The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 118

The stadium fell silent for a moment.

[Uh… Yes… So, Choi Su-won. Hit by pitch on the first ball.]

[…….]

Just a few days prior.

Choi Su-won had caused a similar scene in the same spot where Kang So-gu was now clutching his thigh and collapsing. Back then, Sajik Stadium had erupted with curses and jeers.

Perhaps the fact that garbage wasn’t thrown onto the field this time was due to a slightly more mature sense of civic responsibility? Or maybe it was the lingering effect of the fan who threw a plastic bottle after the team’s last-place finish two years ago, getting caught on the stadium’s cameras and receiving a permanent ban.

In any case, when this hitter, who had blasted two home runs in his debut at-bat, was hit by such an unexpected pitch, no one anticipated a scene like today.

That’s because it was his debut game, his very first at-bat. Moreover, it was the opening game against the pitcher who won the Choi Dong-won Award [Korean equivalent of the Cy Young Award] last year, and he’d hit consecutive home runs. After being hit by a pitch in such a shocking debut, few could have thought, ‘Oh, he’s actually a pitcher and will be starting the day after tomorrow.’

Of course, after the game, the story trickled out in online communities and forums.

─84thFloorDweller: But wasn’t that hit by pitch today totally intentional? Jake Bohr has amazing control. Didn’t he say in some interview that almost 100% of the pitches he throws at batters are intentional?

─RolexPlease: So what if it was intentional? Choi Su-won was being cocky. If a rookie acts like that, he deserves to get hit.

─SajikAhjussi: Nonsense. What kind of old-fashioned thinking is that? Is it normal to throw beanballs [a pitch deliberately aimed at the batter’s head] just because someone does a bat flip or a little celebration while playing baseball these days?

─BlueBloodAce: Jake Bohr does have a bit of a conservative side.

─84thFloorDweller: No, but what I’m trying to say isn’t that, Choi Su-won is a pitcher.

─RolexPlease: So what if he’s a pitcher? Does being a pitcher mean you can’t get hit if you’re cocky? The unwritten rule that you shouldn’t hit pitchers only applies when that pitcher is pitching in today’s game. He’s not out there as a pitcher today.

─84thFloorDweller: No, I’m not saying you shouldn’t hit him… Choi Su-won throws up to 157 km/h [approximately 97.5 mph], you know?

─RolexPlease: Ah…

***

Among the few unwritten rules in baseball, one is not to throw beanballs at pitcher-hitters. Some mistakenly believe this is out of consideration for the pitcher’s body when throwing the ball, or that retaliatory pitches are off-limits.

Absolutely not.

There have been two instances in Major League Baseball when the number of beanballs suddenly spiked.

The first was after the American League introduced the designated hitter rule, preventing pitchers from batting. The second was immediately after the rule was created that warned ‘both teams’ if a pitcher intentionally tried to hit a batter, and that ‘any team’ whose pitcher intentionally hit a batter would have ‘that team’s’ pitcher and manager ejected.

This means pitchers are more likely to throw beanballs when they don’t have to stand in the batter’s box and risk getting hit themselves. Conversely, it also means a pitcher who has stood in the batter’s box and been hit first has nothing to lose.

Thus, in the third game between the Elitz and the Marines,

Kang So-gu, the leadoff hitter for the Elitz, could recall the conversation he had with Choi Su-won at first base a few days ago amidst the throbbing pain.

“I told you to be careful. What’s with all the showing off?”

“Ah… You’re right. I should be more careful.”

Looking back, both the subject and predicate felt strange. But at the time, he hadn’t noticed anything odd. In this world, there are plenty of Koreans who can’t speak Korean properly because they slept through Korean language class. He’d just assumed Choi Su-won was one of them.

But now he realized that wasn’t the case.

This was a warning directed at Kang So-gu himself. Stop with the ridiculous threats, and Kang So-gu himself should be careful. In other words, this was clearly an intentional hit by pitch.

Rage boiled within him.

The pain in his leg amplified his anger.

He glared at Choi Su-won on the mound.

Usually, in Korea, if a pitcher throws a hit by pitch by mistake, there are two common reactions.

