The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 8

8. Baseball is a Game for Those Who Excel (1)

Imagine Person A, who dedicated nearly 14 years, from kindergarten to senior year of high school, solely to preparing for the national university entrance exam. Talented in studies and diligently hardworking, they consistently achieved top grades across all subjects. However, after the exam, this person took a 17-year break from studying.

Now, the question:

If Person A were to take the exam again, what would their score be?

-Thwack!!

Jo Yu-jin swiftly moved her mitt.

It seemed a bit off, but still quite close. If it’s this good…?

“Strike!”

First pitch, strike.

Good.

I clenched my fist.

“How many kilometers per hour?”

“150 km/h.”

“150 km/h from the first pitch? Wow, growth spurts are something else. Wasn’t his top speed last year 150?”

“It was. If he does well, he might even be the top pick overall.”

“Why? Is Elitez going to take him next year? In three years, the Marines will need an infielder; they should take a promising power hitter. Or are you thinking of taking him this year?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? He’s the top pick overall; why would we take him? We’re in 7th place right now. 7th. And we’re only going to go up from here.”

I noticed the scouts in the distance, muttering among themselves. Judging by the considerable buzz, the speed must be quite impressive.

The leadoff hitter from Cheonnam High, who had briefly stepped out of the batter’s box, re-tightened his gloves and returned.

The way he’s gripping the bat tightly shows his strong determination to just make contact. Gripping the bat shorter does allow the impact point to come sooner, which definitely helps in reacting to fastballs.

But at the same time, it’s a kind of admission.

It’s the batter’s confession that the pitcher’s throw is so awful that they can’t hit it normally.

Seeing that reminds me of someone. Greg Olson, a veteran on my team when I first went to the majors. I played with him for three years, and I think he was thirty-eight when he retired. In the majors, just completing your service time and playing a few more years is enough to be considered a great player. Greg Olson had two seasons with 20 home runs and 150 hits during his prime. His career total was 201 home runs and 1503 hits, I think? Anyway, towards the end of the season, he always gripped the bat short against pitchers who threw over 100 mph. Ah, wouldn’t that make him vulnerable to outside pitches?

“Hey, Swan. Think about it. How many pitchers can throw a hundred miles an hour and also have the command to throw inside and outside at will? I bet there aren’t even five in the whole world.”

Greg Olson was right.

There aren’t many pitchers in the league who can throw a hundred miles an hour and consistently hit their spots by dividing the zone into two. Even if it’s not a hundred miles an hour, being able to divide the zone into four? Even with just league-average stuff, that’s Cy Young [award given to the best pitcher in each league] contender level.

Gripping the bat short and crowding the plate, Greg Olson would often draw walks from pitchers trying to throw outside.

And I remember clearly.

Except for those special few pitchers, the type Greg Olson struggled with the most were the pitchers who weren’t intimidated and just jammed in hundred-mile-an-hour fastballs, even when the batter gripped the bat short and crowded the plate.

I lightly patted the ball in my glove.

Mung-gae’s gaze, watching me from the bullpen, is still intense.

I wound up big. Power gathers in my coiled body. The motion of my joints exceeding their limits. That sensation of power starting from my glutes and gathering at the tip of my right fingers.

The sharply thrown ball cut through the air.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!”

The ball passed through the center of the strike zone.

The batter’s bat swung through the air.

“Good guts. How many kilometers per hour was that?”

“149.”

The standard that separates professionals from amateurs is simple: whether you get paid to do it, or you pay to do it.

So, how can you become a player who gets paid? Based on our time in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], we used to talk about this standard:

‘When a 150 km/h fastball comes right down the middle, can you crush it and send it flying far away or not?’ This meant that if you’re a pro, you should be able to hit a 150 km/h fastball down the middle, but it also meant that if you’re not a pro, it’s that much harder to hit a 150 km/h fastball down the middle, even if you know it’s coming.

I could see the anxiety on the batter’s face.

The scouts diligently writing something down must be adding to the pressure.

I understand.

Even the most daring person gets flustered in front of interviewers. Ah, how would someone who’s never had an interview know that? Of course, I’ve never been interviewed. This is a story my girlfriend told me when I bombed my first press conference and cracked open a can of beer.

Anyway, the count is 0-2.

The opposing batter is dazed and doesn’t know what to do.

And in this situation, of course…

-Thwack!!!

“Strike! Out!”

A fastball right down the middle.

“151 km/h. The location was good this time too.”

