The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 144

Fastball (6)

7th Inning, Top.

Choi Soo-won stepped up to the plate as the lead batter.

The Braves’ new pitcher was Kang Hee-chan. A thirty-five-year-old veteran who had seen his best days earlier in his career, he was released last year, but the Braves picked him up for an annual salary of 70 million, considering him quite a steal.

‘Hoo…’

He had faced Lee Gyu-man in his prime several times back in his younger days.

Now, Lee Gyu-man was just a player who often hit into double plays or grounded out to the right fielder, but just 10 years ago, he was truly untouchable. Many wondered why he didn’t go to Major League Baseball and instead stayed in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] to torment the pitchers. That’s how highly he was regarded.

However, if you were to ask which was more nerve-wracking, facing Lee Gyu-man back then or facing Choi Soo-won now, it would definitely be now. Back then, he still had the youthful optimism of thinking he could be the main character, but now he only had the middle-aged realism of knowing that wasn’t the case.

He wasn’t aiming for a strikeout.

Just to make things as difficult as possible.

With a generous heart, he was okay with giving up a walk.

He just aimed for the corners of the strike zone as much as possible and threw the ball.

Even in his prime, the fastest he ever threw was 147km/h [approximately 91 mph], so he wasn’t exactly a fastball pitcher. If you only look at the season’s average speed, his best record was in the 142km/h [approximately 88 mph] range. Currently, if he gritted his teeth and threw, it was about 144km/h [approximately 89 mph]. Even that was only possible because he was a bullpen pitcher who came in and threw for one inning.

Instead, he had increased his repertoire of crafty pitches. He had five pitches that were decent enough to use.

Of course, he didn’t have a single decisive pitch that could guarantee a strikeout.

But that was okay.

The 16 years had taught him that the probability of a batted ball becoming a hit was not more than 50%, and that the pitcher’s ability to induce a ground ball, rather than a hit, accounted for 30% of the outcome.

A cutter at a solid 135km/h [approximately 84 mph].

-Clang!!!

Choi Soo-won swung his bat, making a crisp sound.

“Ah…”

Originally, he was trying to throw the ball just outside the zone, but it didn’t go out far enough, only about 3/4 of the way, and Choi Soo-won pulled it like that?

Wow… But it’s flying straight to the outfield again?

So he just smiled.

They say the best people smile when things are tough. Anyway, that cocky future major leaguer, the school bully, already got hit for two home runs, so what’s the big deal if a 70 million pitcher gets hit for one home run?

The Braves’ left fielder ran.

No, actually, he didn’t run that much. After all, he was already positioned quite close to the fence with a backward defensive stance.

The warning track right in front of the fence.

He stretched out his arm.

[Fly ball out in front of the fence!! Choi Soo-won’s hit was caught right before the fence.]

[It was a ball that looked like it was going out, and Choi Soo-won often hits that pitch over the fence. But Kang Hee-chan seemed to be smiling the moment he got hit. I wonder if he was aiming for an outfield fly ball.]

[Ah, so you’re saying that he judged that a bat would come out on a ball that far outside, and he intentionally threw it there? Is that what you’re saying?]

[Yes, it seems that Kang Hee-chan did a lot of research on Choi Soo-won before coming out.]

Hee-chan thought.

I almost died.

I thought it was going over for sure.

Well, it’s already the top of the 7th. Four at-bats as a hitter. Six innings as a pitcher. It’s about time the strength in his grip loosened a bit.

Ah… But wait a minute. Something’s a little strange. But I don’t know what it is…

Choi Soo-won returned to the dugout with a slightly disappointed expression.

The score is still 7:0.

And Kang Hee-chan wasn’t the only one who felt that strangeness.

“Hey, but if Choi Soo-won is still pitching in this at-bat, does that mean there won’t be a pitching change?”

