Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 286

285. Humiliation

“Damn it, this makes it impossible to complain about the last series being in Milwaukee.”

“Yeah, doubleheaders are the worst.”

It was raining heavily here in Milwaukee on the day of the second game of the series against the Brewers.

This area isn’t usually known for a lot of rain, but recently there have been more and more torrential downpours at any time.

Is climate change really becoming a reality?

Anyway, if this stadium wasn’t a retractable dome, the game would have been canceled without a doubt. Then we would have had to play a doubleheader tomorrow and take another night flight.

“Play!”

In any case, you have to be careful in many ways when playing a game in a closed dome.

Since it’s like turning on the air conditioner in a stuffy indoor space, the humidity naturally drops, which leads to a decrease in the spin rate of the ball and an increase in the distance of batted balls.

In simple terms, it’s disadvantageous for pitchers and slightly advantageous for hitters.

Whoosh

Thwack

“Strike!”

Today, four of our team’s starters were excluded from the lineup for various reasons.

Ty Johnson and Bruce Matthews are managing their physical condition for the All-Star Game, and Jim Brown and Josh Oliver sustained minor injuries in the last game against San Diego.

With these four starting hitters out, it’s inevitable that the batting lineup is weakened.

Whoosh

Thwack

“Ball.”

Fortunately, Derek Fleming is holding his place.

If Ty Johnson is the first helper in my batting performance this season, then the second helper is Derek Fleming.

If that guy hadn’t recorded an on-base percentage of over .400 in front of me, I probably would have had at least 10 more intentional walks.

Whoosh

Crack!

“Nice! Good job! Derek!”

Of course, Derek benefited more from the two of us.

Originally, he was criticized for having problems with his eye for the ball compared to his contact ability, but with me backing him up, he had more opportunities to compete with the pitcher, which naturally led to an increase in batting average and on-base percentage.

You could say it’s a win-win situation.

Anyway, Eric’s hit gave us a good opportunity from the top of the first inning. (Note: I believe the author meant Derek, not Eric)

[2nd Batter Pitcher Han Su-hyeok]

Tuk tuk

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“Isn’t it going to be an intentional walk anyway? I’m ready to walk to first base.”

“You’re as cocky as I’ve heard, rookie.”

“Right. And you guys are as weak as I’ve heard, losers.”

“Shut up.”

Sometimes trash talk provokes and excites the opponent, but sometimes it’s used as a means to bring a fleeing opponent onto the stage.

Considering the pale face of the Japanese pitcher on the mound, it seems unlikely that a proper ball will come in. Especially considering that Chuck Clark is standing behind me today instead of Ty Johnson.

That’s why I’m picking a fight.

With this catcher, who is the old-timer of this team and famous for his bad temper.

“Sometimes I think about it.”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, stop now, you son of a bitch.”

“Just listen. I’m not picking a fight.”

“…What is it?”

“I think the authority to request an automatic intentional walk should be given to the catcher or pitcher, not the manager. Then it would be easier for each other without having to look at the dugout like now, right?”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“If I could, I would. But I think you forgot one thing. I’m the starting pitcher today. That means I can put 107 miles [~172 km/h] into your head.”

“……”

I think I’ve said everything I need to say.

I can hear the catcher’s snorting from behind; he’s so angry.

A starting pitcher who is afraid to throw the ball, and the captain of this team who is exerting the greatest influence.

What will be the result of these two combined?

Whoosh

Crack!

What do you mean, it’s not a beanball [a pitch thrown intentionally at the batter’s head] or a strike; it’s an awkward high ball to the body.

“That’s it! It’s going over! It’s going over again!”

“It’s gone! It’s gone! It’s number 46!”

The Seattle fans who followed us to Milwaukee after San Francisco and San Diego were screaming like crazy.

Is it because it’s the home of American beer? I feel like I can smell beer everywhere in the stands.

Come to think of it, I think Yerin liked beer.

Should I buy her a drink after the game?

Thud

“Okay. This proves it. Your pitcher isn’t a coward.”

“You son of a bitch……”

I thought it was enough, so I didn’t say anything more and went into the dugout.

Many people ask if it’s hard to be both a hitter and a pitcher, but well, when I hit a cool ball like this at the plate, my shoulders feel lighter without me even realizing it.

In that sense,

Um,

I think I can pitch pretty well today.

* * *

└ Crap… I’ve been terribly humiliated.

└ Impossible. I can’t win against that w

└ Even if the ball was a little high, he hit it like that and it went over?

└ He should be dragged off the ground right away and drug tested. It’s impossible for a human being.

└ It’s unfortunate, but that guy gets tested almost once a week this season. Yeah, that guy’s power is real.

└ Is that possible for an Asian? It’s like he’s not human?

└ I heard he only goes back and forth between home and the baseball field and takes care of his body like a bodybuilder every day?

└ That’s wrong. He’s not a player that a weak and lazy Japanese man who eats snacks and plays PlayStation at home can beat.

└ It’s not over yet. The game has just begun.

└ That’s right. It’s just the beginning. How much more do we have to suffer before today’s game is over?

With Han Su-hyeok’s two-run home run, Seattle took a 2-point lead, and Milwaukee’s counterattack began in the bottom of the first inning.

Milwaukee’s other Japanese player, Maeda Shogo, stepped up to the plate.

A Japanese hitter from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, a representative poor team in the NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan’s highest level of baseball], who was brought in for a relatively cheap posting fee of $5 million.

He recorded a batting average of 0.319, 20 home runs, and 30 stolen bases in Japan last season, and he was cruising along with a batting average of 0.275, 6 home runs, and 18 stolen bases in the first half of this season.

“Play!”

Images of Han Su-hyeok’s pitches this season flashed through Maeda’s mind one after another.

