The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 163

163. Flawless Inning (1)

Momentum is crucial in baseball, or any sport for that matter.

For the Marlins, securing a winning series against the Dolphins for the first time in 2 years and 7 months also means the Dolphins have confirmed a losing series against the Marlins for the first time in 2 years and 7 months. Moreover, in terms of consecutive losses, the Dolphins hadn’t suffered any since being swept in the early part of the 2023 season.

A losing streak against the Marlins after 4 years.

A strange silence hung over the Dolphins’ locker room.

“······.”

Even those who were usually noisy couldn’t bring themselves to chatter lively. Yet, it wasn’t exactly a gloomy atmosphere.

If I had to explain it, it was closer to the calm before the storm.

The Dolphins had consistently advanced to the post-season since 2020 and had been the top team in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] for the past 4 years. Most of the players knew exactly what it took to win.

A sweep was out of the question.

Especially a sweep by a team they had consistently dominated for the past few years.

“Let’s go.”

Captain Park Ju-won’s weighty words roused the players.

The third game against the Marlins.

Their opponent was Choi Soo-won, the KBO’s greatest genius.

***

From the 2023 season to the 2026 season, the Dolphins and Marlins had a record of 12 wins, 51 losses, and 1 draw in 64 games. Of course, the Dolphins were championship contenders who even won the 통합 [integrated] championship during that period, and the Marlins consistently had poor results, but it was still a dismal record.

But was this purely a difference in skill?

“Of course, it’s a skill difference. The Marlins’ winning percentage over the past 4 seasons is only in the early to mid 30% range.”

“No, even so, how can it be only 23%? That’s almost a 10% difference.”

“The Dolphins’ winning percentage over the past 4 years is over 60%, so if you consider that, it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Of course, it could be as someone said.

But others might say this:

“The cause and effect are reversed. Well, even if that’s not the case, it should be seen as a mixed situation. The Dolphins’ 60% winning percentage is thanks to their winning streak against the Marlins, and the Marlins’ 23% winning percentage is because they were completely dominated by the Dolphins.”

“I see. But the Dolphins weren’t the only team the Marlins were overwhelmingly weaker against, were they?”

“······.”

······.

***

I woke up with a start in the morning.

The fact that I didn’t want to laze around in bed meant my condition wasn’t the worst.

I got out of bed and stretched.

My body felt light.

“Ah······. This doesn’t bode well.”

Strangely, this season, on days when my condition was really good, my performance was a bit poor, and on days when my condition was normal, my performance was decent. I even pitched a no-hitter on a day when I was a bit tired and my condition wasn’t great.

If that happens for about six games, it becomes a jinx.

You might say that’s a stupid thought, but when you’re an athlete, you can’t help but believe in jinxes. Of course, when I was playing in the big leagues, there was a pitcher who would spew venom, saying that only idiots who didn’t study properly in school believed in that kind of thing, but even he always stepped onto the mound with his left foot first in his later years.

Anyway, I felt good, but I had a nagging feeling.

I couldn’t quite remember how I moved in the morning when I pitched the no-hitter because I was too tired, so I didn’t completely follow that routine. I just moved as I remembered.

First, I ate a hearty breakfast before showering. It seemed like eating braised short ribs had become a routine on the day of a starting appearance, so I had it pre-packaged and asked the hotel to prepare it.

I finished everything in order, from showering to the pre-pitching meeting and warm-up exercises, and boarded the bus to the stadium.

-Thwack!!!

“Wow, good ball!!”

Damn it.

As expected, my ball was good because my condition was good.

Jjoyou gave me a thumbs up. We’ve been together for so long that I can kind of tell the difference between when his thumb comes up to make me feel good and when he’s genuinely impressed, and this time it seems like he’s really impressed.

After finishing my practice throws, I went to the batting practice area with Jjoyou.

Actually, I was supposed to sit alone at this time, chewing on solitude and doing image training. But today my ball was too good, and I began to suspect that the start of the disaster might be those fielders. And in that sense, I couldn’t resist the curiosity to check their condition with my own eyes.

-Clang!!!

Gyu-man Senior is always good at practice batting.

His problem is his feet, not his batting.

Overall, none of them seemed to be in bad condition. Kang Ra-on felt like he was overdoing it yesterday, so I was a bit worried, but rather than overdoing it, it felt like he had finally unleashed the black dragon in his left arm and was flying around today.

“Oh? What’s up? You’re starting today, but you came to practice batting too?”

“No, I’m just trying to get some energy.”

“Aren’t you being too greedy? You just need to pitch well, why are you trying to hit a home run too? Ah, come to think of it, you’re only 1 home run behind Kang-ho Senior now, right? Why? Are you worried about that?”

“Oh, really? That senior has been hitting hard while I was resting. But the difference will only widen by the end of this series, so I’m not too worried.”

“Geez, your arrogance is the best. Anyway, leave the scoring to us today and go do your image training as usual. Hyung-wook Senior bought short ribs again yesterday, so everyone’s in great condition.”

“What? All the fielders except me had another short rib dinner?”

“Jjoyou packed yours separately, so go home after the game and grill it on Sunday. He’s being considerate because you’re pitching today.”

It wasn’t a big deal, but I almost felt a bit sad for a moment, but I felt better again when he said he had packed it separately. It wasn’t just about the free ribs, but more like the feeling of being invited to the class unity event in middle school, but I was the only one who couldn’t get invited. By the way, it was because of the baseball team’s schedule, not because I was an outcast.

