Posted September. 04, 2015 00:23,
In the United States, the bat flip exists on the list of baseball behaviors considered rude and worthy of confrontation. In Korea, the flip is, well, just a flip.
The New York Times on Tuesday issued an article that introduces Koreas bat flip. Bat flips in Korea are commonly referred to as ppa-dun, a portmanteau that combines the first syllables of the words for bat and throw. In America, it would be considered so disrespectful that the next time he came up to the plate, hed get hit right in the neck, guaranteed. But they are common in Korea, said the newspaper. Yasiel Puig, a Cuban native who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers where Ryu Hyun-jin is in, was once the talk of people when he flipped the bat shortly after his debut in the Major Leagues.
Why do Korean batters flip their bat after home runs? When the ball hits at the center of a bat, we unconsciously do it. I think if I was playing in America and did it, because its such a natural thing, people would understand, said Choi Jun-seok (photo) from the Lotte Giants at an interview with the Times.
In describing swings that produce flips, Choi and many other Koreans invoked the term shiwonhada- a feeling without a convenient English translation. Koreans might use it to describe concepts like a cool breeze, a heartwarming stew, an open highway or a smooth golf swing. The bat flip, in this context, might be considered the rough equivalent of a satisfied sigh after a gulp of cold beer, said the paper.
The NYT further explained, Some Korean players are mindful of American baseball etiquette when necessary." Park Byung-ho, 29, a star first baseman for the Nexen Heroes and the Korean player most coveted by American teams, was as recently as last season one of the K.B.O.s most entertaining bat flippers. But this season, he began gently dropping his bat after home runs. Brandon Knight, who pitched for Nexen from 2011 to 2014, said Park that if he moved to the United States, American players would not appreciate the flips. Sometimes hed hit a huge home run and do it and then come back to the dugout, look at me and say, Sorry, B.F., Knight said. According to the story, Hwang Jae-gyun has been trying to stop the bat flip these days for the same reason.