SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Stepping into the batter’s box Monday for the first time this spring, Jung Hoo Lee was prepared for the velocity of pitchers in the major leagues, considerably harder than those in Korea. What the baseball world failed to mention, they make pitchers whose heads scrape the dugout ceiling here.
“Sean Hjelle, tall guy,” Lee said Tuesday morning in Korean, with Justin Han interpreting.
The 6-foot-11 (and three-quarters) righty made for a unique look to give Lee as the first live pitching he faced this camp. Even as many hitters watched pitches go by as they regain their timing, Lee wasn’t deterred from taking a few hacks, receiving the loudest reception from the fans of anyone besides Pablo Sandoval.
Hjelle fed him a steady diet of breaking balls, and Lee put a couple in play. He broke his bat on an inside fastball, but Hjelle wasn’t claiming any bragging rights.
“I thought I jammed him on a pitch inside and he caught it off the end of the bat,” said Hjelle, who requested the remnants of Lee’s shattered wood as a souvenir. “I was like, ‘He’s not gonna miss that pitch in a few weeks.’ … I’m just impressed by how quick his hands were. That was pretty impressive.”
Bits and pieces are about all the takeaways that can be gleaned from the hitters’ first day facing live pitching. Especially early on it’s more an exercise for pitchers, who have had an extra week or more of throwing bullpens on the side.
Manager Bob Melvin said he tries to avoid live batting practice on the first full-squad workouts, but he did have a particularly prescient piece of advice.
“My advice to everybody was to use somebody else’s bat,” Melvin said. “Because you’re probably going to break one at some point in time.”
Informed of Hjelle’s request, Melvin was able to come away with one insight from Lee’s first live batting practice.
“Shows you the impact Jung Hoo has around here,” he said.
That has been apparent from the first day of pitchers and catchers. Even though Lee wasn’t due in camp for another week, he showed up and was met at his locker by a contingent of a dozen or so reporters from Korea. The same scrum is a near-daily occurrence, often with locker neighbors Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, Mason Black and J.D. Davis onlooking in amazement.
Melvin said Lee has been “all smiles” around the clubhouse, and Logan Webb has appreciated him buying in to the directive of saying good morning each day.
“Hard to evaluate spring training since it just started yesterday,” Lee said. “But throughout the two weeks that I’ve been here I’ve been good friends with everybody. It feels like home. I’m really comfortable here.”
Peanut bullpen Hjelle time
Hjelle took the mound for the first time Monday with a clearer idea of his role this season.
A starter throughout the minor leagues passed over by other young arms in the big league rotation, Hjelle will work exclusively out of the bullpen this season. That doesn’t limit him to single innings, though, as Melvin said he saw Hjelle as a potential swingman who could take down any number of innings at a time.
“I hate to pigeonhole him in a certain spot,” Melvin said. “As we’re sitting here right now, I think he knows it as well, it’s probably that hybrid bullpen role. … But it’s very difficult for guys to buy in to roles like that. He may give you three innings, he may give you four innings. I’d be comfortable with him for one inning. I think he kind of knows the drill at this point. But when you are throwing multiple innings, even out of the bullpen, it doesn’t take that long to stretch out if you need to be a starter.”
Hjelle said he appreciated the clear communication.
“I don’t have my foot in both camps anymore; I know both my feet are in the bullpen now,” Hjelle said. “It’s nice to have that clarity. We’ve got spots open.”