The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 148

The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well – Episode 148 (148/404)

148. Are the Marines Really a Strong Team Now? (1)

No-hitter, no-run.

The 16th in KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] history. The first local pitcher in 26 years. The second rookie, and the second in Marines history.

As a hitter, I already knew that Choi Soo-won was an unsolvable monster. I know that Baek Ha-min himself allowed the most home runs to Choi Soo-won in high school baseball two years ago, so how could I not know that?

But as a pitcher?

Well······.

Although Choi Soo-won was in the 3rd starting position, Baek Ha-min didn’t think he was inferior to him as a pitcher. And that would probably be the same for Choi Min-hyuk, who is in the 5th starting position.

Pride as a pitcher?

Well······.

Okay, if you only consider the potential, Choi Soo-won, who is bigger, taller, and even faster, might be considered superior. But can that potential really bloom as you please?

In fact, before the last no-hit game, Choi Soo-won had given up 3 runs in 11 innings over two games. Baek Ha-min himself had given up 3 runs in 12 innings over two games, so there wasn’t much difference.

In addition, there was a decisive difference between the two. Pitcher Choi Soo-won has a reliable teammate, hitter Choi Soo-won, but Baek Ha-min doesn’t have a teammate who can score so easily. The pitcher’s peace of mind is bound to be different whether they have run support or not.

But in the first game against the Braves last time.

Baek Ha-min, who was sitting in the dugout watching the game, couldn’t help but be surprised. It was like he had shed a layer of skin.

What’s the reason? Is it because the speed went up a little? I didn’t think so. Then was he in incredibly good condition?

After the game, I asked Choi Soo-won directly.

“Ah······, just······. How should I put it······. My ball is much better than I thought.”

“Huh?”

“No, I mean, when I was hitting the ball thrown by the Braves’ starter today, I thought······. How should I put it? I didn’t think there was anything special about it.”

“Nothing special?”

It was a ridiculous story.

To say that there is nothing special about the ball of the league’s ace pitcher who is about to advance to the major leagues. If someone else had said that, I might have retorted that they were blind. But for some reason, I thought this guy might have really felt that way.

“Yeah, well, his fastball command is a little better than mine, and his slider is a little better, but honestly, I think my ball is better in terms of power······. Anyway, is this the highest level of fastball in the professional league? If I can just overpower it with speed and power, I won’t have any trouble with fastballs, right? That’s what I thought. But after thinking that way, I thought, ‘Oh? But then my fastball isn’t that much worse than this, so I can just overpower it with speed and power······.”

“You just did it?”

“Yes. I did it with the feeling of ‘Hit it if you can.’ And it worked surprisingly well.”

“You weren’t in particularly good condition today or anything?”

“Hey, my condition was better in the second game last time. I played as a hitter for three days, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then came up to Seoul again. It’s just that······. I’m a much better pitcher than I thought. So, if I had to put the secret to today’s no-hitter into words······.”

Mind.

Baek Ha-min chuckled.

No, it’s not like a shonen manga [Japanese manga/anime targeting young boys], it’s the mind.

The mound is 10 inches higher than the surroundings.

Since when did I start standing here without that ‘mind’?

At least two years ago.

At the time of the Cheongryonggi [National High School Baseball Championship] final two years ago, when he defeated Choi Soo-won and won the championship, Baek Ha-min must have had that ‘mind’.

Gocheok Dome was full again this time.

Is it because the rumors about yesterday’s game spread?

Or maybe it’s just because it’s Saturday.

Choi Soo-won was sprawled out in the dugout, looking quite listless, as if to prove that he had burned himself out yesterday.

In fact, in the past games, it was quite reassuring just to have Choi Soo-won the hitter waiting in the dugout. Although the day after starting is designated as a rest day, it was always possible to have a pinch hitter at least once, like in Baek Ha-min’s first start last time.

But today, that would be completely impossible.

Baek Ha-min’s shining eyes turned to Han Gyo-cheol’s mitt.

What should a pitcher on the mound believe in?

His own efforts that he has built up so far.

The dazzling talent that made those efforts possible.

And thus, the current self that he has created.

The important thing is an unwavering mind.

The young man, who had somehow lost the ability to shine on his own, threw his ball like that.

[Young pitchers’ progress!! Marines’ Baek Ha-min pitches well with 2 runs in 7.1 innings!!]

[Han Myung-hoon brings in two runners in the bottom of the 7th inning!!]

[Baek Ha-min’s overflowing fighting spirit!! ‘I don’t want to blame anyone. I’m just upset that I couldn’t throw to the end.’]

[Consecutive poor performances. Only nine runners left on base in the third game against the Braves!! The problem is the composition of the lineup!!]

[Marines, disappointing losing series.]

[What is the problem with the Marines!! The bullpen faltered despite sufficient rest!!]

“Wow······. Is this real? The team that won 11-0 in the first game scored a combined 3 points in two games?”

“No, what. The lineup is······ without Choi Soo-won. If it wasn’t for Noh Hyung-wook’s home run, it’s really depressing that we would have scored a combined 1 point in two games. Can’t this team score without a home run?”

“Hey, Choi Soo-won has 12 home runs now, but he has 23 RBIs [Runs Batted In]. The first game was a little strange, and it’s just a return to normal.”

“So, even if all the RBIs came ‘only’ from home runs, there should be at least one solo home run, right? But as I recall, our Soo-won also had a bases-clearing hit with 3 RBIs, right?”

