Bae Ji-hwan, '172km bullet hit', two-run timely hit in the final → steal and score! Israel's WBC Team Leads To Reversal Victory

*This content was translated by AI.

Bae Ji-hwan (27, Syracuse Mets), who is trying again in the Major League (ML), saved his call-up hopes with a dramatic performance.

Bae Ji-hwan played in the top of the eighth inning against the Israeli 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida on the 5th (Korea time) and led the New York Mets to a 5-2 come-from-behind victory with one hit, two RBIs, and one stolen base.

The game began in the third inning with Carson Benji's solo shot to the left leading the Mets 1-0. Then, in the top of the seventh inning, Bae Ji-hwan replaced Benji as a right fielder, and Israel's Jack Levenson countered with a tiebreaking solo shot to the left, causing tension on the ground.

Bae Ji-hwan moved to center field ahead of the defense in the top of the eighth inning and provided an excuse for the reversal. With one out, Cole Carrick's ball headed toward center field, but he couldn't handle it at once and allowed a triple. After that, RJ Shrek's RBI double to right field hit a timely double, giving Israel a 2-1 lead.

However, Bae Ji-hwan immediately became disappointed. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Chris Suero walked and Jose Rojas hit a double to left field to make it second and third bases with no outs. There, Bae Ji-hwan hit a cutter from Mets teammate Jordan Geber's second pitch that came in low, hitting a timely two-run hit to the right with a 172km/h bullet.

It wasn't the end here. He stole second base immediately and headed to third base during Geber's balk. Later, he hit a home run during Jacob Reimer's timely RBI single to the right, creating a 4-2 lead for the Mets. Yohairo Cuevas' additional RBI timely hit made the Mets lead 5-2. In the end, keeping this score to the end, the Mets won against the WBC national team.

After graduating from Bonri Elementary School (Yeongnam Little), Daegu Middle School, and Gyeongbuk High School, Bae Ji-hwan signed an international amateur contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018 and challenged the Major League directly.

With fast feet and good defense as the main weapon, he finally made his big league debut in 2022. In 2023, he increased his chances by scoring 24 steals in 111 games, but was later released after the 2025 season due to repeated injuries and sluggishness.

Fortunately, he transferred to the Mets through waivers claims, but he was only 2 for 10 in five spring camp games this year. However, he showed his strengths in the match against the Israeli national team, raising expectations for a call-up once again.

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*This content was translated by AI.