When asked, “What is the secret to OTAGON’s high stolen base success rate,” SSG head coach Lee Sung-yong tried to answer something at once, but eventually chuckled and said, “It’s a trade secret.” Oh has his own special stolen base formula. “There are many things in it,” Lee said. It’s not just about having a good center field, he explained.
Lee and SSG base-running coach Cho Dong-hwa also agreed, saying, “There are so many things about Oh’s base-running. You have to respect the timing of each individual.” “It’s not a stolen base with only one or two advantages. He’s basically a good runner, but he’s also very good at timing. It’s a combination of natural instincts, the ability to catch a pitcher’s slide-step, and the ability to anticipate what pitches they’re going to throw, which most good stealers have. “It’s all there,” Oh admitted. Maybe it’s just that it’s not taught.
His stolen base success rate is phenomenal. It doesn’t look like he’s that fast, but he’s often already sliding before the catcher’s throw reaches second base. It’s a case of living a little more generously than you think. There are a lot of pitchers who know that if you get on base, you’re going to get on base anyway, so they’re going to throw a lot of strikes, but they’re not going to throw a lot of strikes. They time their stolen bases aggressively, knowing when to throw a strike, when to throw a pitch, when to throw a changeup, and once they’re caught, they don’t hesitate to cut it off. That’s the secret to his high stolen base rate.
Oh stole 20 bases last year, 13th in the league. That was 13th in the league, but his success rate is even more remarkable. He attempted 21 steals last year, missing just one and completing 20. That’s a whopping 95.2 percent success rate. The only time he failed was when he was thrown out at second base by Lee Joon-young (KIA). This was the highest success rate among players with 20 or more steals in the league. There were no interceptions.
This year, he has continued his pure stealing success rate. Until the Incheon NC game on the 21st, Oh had attempted a total of 15 stolen bases, with a 100% success rate. He is the only player in the league who has attempted 15 or more steals without missing a single one. Including last year, he has converted 35 out of 36 attempts (97.2 percent), a rate no other player in league history has achieved over two years. It’s even more valuable because he did it against the opposition.
Oh’s stolen base success continued on the 21st. After drawing a walk in his first at-bat, Oh, who started in the No. 2 spot in the lineup, stole second base in the top of the first inning to put himself in scoring position. It was his 14th stolen base of the season. She didn’t hesitate when left-hander 카지노사이트 Kyle Hart came to the plate. It didn’t lead to a run, but it was another example of his power.
In the fourth inning, his 100 percent streak almost came to an end. After leading off with a single up the middle, he tried to steal again in the top of the lineup. Hart threw to first base as if he wasn’t going to get caught twice, but O’Brien was quick enough to get a head start. The NC defense was slow to react and Davidson was unable to throw to second base, allowing O’Toole to steal his 15th base of the season. He eventually crossed home on Heredia’s single up the middle to give the team the lead for good.
Oh didn’t just shine at the plate on this day, as he proved that he can play any position in the infield, as he made a nice catch of Park Han-yeol’s hit in the second inning. He also had a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
Oh struggled mightily at the plate early in the season, batting just .130 in 26 games through April. It’s not that he didn’t play a lot of games, as he’s often the first player called upon when the team needs a first baseman, outfield defense, or a pinch-hitter, but his batting average was struggling.
In fact, it was difficult to maintain a consistent batting average due to his uneven playing time and the fact that most of his appearances were as a substitute. However, he acknowledged his mistakes and vowed to improve his batting, saying, “At this age, those are just excuses.”
True to his word, Oh’s batting production has gradually improved. After batting .268 in 22 games in May, he hit .400 (14-for-35) in 18 games in June, and is now a fully-fledged contributor to the offense. His season batting average is now up to .283. If Oh, who is always quietly doing the best he can in his position, can also contribute offensively, SSG will have the added benefit of giving the existing outfielders more rest.