Mike Tuckman (33-Chicago Cubs) played for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO last year. When he went to Korea, he didn’t think he’d ever play in the major leagues again, but that changed in a year. Now a starting center fielder for the Cubs, Tuckman credits his year in Korea with turning his baseball career around.
On March 23 (KST), The Athletic profiled Tuckman, who has been thriving since returning to the major leagues. After being called up to the big leagues on March 20, Tuckman has established himself as the Cubs’ No. 1-hitting center fielder with a .411 on-base percentage, .389 slugging percentage, and .800 OPS in 30 games (26-for-90) with two home runs, 14 RBIs, 19 walks, and 24 strikeouts.
After debuting with the Colorado Rockies in 2017, Tuckman moved to the New York Yankees in 2019, where he showed promise, but a series of injuries kept him from establishing himself the following year. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants during the 2021 season and continued his career in South Korea last year.
“I went to Korea knowing I might never play in the major leagues again,” Tuckman told The Athletic, “and it was a good mental reset for me. I had to play every day and figure it out for myself,” he said of his year in Korea.
After playing in all 144 games for Hanwha, Tuckman was not re-signed and signed a minor league deal with the Cubs. He started the season at Triple-A Iowa without making the opening day roster, but that didn’t deter Tuckman.
“After playing a year overseas, I really missed the clubhouse dynamic of hanging out with the guys and playing with them. It’s hard to do that overseas because of the language barrier. Just being able to talk to the guys about baseball and goof off with them was great.” It was a simple pleasure to be back in a place where words were understood.
Tuckman was called up to the big leagues on March 20 after starting center fielder Cody Bellinger suffered a knee injury. He successfully capitalized on the limited opportunities he was given until Bellinger recovered from his injury. Bellinger has been playing first base since returning from injury, while Tuckman has stayed in center field. 메이저사이트
“I don’t know if wisdom is the right word, but the longer you play, the more you understand the big picture,” Tuckman said. When I was younger, I was hanging on for dear life to every at-bat, every pitch. As a hitter, I reacted too quickly, and that was to my detriment. I would overreact to one pitch or make an adjustment I didn’t need to,” he recalls, adding, “Monster games like 4-for-4, two home runs, two doubles happen once a year if you’re lucky. Every day there are ‘little wins’ that help the team. I’m trying to do those things better than I did when I was younger.”