The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 59

59. Feeling Frustrated? (1)

Late evening after the game.

“Hey, here comes Mr. Eight-Percent. Mr. Eight-Percent.”

“Keep it down. He’ll hear you.”

“So what if he hears? Am I making things up?”

1 hit in 12 at-bats.

That was the report card Cho Gyu-hyeok received over the past three games. His batting order, which started at 5th, had now fallen to 8th.

“Honestly, does it make sense to bring him just because he had one good tournament? No matter how close he is to Choi Su-won.”

“Hey, watch your mouth. The coach told us not to say that out loud.”

“Ugh, Yeong-jae is the only one who’s pitiful. He busted his ass in all the regional qualifiers, but a random guy came to America, and he’s not even doing well?”

Cho Gyu-hyeok quietly grabbed his share of the food and walked to a corner of the cafeteria.

He couldn’t hear their words clearly. Maybe it was just paranoia due to his slump. But their eyes and attitude made him guess what they were saying.

“Senior.”

“Oh, you came?”

Everyone’s attention focused at once.

His talent shone not just because he was among mediocre players at Central High School. It was a talent that shone exceptionally even among the carefully selected talents from across the country, or perhaps even beyond, from around the world.

The murmuring stopped.

No, the murmuring was still there. But it wasn’t about Cho Gyu-hyeok’s slump, but about this dazzling talent.

In fact, stories about Choi Su-won and Alexander McDowell had been appearing quite frequently in the American media recently. If it were just the U-18 tournament, it wouldn’t have garnered this much attention, even if it was held in the United States. But next to him was Alexander McDowell, a talent who had already taken America by storm.

“What’s wrong? Why did you order so little, Senior? It’s not like you.”

“Oh? I’m just not feeling well.”

A moment of hesitation.

Should I just pour out my heart now?

Of course, it wasn’t a problem that Su-won could solve. But still, sometimes just talking about it can ease your mind.

“Huh?”

And just then.

“Hey, wait, is that?”

The kids’ eyes turned to the TV.

The cafeteria TV was showing ESPN’s popular baseball show, “Baseball Today.” And the segment being broadcast was one of the most popular on the show, “The Science of Baseball.”

This segment, where a former Major Leaguer showed a player’s play on a large screen and analyzed it, was popular for explaining complex mechanisms in a way that viewers could understand. And on that large screen was a familiar-looking Asian.

People’s eyes once again turned to Choi Su-won.

“Su-won, isn’t that you?”

Choi Su-won nonchalantly answered, chewing on his bread.

“Yeah, it is. I guess that’s what the agency was proposing.”

“Agency?”

“Ah, yeah. I signed with an agency in the States a while ago. I wouldn’t have had much to do otherwise, but I guess they’re doing some work since this tournament is in the US.”

“Su-won, are you going to America?”

“Eh, who knows? I just sign these kinds of deals just in case.”

The Major League.

Even with a topic that would excite most kids, he reacted as if it were no different from discussing today’s menu. That was so like Choi Su-won.

On TV, a stout former Major Leaguer was enthusiastically talking about something. The only words Cho Gyu-hyeok could understand among the complex English were “Wow,” “Fantastic,” and “Unbelievable.” Of course, that was the case for most of the players gathered here. But that was enough.

Cho Gyu-hyeok once again realized how amazing this guy he was eating with was. And he also realized how lucky he was to have received 1:1 coaching from him.

The urge to whine disappeared in an instant. He realized once again how fortunate he was to have consistently received one-on-one lessons from this guy. It’s only natural that envy follows great fortune. How pathetic would it be to whine because you can’t even overcome that?

“Senior, are you going to eat more?”

“Yeah. This is pretty good.”

***

Top of the 1st inning.

Jack Johnson stood on the mound for the American team. A left-handed pitcher who throws 100 miles per hour, 17th overall in this year’s draft. One of the six first-rounders who joined this national team.

His eyes turned to Choi Su-won, who was sitting in the Korean team’s dugout.

Any player of Jack Johnson’s age couldn’t help but be conscious of Alexander McDowell. And another genius whose name was being mentioned here and there along with Alexander McDowell.

‘Tch.’

Jack Johnson didn’t like it at all.

Perhaps most of the first-rounders who participated in this tournament with him felt the same way. Alexander McDowell had been a famous baseball prodigy since childhood, but they had never really faced him. He had left for college after finishing 9th grade. That’s why he inwardly resented Alexander McDowell receiving so much attention from the media.

Even more so with that guy Choi Su-won. Alexander McDowell had at least proven himself against excellent pitchers in the college league.

But that guy had only hit a few home runs against opponents from Australia, China, and Japan. Opponents who were nothing compared to them. Yet the media was making a fuss, calling him a genius of the century, saying his batting form was close to perfect.

The first batter for the Korean team, Park Jin-gyeong, stepped into the batter’s box.

First pitch. A high fastball inside. A 157 km/h [kilometer per hour] ball came flying in.

