On the 31st (Korean time), the American Major League Baseball (MLB) will start its grand journey. Last winter, MLB created a lot of stories with various rule changes and player transfers. I summarized the points to watch in a situation where the opening is just around the corner.
Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets,바카라사이트 opened his wallet hotly throughout the winter. Justin Verlander (2 years, 86.7 million dollars, 112.8 billion won) Senga Kodai (5 years, 75 million dollars, 97.5 billion won) Jose Quintana (2 years, 26 million dollars, 33.8 billion won) Adam Octavino (2 years, 14.5 million dollars, 18.9 billion won) He spent nearly 500 million dollars (650.3 billion won) while recruiting others. Although the signing of Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins) ended in an incident, it was spotlighted as a bold investment that will go down in history. The Mets failed to win the World Series despite winning 101 games in the regular season last year. Can the Mets, which shook the market with huge investments, buy a championship with money?
The ‘butterfly effect’ brought about by the pitch clock is also interesting. In MLB this year, pitchers must complete a pitch within 15 seconds when there is no runner and 20 seconds when there is a runner. It’s not just pitchers who are under pressure from the pitch clock. The batter must also get to bat before eight seconds remain. The effect is certain. In the first week of exhibition games, the average time per game decreased by 23 minutes. Not only that, but the base (15 inches → 18 inches) gets bigger and the runner check is limited to 3 times or less. Defensive shifts across bases are also prohibited. This change increased stolen base attempts per game from 1.6 to 2.4 in exhibition games by 50%. The expected batting average for ground balls also rose from 0.235 to 0.258.
It is also interesting to look at the movement of a large shortstop that heated up the Stove League and the resulting reflection effect. Xander Bogaerts is for the San Diego Padres ($280 million in 11 years, $364.1 billion) Trey Turner is for the Philadelphia Phillies ($300 million in 11 years, $390.2 billion) Dansby Swanson is for the Chicago Cubs ($177 million in 7 years) 230.2 billion won) and each signed a multi-year contract. How positively they can play in the bird’s nest is one of the key variables that will determine the leaderboard.
Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), who was chosen as the American League MVP in 2021, was once again recognized as a superstar through the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Showing outstanding skills in both pitching and hitting, he will be released as a free agent (FA) after this season. Over the past two years, it is of utmost interest to see how far the ability to turn the impossible into possible can be demonstrated. This season’s performance is important whether he can win the first long-term contract worth $500 million. What are the limits of 29-year-old Ohtani?
His changed schedule also draws attention. This year, there will be fewer head-to-head matches between teams from the same district, and all teams will meet regardless of district or league. This means that the gap between strong and weak districts can be reduced, and opportunities to meet other league superstars at home are increased.
Recently, the trend in MLB is to quickly sign long-term contracts with potential players. In this way, the player will receive a large amount that was unimaginable at the beginning of his debut, and the club will be able to retain the player for a long time at a relatively low amount considering the future value. On the 12th, the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to an eight-year, $111 million (144.2 billion won) contract extension with Corbin Carroll. This is the highest amount ever received by a player with less than 100 days of service time. Carroll, who made his debut last year, is still an outfielder with rookie qualifications. Carroll’s success or failure will have a significant impact on prospective contracts in the future.
Attention is focusing on whether San Diego, which has generously invested, will be able to capture the two rabbits of winning the World Series and winning the World Series by beating the LA Dodgers. The performance of Fernando Tatis, who is about to make a fresh start as an outfielder, also draws attention. It is interesting to see if he, who suddenly became a disgraced player due to drug use, will be able to restore his honor by releasing San Diego’s championship.
The Texas Rangers chose ‘war veteran’ coach Bruce Bochy as the last puzzle to quench their thirst for winning the World Series. Texas has poured as much money into the free agent market over the past two years, but the effect has been negligible. We put hope in the leadership of Bochy, who led the World Series championship three times while coaching the San Francisco Giants. Coincidentally, the result is noteworthy because the recruitment of manager Bochy benchmarked the effect of manager Dusty Baker of the same state rival Houston Astros.
Will Houston be able to win two consecutive World Series titles, which never happened in the 2000s? Houston has few other power leaks despite the loss of Jose Altuve due to an unexpected injury. MLB, which came with spring, how can you not enjoy these many attractions.
