Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 249

#248. The Hero Who Will Fulfill Dreams

Ty Johnson’s massive hit cleared the left-field fence at Citizens Bank Park, giving Seattle an early two-run lead.

Philly fans, enraged by the team conceding a score, the home run, the bat flip, and the fact that their nemesis Ty Johnson was responsible for it all, were frothing at the mouth, booing as Seattle’s starting pitcher took the mound.

Then, the practice pitches began.

Whoosh

Wham!

Whoosh

Wham!

Whoosh

Wham!

“…Damn it, he really is disgustingly fast.”

“It’s okay. Our Nicker is just as fast, if you’re only talking about speed.”

“Nicker? The moron who couldn’t even get a strike and got sent down to the minors last week?”

“Damn, who are you a fan of? You’re not from Seattle, are you? Don’t tell me a Mets fan snuck in here?”

“What nonsense! I’ve been sitting in this seat all season. You’ve always been there. Get a grip, you drunk.”

“Did I? Damn, I don’t know. Anyway, just being fast isn’t everything. You sons of bitches! Go out there and send his pitches into orbit!”

Even the most unhinged Philly fans couldn’t ignore Han Su-hyeok’s season stats, a 6-win record with a 0 ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance], displayed on the scoreboard.

They were just making a last-ditch effort, thinking that showing any weakness here would lead to an endless downward spiral.

They felt a sense of crisis, as if stopping the booing would immediately cause the team to sink.

“If we lose today’s game, I’m setting fire to the stadium!”

Amidst one Philigan’s terrifying threat, the bottom of the 1st inning began with Philadelphia’s attack.

* * *

A baseball player once asked his manager,

‘What exactly is ‘enjoying baseball’?’

The manager replied,

‘Enjoying baseball is giving back as much as you receive.’

This was said by Dusty Baker, a legendary Major League manager known as ‘Bread Manager’ to Korean baseball fans because of his English pronunciation.

In reality, the true story behind this conversation is a heartwarming anecdote where the manager responded to a player who couldn’t understand what ‘enjoying baseball’ meant, saying, ‘Enjoying baseball is giving back to the fans as much love as you receive.’

However, when I first heard this anecdote as a mere kid, I interpreted ‘enjoying baseball is giving back as much as you receive’ in my own way: ‘Baseball becomes enjoyable when you retaliate as much as you’ve been wronged.’

It was a phrase that resonated deeply with me.

And that phrase became my motto throughout my school days.

Whoosh

Wham!

“Ball!”

“Crazy! Get that son of a bitch ejected! Eject him!”

“You’re going to die after today’s game! We won’t let you get away with this!”

I’ve come to know the real meaning of those words as I’ve gotten older, but I’m still putting the motto I’ve cherished since I was a kid into practice.

Playing baseball by giving back as much as I receive.

That’s why I threw a dangerous pitch toward the batter’s head in this den of lunatics who didn’t hesitate to make death threats against the opposing team’s players.

“Hey, calm the pitcher down. That’s enough revenge. If you go any further, I’ll have to eject you.”

“This pitch was just a mistake, but okay, I’ll tell him to pay more attention to his control in case there’s any misunderstanding.”

As the batter fell backward from the 107 mph pitch aimed at his head, and the umpire let out a deep sigh, Bruce sent a signal to calm down.

Well, to be honest, I wasn’t excited.

I was just returning the gift those guys sent.

A small reply containing the message that if you throw 90 mph crap balls at other people’s heads, a 107 mph ball might come flying at your own.

“Play!”

Knowing that they were the ones who started it, the Phillies’ first batter suppressed his anger by spitting roughly and took his batting stance again.

He’s trying to act like he’s okay, but it’s not easy for a batter to regain his balance so quickly after experiencing a 107 mph pitch coming at his head.

The batter’s position, almost half a step further back than when he first entered the plate, proves it.

The Phillies’ moronic pitcher threw another high inside pitch, giving me and Ty a big opportunity, but

Whoosh

Wham!

“Strike!”

I’m not that stupid.

First, I disrupted his center of gravity with a fastball that grazed the outside borderline,

Whoosh

“Ugh!”

Wham!

“Strike.”

Then, I threw a high-speed slider inside to the batter, who was gritting his teeth and stepping closer, further disrupting his balance,

Whoosh

Woong

Wham!

“Swing! Out!”

“…….”

The batter, struck out by a ridiculous swing, glared at me resentfully before retreating to the dugout.

Watching him, the slightly heated feeling calmed down, and my head cleared.

Indeed, the opponent’s anger is my happiness.

Anyway, one out.

“Play!”

The Phillies’ second batter, who had been contemplating something for a long time in the on-deck circle, stepped up to the plate.

A left-handed hitter who is good at pulling the ball, with over 80% of his hits going between first and second base.

‘Low inside sinker.’

I nodded immediately at Bruce’s first sign.

Seeing my nod, the infielders subtly shifted their positions, blocking the gap between first and second base.

Regulations have changed, making it impossible for the shortstop to move between first and second base, but just being close enough to almost touch second base puts increasing pressure on the opponent.

After identifying the positions of the fielders, I immediately began my windup.

There’s no need to give time to batters who are thinking too much.

Pressuring them to the point where they can barely keep up is the key to winning the game.

