Pittsburgh Pirates Choi Ji-man’s colleague O’Neill Cruz (24) showed his ambition. MLB.com also noted that “Cruise wants more.”
“I’m looking for 30 (home runs)-30 (steal bases),” said Cruz, who is from the Dominican Republic, through an interpreter. Or see 40-40 too. My control this year is to play hard and play well for the people who go to Pittsburgh to see me play.”
O’Neal made his big league debut last year in a Pittsburgh uniform in 2021. He played in two games that year, and he batted 3.3 with 3 home runs and 3 RBIs. He made a strong impression, even though he only played two matches.
He appeared in 87 games last year and had a batting average of 2.3 and 3. He hit 17 home runs and posted 54 RBIs. His slugging percentage was .450. He garnered attention as the new big gun in Pittsburgh.
His goals are bigger this year. His potential is there. Hitting coach Andy Haynes expected, saying, “We’re not going to put any limits,” and “we’re looking at a player who has a chance to be great.” 안전놀이터
Cruise’s goal is obviously great. In the 150-year history of Major League Baseball, there are only 43 players with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. Only four players have 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco and Alfonso Soriano.
MLB.com said, “Cruz set a record of 122.4 miles (about 196.9 km), the strongest batted ball among Statcast records, in the 54th game after his debut. His average exit velocity was 91.9 mph.
Of course, records alone are not enough to achieve Cruise’s lofty goals. Cruz had a strikeout rate of 34.9% in 361 plate appearances last season. Among the 277 batters who entered the highest 300 or more plate appearances, only Chris Taylor (35.2%) and Joey Gallo (39.8%, LA Dodgers) had a higher strikeout rate than Cruz.
Nevertheless, the possibility of cruise is high. MLB.com said, “He may have suffered growing pains, but as the season progressed, he definitely adapted to pitching in the major leagues.” “At the beginning of the season, I was swinging at pitches out of the strike zone,” Cruz said. He was trying to do too much,” he looked back.
However, he said, “As the season went on, the more games went on, the closer I got to being a big league player. He showed confidence, saying, “I don’t swing much and adapt to pitches outside the strike zone.”