If the pitcher has more seniority than the batter, they offer a look of apology. If the pitcher has less seniority than the batter, they remove their hat and bow.

Choi Su-won did neither.

He stood there with a cocky posture, staring right at him. It was definitely not an apologetic stance. If you had to describe that posture, it would be closer to ‘Come at me, if you dare.’

‘That young punk.’

Kang So-gu glanced at the Elitz dugout.

The atmosphere was tense.

Well, if a guy with no seniority throws a hit by pitch and then acts like that, it’s obvious that even his teammates would be seething.

Kang So-gu made a decision.

He decided to use this opportunity to put down that young punk who was acting up because he was too confident in his skills.

Kang So-gu jumped to his feet and threw his helmet aside.

He started hobbling towards the mound. Perhaps because he couldn’t put as much weight on his leg as he thought, he wasn’t gaining much speed.

The corners of Choi Su-won’s mouth tilted upward as he stood on the mound, watching him intently.

‘Is that punk smiling?’

Traditionally, a Korean bench-clearing brawl involves facing each other, raising your voice, and trying to intimidate your opponent. But honestly, at this point, punching him would be guilt-free.

Kang So-gu clenched his fist.

Of course, his height was only 178 centimeters [approximately 5’10”], and Choi Su-won on the mound was over 190 [approximately 6’3″], so he would have to swing his fist a little higher. And he probably wouldn’t win in a straight-up fight. But the authority of a senior player in this world, the throbbing pain in his thigh, and the strong support of the Elitz players following him erased his fear.

With the heart of a seasoned player.

The very moment Kang So-gu, hobbling, raised his clenched fist.

-BANG!!!!

A red-faced, bearded giant.

The 194cm [approximately 6’4″], 110kg [approximately 242 lbs] behemoth from America charged like a dump truck and collided with Kang So-gu’s body.

And Kang So-gu’s body soared into the air.

That was not an exaggeration.

“@%@#E$^%@#$%!!!!”

Even Choi Su-won, who had been preparing a counter with a relaxed posture, looked flustered.

‘Is this right?’ The Elitz players, who had been following Kang So-gu to the mound, also hesitated and stopped walking. What they had imagined was a KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] bench-clearing brawl with some semblance of etiquette and manners.

Basically, the Elitz and the Marines were considered brother teams with a decent relationship, united by the El Clasico alliance [a friendly rivalry]. Surely, they could have just had a conversation along the lines of, ‘The rookie was too cocky. Let’s not do that again.’ That’s probably why they let the hit by pitch in the first game slide without much reaction.

But reality was far different from what they had imagined.

The 194cm dump truck ambushed two of the Elitz players who were running out in front.

Baseball players are generally larger than average people. It’s not just about height. Even people who dismiss baseball as a leisurely pastime are surprised by the sheer size of the players when they see them up close and realize their builds are different. And now, those players with different builds were being dragged away powerlessly.

Spring in Sajik.

And so, the Elitz players scattered like cherry blossoms in the wind.

***

[Ah, yes. We apologize to the viewers. There was a brief disturbance on the field.]

[This is… Well… Bench-clearing brawls are certainly a part of baseball, but this kind of violent situation is not good for the development of professional baseball. Many young fans have come to see the game. The players need to be more restrained.]

[The field is being cleared now. The umpires seem to be discussing this bench-clearing brawl.]

“Those damn bastards. I should have beaten them up even more.”

“Whoa, whoa, Dilton, calm down. You’ve already beaten them up enough. If you beat them up any more than that, it’ll be attempted murder.”

“Damn bastards. Okay, let’s say the hit by pitch in the first game was accidental. But a bench-clearing brawl for a legitimate retaliatory pitch? Where did they learn to play baseball? Tsk…”

Honestly, I was surprised.

Of course, Dilton is a bit big and thick, as befits a pitcher. But I didn’t know he could fight that well. He was grabbing people and throwing them down, and the Elitz guys were getting scared and slowly backing away. Our players had to restrain Dilton and calm him down.