Whoosh

A 103 mph hard sinker aimed inside.

It’s a pitch I started throwing instead of a two-seamer after moving to the Major League.

The batter swung his bat as if he had been waiting for the fast ball to come inside.

However, the ball, which spun in reverse right in front of home plate, hit the bottom of the bat,

Taak!

Whoosh

Wham

“Out!”

Eventually, it became an ordinary ground ball to the second baseman, resulting in two outs.

Sometimes, I think that Big League hitters are easier to deal with than KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] hitters.

Aside from everything else, it’s because of their aggressiveness, where they just swing with all their might once they see the ball.

As a result, the hard sinker, which has almost no speed difference from the fastball, has become a very good weapon.

Since I’m rotating my pitches mainly with fastballs and hard sinkers, the rate of strikeouts has decreased slightly compared to my time in the KBO, but instead, I’ve been able to reduce the number of pitches and throw longer innings.

I think this is a more efficient way to endure the grueling schedule of playing 162 games.

“Waaaaa!”

“Javier! I believe in you! I believe in you! Knock it out of here!”

“Smash that son of a bitch!”

The stands, which had been as quiet as a mouse after two batters were quickly out, began to blaze again with the appearance of the third batter.

Javier Castillo.

The starting shortstop for Philadelphia, whom I faced once in the WBC [World Baseball Classic], and a powerful hitter who is evaluated as being capable of hitting .300 with 30 home runs every season.

For the Phillies, missing the timing to call up Javier must be a lifelong regret.

If they had called him up in 2025, when the team last came close to reaching the World Series, no one knows where that year’s championship trophy would have gone.

But it’s already too late.

Many of the veterans who protected the team at that time have left, and the Phillies are slowly sinking with the few remaining core members, rookies who haven’t reached their full potential, and Javier, who was born at the wrong time.

Well, let’s stop my impressions of other teams around here,

“Play!”

As is usually the case with powerful hitters from Cuba, he also possesses inhuman dynamic visual acuity and reflexes, as well as the power to send even mis-hit balls over the fence.

In other words, he’s the type whose body reacts before his head.

To be honest, I showed quite a bit of weakness against him in my past life.

Because he was incredibly strong against pitchers like me who had lost their speed and were trying to compete with control and breaking balls.

But now the situation is different.

Whoosh

Wham!

“Strike!”

The fastball on the high outside course that he likes the most.

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but his bat doesn’t even twitch.

Then?

Whoosh

Woong

Wham

“Swing!”

My prediction was correct.

His bat comes out at the splitter that drops from the low inside to even lower.

It seems to be moving a little differently from the data I know, but it doesn’t matter.

Whoosh

Tick

“Foul!”

I disrupted his aim with an outside fastball that slightly lowered the speed to about 105 mph,

Whoosh

Woong

Wham

“Swing! Out!”

I finished him off with a 70 mph slow curveball that I hadn’t thrown in a long time.

Whether he was caught off guard or angry at being struck out, he bit his lip tightly and glared at me.

It’s enjoyable.

Every time I catch the guys who gave me a hard time in my past life, I feel an indescribable joy.

* * *

– I’m getting the feeling, Dave. It’s been a long time since the season started, but I’m still thinking that there’s a lot we don’t know about that player.

– That’s right. That match against Javier just now… it’s strange to say this, but it gives the feeling that a veteran is playing with a rookie. Even though Javier isn’t a rookie.

– Now that I’m being honest, when that player debuted in the Big League and struck out like crazy, I thought the balls were so fast that the batters couldn’t handle them properly.

– I had similar thoughts, so it’s okay. Damn it, to be honest, most people would have thought that.

– That’s right. Seattle fans, don’t get angry and listen to me until the end. My thoughts have completely changed now. Watching the game against Boston last time, and the game he’s throwing today… um, I don’t think Han Su-hyeok’s real strength is his speed.

– Rather, his speed is so tremendous that other strengths tend to be buried.

– That’s exactly what I mean. That player throws the ball so easily, and all those balls are so powerful, that it gives the illusion that, ah, Han Su-hyeok is a pitcher who makes a living with his power… ha, no. There’s no need to check the indicators. That player is clearly a type with a tremendous brain and great game management skills.

– That’s a tremendous compliment.

– I can’t help it because that’s the reality. It’s terrible that a pitcher who throws 107 mph has a brain and game management skills. Shall we add a little more explanation? In terms of indicators, you might get the illusion that the number of pitches is low, there are many strikeouts, the speed is fast, and there are few walks because of the speed and power. But no. The reason why batters can’t hit Han Su-hyeok’s ball is not because it’s fast, but because it comes in at an unexpected course.

– Steve, it might be a little early to predict, but.

– I’ll listen first, so feel free to speak.

– If Han Su-hyeok doesn’t collapse and continues to maintain this pace, maybe, just maybe, Seattle fans might achieve their World Series appearance that they’ve been waiting for for 53 years this season.

– I agree. Yankees or Red Sox fans might throw stones at us if they hear us, but what can we do? When I see that player in front of me, I can’t help but think that.

– Well, let’s watch a little more. Let’s see if that player can become the hero who will fulfill Seattle’s dream of their first-ever World Series appearance.