The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 105

VS MLB? (3)

It was the first time I’d ever seen Hohokam Stadium, with its 10,000 seats, so deserted.

Before I turned back time, I had a few experiences playing against Oakland during spring training when I was in the major leagues. And every time, Hohokam Stadium was packed with spectators. But now, almost two-thirds of the seats were empty. Most of the spectators were sitting behind the catcher, so the outfield was so desolate that it felt like there was almost no audience.

Josh Anderson was on the mound.

He was a familiar face. He was an active pitcher until I turned back time. At the time, he was determined to retire with 3,000 strikeouts and 250 wins, so he was looking for a new team even in his forties. He tends to be a bit obsessed with records, but he is still a good pitcher from an objective point of view.

Roughly speaking, he’s about on the borderline of being a Hall of Fame player for 10 years? Maybe that’s why he was so obsessed with records.

I hated it when he complained that he lost a few wins, ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance], and strikeouts because of me when we played on the same team in the All-Star Game, but I’m still glad to see him after a long time. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to seeing his wrinkled and rough face from being directly exposed to UV rays and time, and now he has such a soft and smooth face.

-Thwack!!!

The speed of the ball thrown by Josh Anderson was displayed on the huge electronic scoreboard, which was unnecessarily installed even though it was a spring training stadium.

PITCH SPEED 97 MPH

Newer models often display the type of pitch, but the old model doesn’t seem to support that.

97 miles. So, about 156 kilometers? I threw up to 155 a few days ago, so that’s a really scary speed. Especially considering it’s only the end of February.

But from the beginning, that guy throws up to 108 miles during the season. He threw 100 miles even when he was almost forty, so it’s not strange that he’s throwing 97 miles in his mid-twenties when he’s in his prime, even if it’s February.

Top of the 1st inning.

Our team submitted the best possible lineup. It was a truly Marines-like lineup that focused on hitting, giving no importance to the terrible defense.

The leadoff hitter was Kang Raon. He’s a shortstop who barely makes the cut for being human in terms of defense, so he passed the mark. His hitting is about top five on the team.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

A swing and a miss on an impossible high fastball.

Still, he managed to pick out one ball and make Josh Anderson throw four pitches.

And the second batter.

Lee Jung-hoon.

A starting outfielder on the team who enjoys drinking, music, and loves entertainment. Usually, these guys don’t see Asians as objects of interest, but this guy has been meeting women incredibly well for the past month. And different women every time.

-Clang!!

A clean first-pitch hit.

But just like his short relationships with women, the hit was also short. If this game was a team scrimmage, it would have been a close single. But the guys standing on the field today have all stepped foot in the majors at least once.

An easy play in the infield, which is extremely rare for the Marines.

Surprisingly, the ground ball was turned into an out without any tension.

And the third batter.

Noh Hyung-wook.

He’s the hitter we can expect the most from today. He’s currently one of the top three third basemen in the entire KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], recording 0.299/0.357/0.526 with 29 home runs last year. His defense is also flawless. It feels completely different being on the same team as Kang Raon and Noh Hyung-wook during a scrimmage compared to being on the same team as those cancerous guys.

-Clang!!!

The ball flew to the very top of the second floor of the stands behind the catcher.

A huge foul ball.

Josh Anderson on the mound shook his head.

And the second ball.

Noh Hyung-wook in the batter’s box swung his bat with all his might.

-Crack

The bat split in two.

And the ball flew high into the air. The result was an infield fly out.

Was it because of the pain spreading in his palm? Or was it because of the bad result? Noh Hyung-wook’s face was distorted as he returned to the dugout.

The number on the scoreboard was 97 MPH.

The speed was the same. But the pitch must have been different. Noh Hyung-wook said to me, who was in the waiting batter’s box.

“It was a cutter. The timing is exactly the same as the fastball, but it comes in half a ball inside and half a ball below. It comes in more. It won’t be easy to distinguish unless you think about it in advance.”

“Yes.”

I went back to the dugout and grabbed my mitt.

I’ve been practicing outfield defense quite often lately, but honestly, it’s difficult. Judging the trajectory of the ball isn’t something that can be done overnight, and since I’m trying to be a two-way player, playing outfield defense from the first year, which puts a lot of strain on my stamina, is a bit too much.

In fact, I wanted to make my debut as a pitcher today. I didn’t feel particularly inferior to Diltz or Diego when compared to the Marines hitters. Of course, that’s probably because most of the Marines hitters are so substandard. It’s like a test question with very little discrimination.

But the manager’s choice was Diltz Dooley.

Anyway, he was a foreign pitcher with major league experience.

Diltz on the mound was touching the ball with a slightly nervous expression.

It was natural. He’s an ace-level pitcher who came with 1 million dollars based on KBO standards, but in reality, based on MLB [Major League Baseball] standards, he’s a player at the level of a setup man, no, a mop-up man, let alone a starter.

And the batters in the box are in the 26-man roster. Even if they weren’t, they were players included in the 40-man roster.

Diltz Dooley’s ball left his hand.

-Clang!!

First pitch hit.

Right fielder Seo Kyung-joon ran.

Thirty-four years old.