“Uh······. Half of the home runs are solo home runs······.”

“Wow, wouldn’t it be understandable even if Soo-won gathered the Marines hitters and beat them with a bat?”

“I agree. Ah, but let’s exclude Hyung-wook. He can be sent to the PX [Post Exchange, a store on a military base].”

“Oh, Hyung-wook is 인정 [recognized/acknowledged – slang].”

Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

The two young men who came all the way to Seoul to watch all of the Marines’ away games kept grumbling. Wouldn’t it have been better if the last game was Choi Soo-won’s game? Because they watched the first game with expectations, they only watched frustrating consecutive losses.

“Hey, but our starters were pretty good, right?”

“They’re worth a combined 1.9 billion [Korean Won]. It’s 100 million short of Soo-won’s price, but they have to do as much as Soo-won combined.”

“No, really, Ha-min blocked really well until the 7th inning. It was a bit much to have consecutive walks after getting one out in the 7th inning, but that’s because Dae-cheol was trying to get Ha-min to complete the shutout after Soo-won got high in the first game, and if he had normally thrown 7 innings and come down, it would have been 3 runs in 19 innings in 3 games. That’s a record that’s no less impressive than a foreign pitcher.”

“Where’s the ‘what if’ in baseball? It’s just 5 runs in 19.1 innings.”

“But even so, his ERA [Earned Run Average] is 2.33. Wow, now that I say it, Soo-won’s record is amazing again······. He has an ERA of 0.9 because he has 2 earned runs in 20 innings.”

But even though the team they were cheering for recorded a losing series with two consecutive losses, their faces were full of hope.

“You have to do that much to get a WAR [Wins Above Replacement] of 3.9 in just 15 games of the season.”

“Wow······. Then, when converted to 144 games, is the WAR about 35? The Dolphins, who won last year, were 34 games ahead of us······.”

“So, arithmetically, if Soo-won had been there last year, we would have won?”

“Uh······. What? Is the sabermetrics wrong? How can it be calculated that 8th place wins with just one player?”

“I know······. Wow, but what’s even more terrifying to me is that based on last year, a starter who eats an average of 7 innings with an ERA of 0.9 has to hit about 115 home runs to barely win by one game?”

It is so unrealistic that the fact that a superman who makes stories that sound like jokes a reality exists on the team they are cheering for.

And that ‘possibility’ is visible.

The Marines fans were already happy enough.

“Soo-won has to work hard. We still have to hit 103 more home runs to win.”

***

Sajik Stadium on a Monday without a game.

A face I haven’t seen in a long time was waiting for us.

“Oh, Choi Jin-woong. Is your body completely okay now?”

“Haha, yes. I’m completely healthy now. I’m even stronger.”

“Really? They say that bones get stronger after they’re broken once. Is that the case there too?”

While Lee Jeong-hoon was spouting nonsense again, I approached him and greeted him.

“Senior. I should have visited you more often. Are you okay?”

“Huh? Uh. Of course. I’m okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no. You don’t have to be sorry. It’s my fault for not catching the falling ball properly. I watched all the games while rehabilitating. Especially the last game. Wow······. You were really amazing, weren’t you? Honestly, I’m a little jealous of that guy who’s catching the ball there.”

Choi Jin-woong’s gaze turned to Jjou.

The front office was quite worried about whether to send down Jjou or Han Gyo-cheol, but in the end, they chose to send down Han Gyo-cheol.

Honestly, I thought it was an obvious choice without any worries since Choi Jin-woong’s defense was a bit lacking, but it seemed that the front office didn’t think of Choi Jin-woong as a long-term first option. Well, they’re trying to raise a catcher who can do both offense and defense.

Well······. Is it possible?

“I’ll have to make a better record with you soon, senior.”

“A better record? Then am I getting a Rolex? Are you sure? You’ve just started making money?”

“Haha, don’t worry. If it’s a perfect game, Rolex won’t be a problem. It’s the first in Korean professional league.”

“Alright!! Then shall we receive a ball from the future perfect pitcher for the first time in a long time? When I saw it on video, it looked like the ball got better. Today is the perfect bullpen pitching routine, right? I haven’t received your ball directly, but I’ve done a lot of image training in the meantime. You can look forward to it.”

“Ah, yes.”

Choi Jin-woong eagerly stepped up to receive my ball.

I slowly threw a few fastballs to warm up.

-Ppeoeong!!! [Sound of a fastball hitting the mitt]

“Oh, good. Good.”

Choi Jin-woong gave a thumbs up.

“Senior. I’m going to throw a curveball.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to throw a fast curve first.”

A curve with a slightly lower angle but a fast speed. Choi Jin-woong caught the ball without difficulty.

And he caught the following slow curve without any problems. He was a bit weak in blocking and stealing, but his ball-catching skills were better than Han Gyo-cheol’s.

“Live pitching?”

“Are you okay with that?”

“What’s wrong with a catcher?”

I nodded at Choi Jin-woong’s suggestion to set up a hitter and exchange balls in earnest.

“Raon. Can you help me?”

“I’d love to.”

“Oh, really.”

Kang Ra-on, Choi Jin-woong’s classmate, who was watching from the side, picked up a bat and stood at the plate.

“First, I’ll go with a light fastball.”

“Okay.”

His batting average has been a bit bad lately, but Kang Ra-on was originally a hitter who led the team’s lineup along with Noh Hyung-wook.

So, seriously, without overdoing it.