The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 110

110. Spring-ball Instincts (3)

[Ah!!]

Lee Myung-chul, who was broadcasting the game, exclaimed. It was a pain that any man could understand.

The testicles are organs that are located outside the body for efficient heat dissipation, even though they should originally be inside. As such, they are not protected by bones or organs and are surrounded by the peritoneum [the membrane lining the abdominal cavity], so the pain experienced when struck there is among the worst a human can experience.

[Choi Jin-woong is leaving the field for now. I hope it’s not a serious injury.]

[But looking at the slow-motion replay, fortunately, it wasn’t a direct hit. The foul ball hit deep in his thigh and bounced, hitting his groin again.]

[The speed was 154 km/h just now (approximately 96 mph). Choi Jin-woong… what can I say… he was really unlucky. To think that the pitcher on the mound could throw up to 154 from the very first exhibition game in March.]

Of course, he was wearing a protective cup, but the destructive power of a 154 km/h fastball was immense. Even if it hits a muscular area like the thigh, the seam marks can leave a bruise.

It was truly excruciating pain.

The game was temporarily stopped.

“We need to get him to the hospital right away.”

The batter who hit the foul ball and Choi Soo-won, who threw the ball, both felt a little sorry seeing him in so much pain. It was something that happened during the game, and there was no intention behind it, but they understood the pain that any man could sympathize with, and the fear of the consequences.

Fortunately, he patted his thigh and then the protective cup again, so it probably didn’t lead to a rupture.

[Now, the Marines have Han Gyo-chul wearing the catcher’s mask, replacing the injured Choi Jin-woong.]

[Han Gyo-chul is already twenty-nine this year, right? Four years ago, he played in 97 games and recorded a batting average of .240 with 11 home runs. The disappointing thing is his unstable defense. Especially his catching, which is the basics of a catcher, is a bit shaky.]

[It’s a tricky situation for the Marines. It’s not like they can’t use him as a catcher at all, but his defense is too unstable to use him as a starter. And if they change his position, his hitting is competitive enough for a catcher, but not enough for a first baseman or designated hitter.]

[Besides, the Marines’ first base and designated hitter positions have been virtually saturated for the past few years.]

The game resumed.

***

Why did Dilton Doiley fail?

The exact reason was unknown. But based on speculation from the last spring camp, there were two possible reasons.

The most likely reason was the Marines’ signature defense, and the word ‘catcher’ was deeply ingrained in that Marines-like defense.

-Thwack!!

The umpire’s hand didn’t go up.

The batter threw his bat and walked to first base.

Damn it.

There’s Han Gyo-chul, the Marines’ catcher.

Watching him, I wondered if he was posing a serious question to the sport of baseball itself.

Is it really necessary for a catcher to catch the ball well?

This was similar to the Marines posing a big question to the professional baseball world: Is it really necessary for a team to pursue only victory?

Damn it.

I shook my head.

It’s so messed up that I’m having these useless thoughts. No, what the hell is he doing? Framing is making a ball look like a strike, so what Han Gyo-chul is doing now should be called reverse framing – turning a perfectly good strike into a ball.

Actually, I didn’t feel it this much during the intrasquad game. Of course, that doesn’t mean this guy pulled a ball that was in the zone out of the zone.

Basically, the umpire is not a machine. Therefore, blatant and clumsy framing is bound to be met with resentment. There’s no need to do clumsy mitt work on a ball that barely goes in; even if you just catch it quietly, it’s fine. Especially with the same kind of mitt work he showed with the wild pitch that went completely outside just before.

I shook my head at Han Gyo-chul’s sign.

He sent the sign again. I shook my head again. I sent a sign to him. I could see ‘displeasure’ in the way he moved his mitt. Maybe if I took off his mask, he’d be frowning?

But this bastard? Is he crazy?

Who does he think he is, a mere receiver, daring to do that to the pitcher?

If he’s just a receiver, he should just catch the ball properly. Since he can’t even do that, I’m just going to shove it right down the middle, and he’s displeased about that?

I swallowed the rising displeasure and threw the ball.

I put a little more power into it. As a result, the location was slightly higher. A fast, strong high fastball.

One out, runners on first and second.

The Hawks’ fourth batter swung his bat.

-Clang!!

A fast ground ball between second and third base.

If Kang Raon were playing shortstop, there would be an 80% chance of a double play. But Jung Ji-woon is playing shortstop now. An uneasy feeling crept over me.

Surely the Marines aren’t going to pull a ‘Marines’ [referring to a tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory] here again, are they?

But it was an unnecessary worry.

[Jung Ji-woon catches the ball easily and throws to second base. And then to first base!! Double out!! The Marines finish the inning very cleanly.]

[Jung Ji-woon, who is playing shortstop today, often gets good reviews on the field for his fundamentals. He definitely has stability. Super plays are good, but solid plays like this give the pitcher peace of mind.]

[Although the starting catcher was replaced due to an unexpected accident, the Marines are not easily shaken. The feeling this season is very good.]

Thinking about it, it’s still spring, before the regular season starts.

The Marines are invincible before summer begins.

Han Min-joon, who is starting today, was definitely a good pitcher. I knew him quite well, and he had achieved a no-hitter one step ahead of me in the second half King of Kings match two years ago, when I achieved a no-hitter. Of course, he couldn’t pitch in the very next game after achieving a no-hitter, so his team was eliminated, so the result was the same as mine.

Besides, our relationship doesn’t end there. Two years ago, at the U-18 Baseball World Cup, I, Baek Ha-min, and Jo Gyu-chan started with him and led the Korean team to victory.