“What? 151? Wow, both the speed and control are great. Is he in good condition today? Didn’t his pitches usually fly all over the place?”

“He’s still growing. But aren’t you being too obvious?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Just a moment ago, you were saying Elitez should take him, and now you’re seriously interested? Listing his flaws.”

“Ahem, was it obvious?”

“Yeah. As always, very obvious.”

Were they surprised by the three-pitch strikeout? The scouts’ hands moved faster.

Well, this pitch was definitely surprising. Even I was surprised when I threw it.

I just threw it hard, thinking it was okay if it was a little high, but it unexpectedly had low command and went into a very exquisite location. The result was a called strike three, with the batter unable to even swing.

The batter’s expression wasn’t good as he left the plate.

It wasn’t just because he was struck out looking in front of the scouts. He must have been overwhelmed by how to deal with pitches like that throughout the game.

And the same was true for the next batter, the number 2 hitter.

-Thwack!!

But Jo Yu-jin raised her arm high to catch the ball that was clearly going to miss.

Ahem. Well, there was no reason to be disappointed. It was actually expected.

As I said before, even if someone studied for the national university entrance exam their whole life, would they do well if they took it again after not studying for 17 years?

Of course, it’s a little different, but I haven’t been on the mound for 17 years. Besides, even when I was throwing well in high school, my control wasn’t that great. The fact that three pitches in a row went right into the zone at the beginning is surprising.

The pitching continued.

Like the leadoff hitter, the number 2 hitter couldn’t even graze my pitches with his bat. However, although they both failed to make contact, the results were slightly different.

“His control doesn’t seem to be there, does it?”

“It looks like his release point tends to waver. Well, the coaches will take care of it, but it seems like they’ll have to fix his pitching form if they take him?”

“I think it’ll be solved if he gains some weight and builds his body a bit more?”

Again, the scouts were buzzing.

What’s certain is that the subject of their buzz wasn’t the number 2 hitter from Cheonnam High, who walked to first base on a walk, but me.

And the number 3 hitter stepped up to the plate.

Baek Ha-min.

The ace who will be responsible for Cheonnam High’s mound today, and a national-level player with a very high probability of being picked in the first round of the draft in just four months.

Shohei Ohtani is the only one who has succeeded as a two-way player in the pros. But as someone said, baseball is a game for those who excel. Looking at high school baseball, where the skill gap between players is large, there were many two-way players. And Baek Ha-min is one of those two-way players, and the second most threatening hitter among Cheonnam High’s batters today.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!”

Baek Ha-min’s bat swung coolly through the air.

He stuck out his tongue.

“Wow, 150 is scary no matter how many times you see it. But if that’s the case, what are the guys who hit my pitches?”

Of course, being threatening is only at the high school level.

Honestly, there’s nothing particularly different between the previous batters and Baek Ha-min to me. The opponent I’m fighting on the mound right now isn’t the batters, but myself.

Ah, I’m not trying to sound cool, but I’m really fighting myself right now.

Strike or ball.

In those Japanese comics across the sea, they divide it into like 9 sections, but I only have 2. Of course, I’m not dividing the strike zone into 2, but even if I aim for the strike zone, the probability of the ball entering the zone is half, so it’s 2 sections.

Top of the 1st inning.

Cleanly 3 strikeouts and 2 walks against five batters without any batted balls.

My first pitching in 17 years ended successfully.

***

In a space where scouts gathered and dozens of cameras filmed the mound, a fat man kept tilting his head behind the space.

“Something’s a little strange…”

“Mr. Kim, what’s strange? Aren’t you ready? Baek Ha-min is coming up.”

“No, Team Leader. I’m talking about Choi Su-won. I was wondering if he was always like that.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Always like that? His speed is a little faster because he’s still growing, and his control is still as bad as last year.”

“No, it’s a little subtle.”

“Subtle? What do you mean?”

“Well… it feels like before, he was trying to put the ball in every corner and giving up walks, but now it feels like he’s just trying to jam it in.”

The subordinate, Mr. Kim’s words made him think for a moment.

“So, are you saying Choi Su-won’s control has become even more trash?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Before, he was at least trying to control it and giving up walks, but now he’s just trying to get it in the zone and still giving up walks. Isn’t that right?”

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

-Thwack!!

“Mr. Kim, what are you doing!! Baek Ha-min is pitching, hurry up and check.”

“Ah, ah. Yes!! I’m doing it now!!”

Choi Su-won, the number 1 hitter from Jungang High, stepped up to the plate.