Anyway, after checking all the players with my own eyes, I felt more uneasy than relieved that everything was too good. There’s no way the Marlins can all be good······. Is this foreshadowing Kim Cheom-ji’s ending on a lucky day? [Reference to a Korean folktale about a man whose good fortune leads to his demise.]

No, no.

Let’s not have bad thoughts.

I imagined myself standing on the mound with my arms raised high, with the scoreboard behind me completely covered in zeros at the last moment.

A clear image was drawn in my head.

Hmm······.

But it’s clearly drawn, but why is the background Yankee Stadium instead of Korea?

Anyway, top of the 1st inning.

Lee Jung-hoon, who came out as the lead-off hitter today, winked at me and confidently grabbed his bat and went to the plate.

-Whoosh!!!

And a magnificent swing and miss strikeout on the 7th pitch.

“Did you see that? This is all the heart of a senior trying to show the opponent pitcher’s ball as much as possible as the 1st batter.”

“It would have been better if the end of that heart was getting on base, but it’s a bit disappointing.”

“······.”

And the second.

Kang Ra-on.

-Clang!!!

A clean first pitch hit.

Even a clean long hit that landed safely on 2nd base.

Of course, that long hit didn’t mean much.

-Thwack!!!

A walk on the 6th pitch, high inside course.

He glanced at the pitcher on the mound and went to 1st base.

“Sigh······. If you keep doing this, I feel like the ball will slip out of my hand today······.”

“Hey, man. It’s just a bad pitch, a bad pitch.”

“No, I mean, I feel like I’m going to throw a bad pitch too. A bad pitch. A bad pitch because I’m scared and my hand is losing strength.”

“Hey, that’s······.”

Baek Kang-ho talked for a long time about how bad the pitcher’s control was today.

“No, if his control is that bad, he shouldn’t throw inside balls. If he’s going to walk him anyway, wouldn’t it be better to just throw outside?”

“Okay, okay, so let’s please go gentlemanly.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“No, don’t just think about it.”

-Clang!!!

Noh Hyung-wook’s cool hit followed.

The ball stretched out. Kang Ra-on on 2nd base to home. And I ran like crazy past 2nd base to 3rd base.

“Safe!!!”

Whew······.

I got up and brushed the dirt off my butt.

The 3rd base coach, who made me do a brain fart run, approached me and brushed off the parts that my hands couldn’t reach and spoke to me.

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard? It’s okay to run a little leisurely on a day like today.”

“One out, runner on 2nd and 3rd is different. It’s also a bit different to throw with 1 point on your back and 2 points on your back.”

“Okay, anyway, don’t push yourself too hard. Refrain from sliding if possible.”

“Yes.”

And my run was rewarded.

Honestly, if it were our team before, a clean double play or a strikeout followed by an infield ground ball would have been the standard story.

But surprisingly, Gyu-man Senior hit an ‘outfield sacrifice fly’ here.

1 additional point.

Already 2:0

The start was good.

I returned to the dugout to prepare to go up to the mound.

It was an appropriate preparation.

Seo Kyung-joon cleanly retreated with an infield ground ball.

“Let’s go.”

I grabbed my glove and ball and headed to the mound.

Jjoyou, wearing a catcher’s mask, took his position beyond home plate.

-Thwack!!

Three practice balls.

That was enough to get my bearings.

Dolphins’ 1st batter, Kang Il-jin, came to the plate. He’s a good hitter. He’s basically an infielder, but he can also fill in as an outfielder, and his stats last year were 0.313/0.404/0.398, making him one of only 13 3-割 [30%] hitters in the league. He’s even twenty-three years old. There’s a high probability that he’ll be on my military exemption bus at the LA Olympics next year or the Doha Asian Games in 3 years.

So, with the feeling of paying back the gratitude in advance, I hope he quietly retreats with a 폭풍 [violent] strikeout today.

First ball.

A fastball that barely catches the high inside course.

Kang Il-jin swung his bat.

-Clang!!!

A high-flying ball.

But it was just high. Instead of flying forward, the ball soared high behind him. Jjoyou threw off his mask and jumped up from his seat to chase the ball.

“Out!!!”

It was a bit close, but the fact that it was so close was thanks to Jjoyou’s great athleticism. If it were an ordinary catcher, he would have just 어버버 [stumbled] and it would have ended in a foul.

One out count with one ball.

It was a good start.

Zack Hamilton came to the plate.

He’s a foreign hitter who’s rumored to be good at hitting fastballs.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!”

Ah, of course, fastballs here are fastballs at the KBO level.

A 159.4km/h fastball cleanly split the home plate.

And the second.

A nice quick curve.

-Clang!!!

Zack Hamilton’s bat tapped the top of the ball. A ball that hit the ground and soared high. I quickly recovered my posture after pitching.

And in the meantime, Zack Hamilton ran quickly towards 1st base.

But I was a little faster.

I caught the bouncing ball with my glove and lightly flicked my wrist. It’s something that infielders who are good at fielding often do, but again, even though I was judged to be 폐급 [a failure] based on MLB standards, I was a very good first baseman based on KBO standards.

-Thwack!!!

“Out!!!”

A clean two outs.

And now I’m only one home run behind.

The league’s second-leading hitter.

3rd batter Baek Kang-ho came to the plate.

For the record, his home runs will not increase today.

-Clang!!!!

“Huh?”

Lee Joo-hyuk ran.