Park Jin-gyeong hurriedly dodged back.

-Thwack!!!

The ball slipped slightly from his hand.

Park Jin-gyeong stepped back into the batter’s box. His face was slightly flushed, which was quite a sight.

Second pitch.

Low and outside.

-Whoosh!!!

Park Jin-gyeong’s bat followed.

“Strike!!!”

Again, the control was a bit lacking. It was too much in the middle. But even so, Park Jin-gyeong’s bat swung in vain. The number 99.3 was clearly written on the scoreboard. 159.8 km/h. Park Jin-gyeong shook his head.

It was a small difference of less than 0.02 seconds, but that small difference was truly enormous.

Third pitch. Foul.

And the fourth.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

Swinging strikeout.

There were no breaking balls.

Park Jin-gyeong stuck out his tongue.

“Man, it’s a whole different level from yesterday.”

“Of course. How can 138 be the same as 160? Besides that, don’t you have anything helpful to say?”

“He threw all fastballs at me. The timing feels half a beat faster than that Nakamura guy from the other day. I think it would have been better if we had played Japan and then met these guys today. It feels like my body is too adjusted to the slow balls from yesterday.”

Following him, Kang Chang-wook, the second batter for the Korean national team, came to the plate after listening to unhelpful advice.

And the 17th pick in the draft.

A signing bonus of 4.5 million dollars. Jack Johnson on the mound showed off his worth.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

Three-pitch strikeout.

Coach Kwon Gyu-jong frowned.

Jack Johnson’s ball was definitely powerful. 159 km/h would be a speed that these kids were experiencing for the first time in their lives. But even considering that, they were too helpless.

Choi Su-won stepped into the batter’s box.

***

Kang Chang-wook, who was right before me in the batting order, gave me some unhelpful advice and returned to the dugout. The sound of the ball being really fast was enough with just the number 98.7 on the scoreboard, without having to hear it.

Jack Johnson on the mound looked at me with an arrogant expression.

It was an unfamiliar face. Ah, of course, Jack Johnson wasn’t a new pitcher. Even right before my regression, he was a pitcher who stubbornly held on in the majors.

What was unfamiliar was that arrogant expression. The only expression he could show when I stood at the plate was one of being very nervous, but trying to pretend he wasn’t.

He wound up big.

That stance was very honest.

‘I’m throwing the ball now. The pitch is a fastball.’

Clearly, a 99-mile fastball was more than 3 miles faster than the ball he threw before the regression. But if you asked who was the more threatening pitcher between the thirty-five-year-old guy before the regression and the current guy, I was sure it was the guy before the regression who threw 3 miles slower.

Before the regression, his repertoire was based on cutters instead of four-seamers [a type of fastball with a slight horizontal movement], and he mixed in useful off-speed pitches from time to time.

Why? The answer is simple.

Because his 99-mile fastball wasn’t enough to survive in the big leagues of the 2030s.

-Clang!!!

I perfectly pulled a 99-mile fastball that flew into the middle, saying, ‘Please catch me.’ There was no need to watch. I started running lightly towards first base.

The left fielder, who was running towards the fence, stopped. It wasn’t a ball that could be stolen by stepping on the fence and jumping up like a highlight film defense. Despite being just a U-18 game, the top of the outfield was packed with people. Someone held up a baseball high.

Judging by my 2.0 eyesight on both sides, it looked like a child of about ten years old. Baseball players must be dreams and hopes for children, at least. It wasn’t something I learned when I was in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization]. It was something that the team’s own training, which I did twice a year when I was playing in the MLB [Major League Baseball], always said.

I raised my right hand towards him.

I could see the child who picked up the home run ball screaming with joy. Well, I’m just a fledgling who hasn’t even become a pro yet, let alone a major leaguer, but it will be a very good memory for him. If he has a habit of organizing things well and keeps the ball well for a few years, it will be something more than just a memory.

“Nice batting.”

Jeong Byeong-cheol raised his right hand high.

-Clap!!

A light high-five.

“Do you have any hints?”

“Well, the ball is fast, but his command doesn’t seem that good. Besides, looking at his face, he doesn’t seem to have a very strong mentality. I think you can just swing the bat freely.”

“Really?”

As I advised, Jack Johnson wasn’t a pitcher with a very strong mentality compared to his power and speed. The reason he couldn’t play as a closer and only played as an opener, even with that kind of ball, was because of his mentality, which couldn’t be recovered after being hit hard.

However, the problem was that Jeong Byeong-cheol couldn’t properly attack the ball that was thrown with that unrecovered mentality today. It was about time for this to happen, but it seemed that yesterday’s game against China had been poison.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

Jeong Byeong-cheol swung his bat freely and returned.

Thus, the bottom of the 1st inning, America’s attack.

Today’s choice for the game against America by Coach Kwon Gyu-jong is Baek Ha-min.

A man who looks like he was drawn in a pure romance comic stood on the mound.