A power pitcher who throws a 107-mile fastball and a hard sinker, a knuckleball pitcher who catches hitters like mice with just one knuckleball, and a pitcher who dominates the game by lowering his speed and controlling his ball distribution and control……

‘Crap!’

In a word, he’s like a character from a manga [Japanese comic book].

Such a player that he saw in manga as a child, a player that shouldn’t exist in reality.

The first ball was fired from Han Su-hyeok’s fingertips.

Whoosh

Wham!

“Strike!”

A 104-mile hard sinker that sticks close to the body and reverses into the zone.

“Haa……”

A sigh escapes without him even realizing it.

It seems that Han Su-hyeok’s pitching concept today is a power pitcher.

Well, even if it wasn’t, it would be just as difficult to hit anyway.

Thinking that he couldn’t back down like this, Maeda grabbed his bat again and stood close to the plate.

Whoosh

“Cough!”

Thwack

“Ball!”

I thought I was going to get hit.

I really did. I might have been hit if I hadn’t dodged it.

Maeda stumbles and falls on his butt from the 107-mile fastball that flew almost grazing him.

He took a shameful expression and took his batting stance again.

But he couldn’t stand close to the plate again.

And the following ball.

Whoosh

Thwack

“Strike!”

70 miles? 70 miles?

There’s no way a hitter who’s terrified of a 107-mile fastball can react to a sudden 70-mile changeup.

Maeda’s expression hardened.

And the final deciding pitch,

Whoosh

Swoosh

“Swing! Out!”

A 102-mile high-speed slider that completely went out of the zone.

“Haa……”

Maeda, who was completely humiliated, sighed and returned to the dugout.

This time, the Korean baseball community went crazy.

└ Seriously, it’s so refreshing

└ It’s like cider [a popular Korean expression for something satisfying and refreshing]

└ I realize once again that baseball is a Korea-Japan match

└ When Otani was there, I was so nervous every time there was a Korea-Japan match, but since Han Su-hyeok debuted, I don’t think there’s been a more comfortable game than this

└ Is Maeda good? I think the posting fee is only $5 million

└ No, he’s pretty good. Last year, major league teams didn’t spend much money in Japan because they were betting on Han Su-hyeok. I guess you could say he was unlucky

└ But why is he so bad? I think he’s worse than our team’s shortstop

└ What team are you on?

└ Busan

└ Get lost, you idiot

Han Su-hyeok easily took care of Milwaukee’s leadoff hitter and struck out the remaining 2nd and 3rd hitters in a row, ending the bottom of the first inning.

The Milwaukee stadium fell silent, and 2ch [a popular Japanese internet forum], where Japanese fans gathered, became a funeral home atmosphere.

And in the top of the 3rd inning, another crisis came to Japan, no, Milwaukee.

* * *

Crack!

“Damn it! He got hit again! Why are you competing so easily against the leadoff hitter?”

“It’s over! That Japanese guy is done! How can that kind of guy be our team’s ace? God help us!”

“Don’t let a runner get on base in front of Han Su-hyeok! Is that so difficult?”

The boos pouring out from the home team fans here and there made pitcher Hayashi dizzy.

Did he want to actively compete with Derek, the first hitter of the inning?

But,

Han Su-hyeok is coming up next?

If he tries to avoid the match and gets a walk, then he has to face Han Su-hyeok again with a runner on first base and no outs.

He tried to avoid that and started an aggressive match from the first pitch, and he was just unlucky enough to allow a hit.

Of course, as a result, the same situation unfolded as if he had sent him out with a walk.

Runner on first with no outs, Han Su-hyeok stepped up to the plate.

Hayashi’s face turned pale once again, and the Milwaukee catcher’s expression rotted as he watched it.

“Hey.”

“Shut up. I’m not going to answer whatever you say.”

“You already answered?”

“……”

“Um, I guess you’re serious. Well, I just wanted to tell you that the uniform that’s covering your precious parts is torn, but I guess I was being nosy.”

“What? My uniform? …What! You son of a bitch! It’s fine.”

“Oh, I left out one word. I meant that’s what’s going to happen when this at-bat is over. When you get hit by a home run and get up in surprise, your crotch often gets torn.”

“Fuck you.”

“Guys who have nothing to say tend to end the conversation with swearing. Well, this is the land of freedom, America. You’re free to say whatever you want.”

The Milwaukee catcher’s face flushed once again at Han Su-hyeok’s provocation.

‘A high fastball to the body.’

The pitcher shook his head in horror at the sign sent through the pitch-com [a communication system between the catcher and pitcher].

“Haa……”

“Things aren’t going well? Why? Is the pitcher not listening?”

He pretended not to hear the sarcasm coming into his ears and sent the next sign.

‘A fastball that sticks close to the body.’

He almost burst out swearing.

He doesn’t like this, he doesn’t like that, so what is he going to throw?

An ace of a team doesn’t have the guts to throw a ball that sticks to the body.

The catcher, who realized once again that this team was really over, demanded a low outside course this time.

The pitcher finally nodded up and down.

He took a catching stance, thinking that he wanted to slap that head.

‘First, induce a double play with a decoy……’

The most hopeful scenario that would unfold in the catcher’s mind at that moment,

Crack!

The ball that was flying to the outside disappeared somewhere with a tremendous hitting sound,

“You sons of bitches!”

“I can’t believe I paid money to see this!”

“What the hell is the secretariat doing! Prohibit tanking by law! Stop this kind of shitty behavior!”

“Go to hell! You cowardly bastards!”

A huge amount of swearing poured onto the ground along with leftover hot dogs and pizza.

And what followed was Han Su-hyeok’s voice.

“As expected, a dome is perfect for hitting home runs. Don’t you think so?”

The Genius Pitcher Hides 170km