Although the game was lost, the performance of David Buchanan (34, Samsung Lions) made everyone laugh. He became a girl group member, then an outfielder, and even hit as a batter.
Dream All-Stars (SSG, Doosan, Lotte, KT, Samsung) lost 4-8 to Nanum All-Stars (LG, NC, Kiwoom, KIA, Hanwha) at the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO All-Star Game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 15th. As a result, Dream recorded two consecutive losses in the All-Star Game following last year.
From the beginning, the match proceeded with the advantage of sharing. At the end of the first inning, Nanum scored early with Chae Eun-seong (Hanwha)’s one-run double and Socrates Brito’s (KIA) three-run home run. Then, at the end of the 4th inning, Chae Eun-seong hit the second all-star home run in the history of the All-Star Game, and the gap widened to 8 points.온라인카지노
Even in this situation, Buchanan played the game with a unique bright expression. After the end of the third inning, he and Austin Dean (LG) danced the girl group NewJeans’ ‘Hype Boy’ dance, receiving cheers from the crowd. He also came out as a third base run coach and showed a variety of appearances.
Samsung David Buchanan (left) dances with Austin Dean (LG) in a girl group dance during the game at the 2023 KBO All-Star Game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 15th.
In the match, he showed an even more amazing appearance. On the 13th, two days before the All-Star game, Buchanan won a complete victory against KIA in Gwangju with 9 innings, 8 strikeouts and 1 run. Of course, getting to the All-Star Game was a difficult situation. However, Buchanan stood on the ground in defense at the end of the 8th inning. He was a right fielder, not a pitcher. It was the first time that Buchanan played defense in a position other than a pitcher in a regular Korea-US-Japan professional baseball game.
In the very inning that was put in, Buchanan showed his defensive ability. After two shots, Oh Ji-hwan (LG)’s batted ball went to the right. However, Buchanan chased the ball all the way and eventually caught it. According to SPOTV, a relay broadcasting company, his hitting speed was so fast that it came out at 168.2 km per hour, but he caught it without difficulty.
Samsung David Buchanan (right) returns to dugout after defending at the end of the 8th inning at the 2023 KBO All-Star Game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 15th.
In the attack at the beginning of the ninth inning, a more surprising scene was created. After the Dream All-Stars scored 1 point, Buchanan greeted opponent finisher Go Woo-seok (LG) at bat in the situation of 2 out 1 and 3 base. Buchanan succeeded in cutting Ko Woo-seok’s 150 km/h fastball twice, and eventually reported a hit that fell in front of the center fielder by hitting the 6th fastball at 150 km/h. It was a ball that called third base runner Kim Sang-soo home.
In an All-Star game, pitchers and fielders occasionally switch positions. However, it is the first time in five years that a pitcher has hit in an All-Star game since Park Chi-guk (Doosan) in 2018. The hit was all the more surprising because it was Buchanan, who recorded a career batting average of 0.113 (25 hits in 222 at-bats) throughout the US major league, minor league, and Japanese professional baseball.
David Buchanan of Samsung hits a timely hit with one RBI in the top of the ninth inning at the 2023 KBO All-Star Game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 15th.
Samsung David Buchanan (right) embraces LG Oh Ji-hwan, who came to deliver a commemorative ball after hitting a timely hit with one RBI in the top of the 9th inning at the 2023 KBO All-Star Game held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 15th.
Buchanan’s hit also made his fellow players laugh. Like Buchanan, Eric Peddy (NC), who has batting experience in the major leagues, compared himself to Buchanan, saying, “If you’ve seen me batting in the major leagues before, you know it will never work.”
Buchanan, who met with reporters after the game, said, “I think it’s been about five years since I hit the bat. I haven’t held a bat at all since I hit it in Japan. I never caught it,” he said. Regarding his dealing with fastball pitcher Go Woo-seok, he showed humility, saying, “I was very lucky to hit because I did not show my skills 100%.”
Buchanan’s performance reminded me of Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) of the ‘double sword’. Laughing at the joke about how it would be to stand at bat in the second half like Ohtani, he said, “I am grateful and honored to be mentioned by name on an equal footing with Ohtani.”
When asked about the girl group dances that entertained the audience, Buchanan said, “I really like dancing even on a regular basis. It was nice to be able to dance with fans like this.”