With his lightning bat speed, he hit a home run like a bolt from the blue. Jonathan Peraza’s home run, which thrilled the crowd of 12,000 people, is poised to wipe out the brutal history of foreign hitters by the Hanwha Eagles.
The opening game of the 2024 KBO League professional baseball exhibition game between Hanwha and Samsung, held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 9th, was sold out at 12:41 p.m., 19 minutes before the start of the game. Although it was a paid admission on the weekend, expectations for Hanwha exploded amid the “return monster” Ryu Hyun-jin effect, and fans were so interested that scalpers were traded. Hanwha’s sold-out exhibition games were the first year of manager Kim Sung-geun’s appointment in nine years since the game against the LG Twins on March 7-8, 2015, when he made an explosive issue move.
The moment when spectators with 12,000 seats shook the most was the end of the fourth inning. Peraza, who entered the third base with one out at a 2-2 tie, hit a 142 km fastball that went high in the middle of Samsung starter Lee Ho-seong’s fifth pitch. He timed the pitch with a toe tap with his right foot raised slightly on the heel, and added strength to the pitch with a simple swing and powerful body rotation. The pitch that flew 115 meters in flying distance went beyond the right fence. The final two-run shot that led the Hanwha Eagles to win 6-2.
Peraza looked at the batter’s box and threw the bat with her left hand after seeing the home dugout at the first base. Peraza showed off a chic bat flip with no expression on her face and entered the home dugout with an innocent smile. Her teammates’ silent ceremony brought her to laughter by shouting “hooray” with their arms raised. 노래방알바
His first at bat in the first inning was quite unusual. He swung a fastball towards the second base on the fourth pitch from Lee Ho-seong. It was a ground ball, but the speed of the hit was fast, and Ryu Ji-hyuk, second baseman of Samsung, had a hit that fell out to the right. He was out on a fly ball to the center field in the third inning, but hit a line drive to the right-center field, and eventually hit a home run in the fourth inning. He successfully recorded two hits and two RBIs from four times at bat.
After the game, Peraza said, “I enjoyed every minute and every second of the game. It was an honor to be able to play in front of the fans. It was all the more precious time as I played in front of such a large audience.” On the situation of the home run, he explained, “There was no ball that I had waited for so long, and I kept watching the pitcher’s ball at the previous at-bat. I thought the fastball would come, so I got it right.”
Peraza hit 263 in seven games (5 hits in 19 at-bats) with one home run, two RBIs and two strikeouts during the spring camp practice game. It was quiet at the beginning of the practice game, but he reported his first home run against the Lotte Giants on the 2nd, the last day of the second camp in Okinawa, and showed his slugging power by exploding the winning shot from the first day of the exhibition game. Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho also welcomed the criticism, saying, “Peraza confirmed that he has the ability to produce long balls with his home run.”
Outfield defense, which has been criticized as an unstable factor, is also doing well so far. Choi said, “It is okay to follow the ball around. The pitch should be over halfway. The defense is not that bad. In the U.S., players say they overplayed a lot, but coaches should control that.” Peraza is also testing him as a center fielder. A former infielder, Peraza said, “I started to play as an outfielder in 2020, but I steadily trained and got used to it. I have rarely played as a center fielder, but I practiced a lot during training. It is a little difficult, but I am adjusting well.”
Another thing to note is Peraza’s extraordinary energy. He is exuberant at every turn, playing the role of mood maker. Brian Ogredi, a foreign hitter who was released early last year after an extreme slump, was introverted and had a low mood due to his fanfare. Nick Williams, who joined the team as a substitute, also failed to raise the mood due to his quiet personality.
Peraza from Venezuela, however, is a South American player who is full of excitement. He is leading the mood with more energetic energy than others. Sometimes he overreacts due to excessive energy, but Hanwha is positively viewing Peraza’s tendency. “I think it is my role to become the energy of the team in a new environment. I will learn little by little and control my energy,” he said of Bat Flip. “Whenever I get a home run, I will continue to do it,” signaling a hot showmanship.