“Well… Isn’t it about time he came out after 6 innings? He usually pitches 5.1 innings, 5.2 innings. He’s a rookie, so they have to manage his pitch count. Looking at his hit just now, it seems like his strength is a bit low? Besides, they didn’t take the pitcher down in the last game and put him in as an outfielder until the end of the game. I wonder if it’ll be like that today too?”

“Is that so? But something feels a bit off…”

Today, thanks to sitting in a terrible obstructed view seat, I had to stretch my neck all the way to see the batter’s box, and even if I stuck to the right, it blocked about half of the mound, but instead, one of the outfield scoreboards was very clear and easy to see.

“Oh… Hey, wait a minute… What was H again?”

“H? Why H all of a sudden?”

“No, there’s an H on the scoreboard.”

“That’s obviously Hit. A hit. How many years have you been watching baseball and you still don’t know that?”

“Right? H means hit, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

R H E

7 8 0

0 0 1

Oh…?

Wait a minute… The Braves still have 0 hits?

So now…

“No hit…”

“You crazy bastard!! Shhh!! You’ll jinx it.”

“Ah…”

Good heavens.

I was so busy admiring the overwhelming home run show that I forgot. That the guy who hit two home runs today was also continuing his very spirited pitching on the mound. And that the result of that spirited pitching was leading to a no-hitter in the 6th inning.

7th Inning, Top.

Kang Hee-chan barely finished the inning without giving up a run while sweating profusely.

And Choi Soo-won went up to the mound again.

***

6 innings no-hit.

Of course, it’s AA league [the second highest level of Minor League Baseball].

But even if it’s AA league, no, precisely because it’s AA league, it’s surprising that a mere nineteen-year-old boy is showing ace-level pitching right away without even adapting from the lower league.

The way he looks at the plate is so overwhelming that his pitching is actually being overshadowed.

Kim Jin-gyu also forgot his duty to scout the players until Choi Soo-won flew out to the outfield in the previous at-bat, and just watched the game with a thrilling heart, wondering how far he could swing his bat.

But looking at it coldly, a high school graduate who was just drafted is showing this much pitching in AA? Being able to look at it coldly is crazy.

The birth of a future Cy Young [award given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball].

The discovery of a Hall of Fame-level pitcher.

A talent who will lead the team for the next 10 years.

All sorts of modifiers are being attached to him.

‘No. No. But KBO is pitcher-friendly…’

Yes, based on last year, the KBO league is a league where the league’s average ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] is 0.4 points lower than the Eastern League, which is famous for being pitcher-friendly. But what if a 19-year-old pitcher who just graduated from high school in the Eastern League is pitching 6 innings no-hit in three games?

“A pitching prospect who will lead the team for the next 10 years?”

Kim Jin-gyu shook his head several times from side to side and carefully reviewed today’s game again.

How was Choi Soo-won’s pitching today?

He couldn’t watch all of Choi Soo-won’s games in person, but at least he went to the field to watch the last two games he pitched.

That’s why he knew.

That Choi Soo-won’s pitching today was a slightly different form than before.

The number of pitches so far from the time he went to the mound in the bottom of the 7th is only 76.

When he pitched 5.1 innings and 5.2 innings in the last two games, the number of pitches was close to 90 each. In fact, even that is not a particularly large number of pitches. But he pitched 0.1 innings more, but the number of pitches is 14 less?

If you simply look at it arithmetically, even if you throw all the remaining 3 innings, the number of pitches is 114.

‘No, no. Still, 114 pitches for a nineteen-year-old prospect…’

Since the 2010s, teams in Major League Baseball have stopped considering complete games and shutouts as virtues of starting pitchers.

Of course, he’s in the middle of a no-hitter right now. It’s definitely a great record. But records are important, but the future of such a player is even more important. Even in this minor game…

‘Wait a minute, but this isn’t the minor league, is it?’

***

It was a shame.

I thought it would go over, but I was a little short on strength at the end.

In fact, the first thing that drops when you pitch is grip strength. But this grip strength is also very important in batting.