“I did wrestling along with baseball until middle school. I even went to the national competition as a representative of the state back then. I lost in the first round, though. Well, anyway, thanks to that, I realized the limits of my talent early on and was able to focus on baseball. Besides, wrestling was also being removed from the Olympics. But later, the guy who made me feel that wall won a gold medal in Paris. If I had known in advance, I would have just kept doing wrestling.”

“Well, judging by what I see, it’s not too late to switch to UFC, is it?”

[Ah, that’s a relief. Neither team has been ejected yet.]

[There will probably be disciplinary action after the game, but no ejections for today’s game.]

If Kang So-gu had thrown a punch, and I had thrown a counter-punch, we might have been ejected together, but Dilton tackled him and knocked him away, so there were no ejections. If I had been ejected, I would have set a record in history as the pitcher who threw a beanball with his first pitch in his debut game and was ejected, so it was a relief.

“Anyway, Dilton, thanks.”

“No need to thank me. It’s something a teammate should do.”

“Let’s have a meal together after the game.”

“Sounds good. With Hamin and Yujin too?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll treat you to celebrate the victory.”

“You’re already celebrating the victory after throwing one pitch, hitting a batter, and sending him to first base? Isn’t that a bit premature?”

“Well? Do you think so?”

“Tsk, you’re a rookie, but you don’t have any cute charm. I still felt different about my first time on the mound as a pro. Ah… well, I guess it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way since you’ve already played as a hitter?”

“First time on the mound as a pro?”

I grabbed my glove and headed back to the mound.

The weather had been cloudy when the game started around 2 p.m., but in just a few minutes, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. It looked like the sunlight was shining directly down on the mound.

Well, it was quite a dramatic scene.

Honestly, until a little while ago, my head had been consumed with the thought of throwing a beanball, so I hadn’t had time to appreciate the significance of my first time on the mound as a pro.

So, how do I feel now?

Honestly, I don’t know.

-Wowwwwwww!!!

Amid the roaring cheers, I patted the rosin bag on the mound a couple of times. And Han Gyo-cheol, who was wearing the catcher’s mask today, handed me the ball.

Like Dilton said, I tried to look at the ball and soak in the emotion of my first time on the mound as a pro, but well?

Is it because I already threw a beanball? Or is it because the core of me is a thirty-four-year-old veteran who has played in the pros for 15 years? No matter how much I try to embrace the moment, I honestly don’t feel anything.

A few practice pitches.

Top of the 1st inning.

No outs, runner on 1st.

The game resumed.

I studied the expression and posture of the Elitz batter.

Usually, after a proper bench-clearing brawl like this, the players react in one of two ways. Either they’re fired up with fighting spirit, or they become intimidated and shrink back.

And the batter who stepped up to the plate now was definitely the latter.

Then the answer is a deep inside pitch.

If it hits him, I can’t help it. Get hit and take your base, it’s just part of the game.

-Ppeong!!! [Sound of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt]

The batter flinched and took a step back.

“Strike!!!”

The number 156.1 [km/h, approximately 97 mph] was clearly displayed on the scoreboard.

[Wow, this must be really intimidating for the batters? Choi Su-won is definitely seeing the effect of throwing a beanball with his first pitch. Honestly, even the most fearless batter has to flinch when a 158 km/h [approximately 98 mph] ball comes flying towards their body. This makes it impossible for the batter to stand close to home plate.]

-Ppeong!!!

“Strike!!!”

[Now, as I’m saying that!! A fastball of 154.4 km/h [approximately 96 mph]!! Strike!!]

[See? As I said, if they back away from the plate like that, they’re bound to be vulnerable to outside pitches. But it’s really amazing. Choi Su-won. He’s a real monster. In fact, there aren’t many pitchers who can accurately locate the ball inside and outside. But this is being done by a pitcher who is debuting today. And he’s throwing fastballs around 155 km/h [approximately 96 mph].]

[Now, ball count 0-2, Choi Su-won. The third pitch!!]

One more strike until a strikeout.

Urgency flickered in the batter’s eyes.

Then the answer is obvious.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

A 121 km/h [approximately 75 mph] slow curveball.

The first out of his debut was a three-pitch strikeout.