Choi Ji-man (31) and Bae Ji-hwan (23토토사이트), both playing for Pittsburgh in the US Major League (MLB), became the first Korean batters to start together. However, it was a pity that they were silent side by side with no hits.

Choi Ji-man participated as the designated hitter number 6 in the 2023 MLB Cincinnati expedition held at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA on the 3rd (Korean time) and only had no hits in 4 at-bats. Bae Ji-hwan, who started as the second baseman with the 8th hitter, also stayed hitless in 3 at-bats.

The two players have been eating together in Pittsburgh since this season. Bae Ji-hwan, who joined Pittsburgh in 2018, stepped on the big league stage at the end of last season and took the opportunity to start this year from the opening game. Choi Ji-man made a new nest in Pittsburgh from Tampa Bay through a trade in November of last year.

Pittsburgh has a deep relationship with the Korean leaguers. In 2010, Park Chan-ho (KBS commentator) first joined the team after working for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, and later Kang Jeong-ho and Park Hyo-jun (Atlanta) wore the Pittsburgh uniform. In addition, high school graduate pitcher Shim Jun-seok, who chose to go directly to the MLB without submitting an application for the KBO draft, is also honing his skills at a minor league club affiliated with Pittsburgh.

This is the first time two Korean leaguers have been named to the starting lineup for the same team. In the game against Cincinnati the day before, Bae Ji-hwan started, and Choi Ji-man took a belated hit in the top of the 9th inning.

However, the two players struggled side by side that day. After Choi Ji-man struck out three times in a row, the last attack in the bottom of the ninth was just a fly ball. Bae Ji-hwan struck out in the first at-bat in the third inning, and was silent as he recorded ground balls in both the 5th and 7th innings.

Choi Ji-man has yet to report his first hit of the season, and Bae Ji-hwan’s batting average for the season has fallen to 20% (2 hits in 10 at-bats). Pittsburgh also lost to Cincinnati 1-3 that day.