The light approaching Yang Hyeon-jong,’Five Minute Waiting Group’

It’s a’five minute waiting group’, but the light shines. Texas Rangers Yang Hyeon-jong (33) awaits his big league debut.

In the end, Yang Hyun-jong was not among the 26 opening rosters in the major league that opened on the 2nd. Until the end, he was aiming for a chance, but the sluggish appearance in the last demonstration game (2/3 innings and 2 runs against the Milwaukee Brewers) caught ankle. Colby Allard, a left-handed pitcher like Yang Hyun-jong, was called up from the minor league status. Hyunjong Yang’s current status is still’a player other than the 40-man roster’.

However, Texas classified Yang Hyeon-jong as a reserve power. Instead of preparing for the minor league starting in May, they were included in the’Taxi Squad’. Yang Hyun-jong and the Texas team left the Kansas City Royals for the opening three consecutive games.

Taxi squad is a term that originated in American football. It refers to a player who is aiming for an opportunity while practicing together because of the limit on the number of players. It is said that the beginning was when Paul Brown, the coach who led the Cleveland Browns of the American professional football (NFL) in the 1940s, put these players in the taxi company of owner Paul McBride and avoided accumulating salary. Later, this evolved and became a formal rule for carrying 10 additional players in addition to the 40-man roster.

The major leagues also introduced it last year. This is because the minor leagues were not held due to the Corona 19 pandemic. It is a method that allows up to 5 people to accompany on an expedition while practicing at an alternative training camp near the site. Before the game, you can practice just like any other player.

Texas does not dare to put Hyunjong Yang, who signed a split contract (a contract that receives a different annual salary depending on the number of major registration days), in the roster, but will use it if the opportunity arises. Yang Hyeon-jong also has the right to opt-out to request release, but it seems better to wait silently.

Fortunately, the opportunity is expected to come sooner than expected for Yang Hyeon-jong. This is because the Texas mound is shaking from the beginning as expected. In Texas, the pitching team scored 25 points in the match against Kansas City on the 2nd and 4th. Texas is the only team that has scored double digits in two consecutive games since the opening.

In the first game, starter Kyle Gibson scored five runs with only one out, and eight pitchers gave 14 points. In the second match, Japanese pitcher Gohei Arihara came out as a starting point and scored 3 runs in 5 innings, but the bullpen collapsed. Of the nine pitchers in the two games, only five have an ERA of 10.00. There is no one below 5 points.

In particular, the sluggishness of left-handed pitchers such as Yang Hyeon-jong is noticeable. Taylor Heun, who was classified as a starting resource, scored 4 hits (1 home run) and 2 runs in 2 and 1/3 innings, and Allard scored 2 runs and 2 hits (1 home run) in 1 inning. John King also scored 1 inning loss in the game on the 2nd, but scored 4 in 1 innings in the game on the 4th. On the 4th, Dallas Morning News, a Texas local magazine, criticized, “When I think about it again, the opening game performance wasn’t the worst.”

Meanwhile, Ryu Hyun-jin will start a sortie against Texas on the 8th. Ryu Hyun-jin resigned without winning or losing, with 4 hits and 2 runs against the New York Yankees in the opening game on the 2nd. After the 5th break, they are expected to compete with Gibson. If Hyunjong Yang calls up very quickly, the meeting of two left-handed pitchers representing Korea could be achieved.

Reporter Kim Hyo-kyung [email protected]