Despite having quite a bit of fat in his abdomen from enjoying late-night snacks, he was quite fast. But the hit was so good. Seo Kyung-joon safely caught the ball that bounced once instead of taking a gamble by diving. It was a good decision. If he had dived there and missed the ball, considering the Marines’ average defense, there was a high possibility that we would have seen an inside-the-park home run.

No outs, runner on first.

The runner took two and a half steps. He doesn’t show any intention of stealing.

“Sigh, what a meaningless game. I’m going to have to work overtime without pay because of the nosy general manager.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like a meaningless game for you. Isn’t there a 1% chance that you’ll get to play in a big league game if you catch the manager’s eye like this?”

“Huh? What. Do you know Español [Spanish]? Are you a halfie [slang for someone of mixed race]?”

“No, I’m purely Korean. Spanish is a liberal art.”

“That’s amazing. I need to tell the kids in advance. Tell them not to swear carelessly at first base. Oh, and I apologize if my words offended you. My name is Enrico.”

“I’m Choi Soo-won. Call me Swan. And I’m not offended. To be honest, I might be a little annoyed if I suddenly had to play against a minor league team when I haven’t warmed up properly yet. But a lot of high-ranking people are watching this game more than you think. It’s better to play hard. If you show a good performance, you might get noticed.”

“High-ranking people? Why would they watch a game like this?”

“Why else? Because of me.”

“What? Hahahahaha.”

The guy laughed loudly, revealing his white teeth.

“I understand now why you said Spanish is a liberal art. Your major must be jokes.”

“No, my major is baseball.”

-Clang!!!

The batter in the box swung his bat.

“Hehe, anyway, it was nice talking to you. I’ll see you again later.”

And the guy waved his hand at me and lightly ran to second base.

Two-run home run.

Diltz Dooley on the mound adjusted his hat.

We still haven’t gotten a single out.

***

[Swing and a miss!! Out!! Runners on 1st and 3rd. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Diltz Dooley barely gets a strikeout and finally finishes the inning.]

[It was a long inning. In the case of Diltz Dooley, he recorded 2.78 in AAA [Triple-A, a level in Minor League Baseball] as a member of Milwaukee last year, but he recorded 6.03 in 37.1 innings in the major leagues, which proves that he doesn’t work in the major leagues. In a way, it might be a natural result.]

[I see.]

[Of course, he’s a player that the Marines brought in as their number one starter for 1 million dollars, but I still wonder if it would have been better to send out Diego Rodriguez as the starter instead. Of course, Diltz Dooley had better minor league stats, but Diego Rodriguez has improved more while pitching in the KBO last year.]

[The score is 6:0 at the end of the 1st inning. It’s becoming a little more realistic that the wall of the major leagues is still high.]

[Marines. But it’s still too early to give up. There are still eight chances left. Besides, in baseball, you can win three times out of ten even if there is a slight difference in skill. In fact, if you look at the past results of the Japan-U.S. All-Star series, the winning rate is about 30%. You can turn the game around as much as you want.]

“Too bad. I thought I’d see you one more time this inning.”

“Wait in your seat for a moment. I won’t be able to talk for a long time like now, but I’ll say hi as I pass by.”

“What?”

Right before the change of offense and defense.

The guy who was returning to his dugout from first base laughed loudly once again.

“Did you say Swan? I guess your major is jokes after all.”

“Seriously. I’m telling you my major is baseball.”

“Okay, well, do your best. It’s almost impossible for you to hit a double against Anderson.”

[Top of the 2nd inning. Josh Anderson is still on the mound. And Choi Soo-won, the 4th batter for the Marines, comes to the plate.]

[The Marines have made a bold choice. Choi Soo-won is a player who caused a stir as the number one pick in this draft and a 2 billion won rookie, but the difference in skill between amateurs and professionals is considerable. Of course, according to rumors, Choi Soo-won has shown a very good performance during this spring camp, so it seems necessary to keep an eye on him for now.]

[Still, a slightly fortunate part for Choi Soo-won is that the Marines’ defensive inning was very long a little while ago, wasn’t it?]

[That’s right. Generally, if the defensive inning is too long, the pitcher can lose his feel. His shoulder also cools down a bit. From personal experience, about 8 minutes is just right, and it’s a bit difficult to go over 10 minutes. Well, that’s what I think.]

-Thwack!!!

A few practice pitches.

Perhaps because the previous defensive inning was a bit long, Josh Anderson threw about eight practice pitches. In recent major league games, the average number of practice pitches is about five due to the game promotion rule, but since it was a practice game, he was free from such restrictions.

I could see Enrique, the guy I talked to at first base, standing between first and second base.

I stepped into the batter’s box, adjusted my helmet with my left hand, and tapped my head twice. Then, I gripped the bat strongly twice with my right hand, tapped the home plate once, and straightened my posture.

Josh Anderson on the mound wound up greatly.

Cutter?

Four-seam [a type of fastball]?

Honestly, I couldn’t tell by looking.

It’s just a feeling.

And usually, my feelings are pretty accurate in these situations.

-Clang!!!

A clean hit.

The 97-mile cutter hit the sweet spot of the bat perfectly.

“I told you my major is baseball.”

Enrique couldn’t say anything as he watched the ball fly over the fence.