Has anyone ever been this busy during an All-Star Game?
This is his fourth year in the KBO. He seems to know all too well how to keep the fans entertained. This is the story of Samsung Lions’ foreign pitcher David Buchanan (34).
Buchanan was part of the Dream All-Stars at the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO All-Star Game at Sajik Stadium in Busan on May 15.
However, Buchanan had no pitching record on that day. He shook his body in front of the camera the whole time and even had a ‘dance-off’ with LG foreign hitter Austin Dean. As if that wasn’t enough, he watched the dais performance in a Tom Cruise costume from the movie “Top Gun Maverick,” and during the game, he played outfield defense in the bottom of the eighth inning and even took the bat in the top of the ninth inning.
In particular, in the bottom of the eighth inning, while playing right field defense, he succeeded in catching Oh Ji-hwan’s fly ball, and with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, he came to the plate and hit a 150-kilometer fastball from the league’s best closer, LG’s Ko Woo-seok, to center field, giving fans a unique sight.
Of course, with Chae Eun-sung hitting the game-winning home run and five RBIs, it’s hard to imagine her winning the MVP award. Buchanan agreed, saying, “I think she should have won the MVP. I know she had five RBIs, but she deserved it,” Buchanan admitted.
In fact, Buchanan is well known for her energy. “I really enjoy dancing in my day-to-day life,” said Buchanan, who busted a move in front of a packed house. It’s even better to be able to dance with the fans,” he said.
“I tried to enjoy the atmosphere as much as I could. I danced, I played good defense, I had some great at-bats, and I just tried to enjoy the All-Star Game, and I think it paid off.” As for not winning Best Performance, Buchanan said, “It would have been nice to win Best Performance, but I didn’t come into the game with any aspirations. I think I’m going to take some good memories with me because I was focused on interacting with the fans and having a good time,” he said, emphasizing that it was never about the award.
What was it like to step up to the plate and get a hit? “It’s been about four years since I’ve held a bat,” Buchanan said. I haven’t held a bat at all since I played in Japan. The last time I picked up a bat was at spring training in Okinawa, where we played pogo and had a home run race or something. I haven’t really held a bat since then,” he said with a laugh, adding, “I think I was very lucky to get a hit because Go Woo-seok wasn’t performing at 100%.”메이저놀이터
Later in life, he might actually get to bat like Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, who is making waves in the major leagues with his “two-hitter. Buchanan smiles broadly at the mention of Ohtani’s name and says, “I’m just grateful and honored to be mentioned in the same breath as him. If I ever get the chance, I’d love to grab a bat and take a swing at him.” While the All-Star Game is an event, it’s clear that hitting against the league’s best reliever is not an everyday occurrence. Maybe one day we’ll see Buchanan do a two-hitter like Ohtani.