Just as the Marines are seriously considering using Baek Ha-min as a starter this season, the Hawks are also seriously considering using Han Min-joon as a starting card.

-Clang!!

And surprisingly, the Marines’ lineup hit two consecutive hits against Han Min-joon.

No outs, runners on first and third.

It was my turn.

[Choi Soo-won is coming up to bat as the third batter. Many baseball fans probably already know about him because of the game against the Oakland Athletics, but for those who don’t know, Choi Soo-won is a ‘two-way player’ [a player who can both pitch and hit effectively].]

[Since Shohei Ohtani succeeded as a two-way player in the Major League a few years ago, many players have been trying to become two-way players. In Korea, there were no such players, but in a way, Choi Soo-won can be seen as the first.]

[Yes, in fact, it’s not just a matter of talent, but in order for a two-way player to work properly, you need a Major League-style Ohtani rule. In other words, you need some rules about the designated hitter, but that’s not the case in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].]

[What about the rules for the designated hitter?]

[To put it simply, the designated hitter is a player who regularly takes the pitcher’s place in the batting order, but if the starting pitcher takes the plate without a designated hitter, the designated hitter will no longer be able to play in that game. So, Choi Soo-won played as a pitcher and hitter, and the pitcher is replaced? Then the replaced pitcher has to take the plate as well.]

[Ah!! So, a team that starts with 9 players has to go to the end with 9 players. Is that what you mean?]

[Yes, that’s exactly it. As such, in the KBO, being a two-way player means that it’s difficult for a pitcher to be just a moderately good hitter. You have to hit as well as, or perhaps even better than, a designated hitter. That’s what it means.]

[Wow, that’s really not an ordinary condition.]

[However, in the case of exhibition games, there is no limit of 27 players on the roster, and almost all players can be replaced without limit, so it’s okay to think that it’s not a very meaningful part in today’s game.]

***

Han Min-joon on the mound wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The weather in Sajik [a district in Busan, South Korea] is a little warmer than in Seoul, but it’s only March and still chilly. So the cause of this sweat is not the heat, but the tension.

That’s because there are runners on first and third with no outs, and ‘that Choi Soo-won’ is at the plate.

I still remember. The way he swung his bat like crazy at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup [World Baseball Softball Confederation Under-18 Baseball World Cup]. And the grand slam he hit two years ago in the third game of the second half King of Kings match, as if to nail the coffin, saying, ‘Today’s game is your last high school baseball game.’

The empty second base looked very attractive for some reason.

-Whoosh

And at that timing, Lee Gyu-man, who was standing in the Marines’ waiting batter’s box like a ghost, swung his bat fiercely.

‘Damn it…’

The Emperor of the KBO. Mr. Marines. The uncrowned Emperor, etc.

There were so many nicknames for him.

That man was already a Marines player before Han Min-joon was born, won the MVP the year Han Min-joon stood on two feet, and was a Triple Crown winner [leading the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in] in hitting for two consecutive years when he first threw a baseball when he entered elementary school.

In particular, he won the batting title seven times in nine years until Han Min-joon graduated from elementary school and entered the middle school baseball team, so that man *was* professional baseball to the Han Min-joon generation.

Why? The empty second base, which looked so attractive, suddenly felt full.

Intentional walk? No matter how scary Choi Soo-won is, it’s too much to give an intentional walk with Lee Gyu-man behind him. Even though Lee Gyu-man is a veteran who is about to retire at the age of 41 this year, that can’t be helped.

Han Min-joon clenched his teeth.

Yes, this is the pros.

I acknowledge Choi Soo-won’s talent. But even I, Baek Ha-min, and that golden generation of Kyung-go [a prestigious high school in Korea], who made a name for ourselves in high school baseball, only shined for one or two games, and didn’t stand out from the first year.

The past year.

He has definitely become stronger. The fact that he was hit hard at the beginning of the season, went down to the minors, and came up at the end to show good results proves it.

A concise set position.

As the catcher asks, I threw the ball with all my might.

A low course fastball. It was a little lower than I wanted. A ball that goes out of the zone. But the batter’s bat followed.

-Clang!!

It was big.

But it’s definitely not a perfect hit. He forced a hit on a ball that was going out, so it’s definitely an outfield fly. The Marines’ first and third base runners also watched the ball without moving.

Choi Soo-won casually lowered his bat to the side.

Almost the warning track.

The left fielder chased the ball.

One more step.

And one more step.

And one more step from there.

‘Huh? Uh?’

-Thud

The dark green outfield fence blocked his back. The batted ball had not yet fallen.

Would he reach it if he jumped and stretched out his arm?

No way.

Unless a person’s arm can stretch out to about 2 meters. Otherwise, he can’t catch that ball.

[It’s… it’s gone over!!]

[In the bottom of the first inning, Choi Soo-won!! The launch angle was very high. This, this is going over.]

The mouths of the base coaches who had stopped the runners were wide open.

The runners on first and third base started running slowly.

[The wind was good. They said that the northwest wind was blowing at about 12 km/h today (approximately 7.5 mph). Usually, the flight distance is about 0.9m per 1mph, so he gained about 7 meters (approximately 23 feet).]

[Anyway, isn’t this also an element of baseball? The Marines are leading by three points from the top of the first inning.]

Now even the weather is helping the Marines.

It’s the Marines in spring itself.

First exhibition game.

The Marines defeated the Hawks 11-5 and made a good start.

[The Busan Marines are different this year!! The first championship in 35 years is getting closer!!]