exceed 70%, do not play at all.
It is analyzed that there are more losses than benefits.
According to Statiz, an actual baseball statistics site, LG’s RAA steal (contribution to stolen base average) this season is -2.49, which appears to be much larger.
It is an overwhelming last place with a large gap even with Doosan (-0.78), which is in 9th place.
Nevertheless, LG coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop emphasized the importance of stealing several times from the beginning of the season.
Manager Yeom, who said that he calculates everything before running, said, “Because we run a lot, the opponent’s pitcher and defense are shaken.”
That’s right.
However, LG’s frequent stealing attempts do not only burden the opposing team.
Stealing, which requires explosive speed in an instant, is an attack method that puts a tremendous burden on the hitter’s physical strength.
In addition, the risk of injury is high.
If even one of the key players is injured, it will inevitably become a huge burden in the fierce competition for rankings.
It’s been less than a month since the season started.
This is the best time for players who have gone through physical training and spring camp throughout the winter.
The temperature does not rise too much, so it is perfect weather for playing.
The problem is summer.
When it starts to get hot in earnest, the players get tired.
LG’s ‘ball baseball’, which runs unprecedentedly enough to look somewhat reckless, seems to have clear gains and losses this summer.