The ball I hit in the previous at-bat was not really a perfect hit. It was a ball that was going out, and thanks to that, there was a considerable vibration in my right hand. At this time, it is very important to pull the ball to the end, but the fact that the strength in my grip was weakened because I had been throwing the ball right before was a bit of a problem.

I clenched and unclenched my right hand several times.

The good thing is that it wasn’t that our hitter was earning two out counts at the speed of lightning after I finished my at-bat. Still, I competed fiercely and the inning ended with runners left on second base.

About 6 minutes? 7 minutes? I wanted to rest a little more, but anyway, I rested.

Jo Yu-jin, wearing a catcher’s mask, handed me the ball.

I threw three fastballs lightly.

Although I rested for a few minutes, my senses were still keenly alive.

The number one hitter walked out of the Braves’ dugout with a bat in his hand.

It was already his third at-bat. Anyway, he is the number one hitter of a professional team. He is also the lead hitter of a team that is constantly aiming for fall baseball [playoffs]. He will gradually get used to my ball to some extent.

Should I change the pitching pattern a bit?

Jo Yu-jin shook his head.

And he raised one thumb, hit his mitt with a bang, and stretched it out.

Certainly, that guy feels completely different depending on whether he has a bat or a mitt in his hand. He is such an unreliable guy when he has a bat, but he is very reliable when he has a mitt in his hand.

Even his face looks handsome because he is wearing a catcher’s mask. I should recommend him to go out like that when he goes on a blind date later.

Okay.

Let’s not think complicatedly. My ball is pretty good. Didn’t our school bully Jo Chang-hyeok show it earlier? That a pitcher who throws about 99 miles just needs to empty his head and throw it with a bang. Of course, he was hit for two home runs and sank, but that’s because the opponent is me, a major league MVP-level hitter, and at the KBO level, that’s enough to reign as a league ace-level pitcher.

Besides, he’s just a 99-mile pitcher, and I’m a 100-mile pitcher. Ah, strictly speaking, I was still 0.9km/h short of 161km/h [approximately 100 mph], so I wasn’t a 100-mile pitcher, but…

I shook my head several times to shake off my thoughts.

I grabbed the ball tightly and swung my arm as it was perfectly embedded in my body.

Ah, but the ball slipped out of my hand for a moment.

A fastball of 156.1km/h [approximately 97 mph] that was heavily concentrated in the center.

The batter swung his bat.

-Clang!!!

A clean first pitch hit.

The course was good.

Is this a center hit?

Lee Joo-hyeok ran.

Today, like the comments on an article, he didn’t get 5 hits, 5 at-bats, and 5 home runs, but at least his running was like a zebra, no, a cheetah running through the Serengeti.

Bad hit judgment.

And overwhelming running power to cover it.

Clearly, Lee Joo-hyeok was a man who had the ability to show major league-level, no, even top-level defense in the major leagues, limited to balls falling forward, not balls flying over his head.

“Out!!”

I gave Lee Joo-hyeok a thumbs up.

He smiles awkwardly and returns to his seat.

Hmm…

After getting hit with a hit-like ball on the first pitch, I feel a little intimidated. And at that timing, Chan-min hyung [older brother/friend] came up with amazing timing. He is practically the most powerful hitter in the Braves.

-Bang bang

Jjo Yu gave a thumbs up, a V sign, and tapped his mitt this time.

Will it be okay?

Okay.

Let’s not think complicatedly. My ball is amazing. It’s really good. A 100-mile pitcher should just empty his head and throw it with a bang. Besides, Chan-min hyung clearly said that a 100-mile ball is not something that ordinary people can hit.

He said that even if it was before he got injured, it would be difficult for him to hit after his hamstring went out.

I drew out the power of my whole body.

-Gritting

I gritted my teeth.

It was literally a full-power pitch.

And so, a real fastball flew from my fingertips.

161.1km/h [approximately 100.1 mph]

The moment the 100-mile wall was broken.