The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 240

240. Korean Series (5)

As expected of Jo Chang-hyuk, his tenacity is undeniable.

I knew he would throw a proper, good ball on the same spot this time. Honestly, I would have done the same.

Of course, instead of getting hit with a home run like that, I would have *meotitge* [stylishly] induced a magnificent swing and miss.

I lightly circled the ground.

0:1

Not a bad start.

Lee Jung-hoon approached me as I returned to the dugout.

“Wow, Soo-won. You really surprised me.”

“Hey, don’t be surprised by something like this. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve suddenly hit a home run. Just because I took a few days off before stepping into the batter’s box doesn’t mean I can’t do it.”

“No, not that. I’m talking about Jo Chang-hyuk apologizing.”

“Ah, that? Well, it was a mistake. He seemed a bit flustered, though, didn’t he?”

“Hey, even if it was a mistake, there’s almost a 10-year difference in experience. Usually, a nod is enough to say thank you. How often does someone take off their hat? Especially Jo Chang-hyuk?”

That’s true. In the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], there was an incident where a batter who was hit by a beanball caused a bench-clearing because the pitcher didn’t make any gesture. It turned out the pitcher was a senior, not a junior, and the batter went to apologize to the pitcher the very next day.

“It’s not common, but honestly, a physique like that isn’t common either.”

“Physique? What do you mean…? Ah…”

Lee Jung-hoon turned his head, following my gaze, and nodded.

According to his profile, he’s clearly 194cm and 110kg.

But I secretly saw him on the weight scale in the stadium’s weight training room the other day, and he weighed 128kg.

He definitely didn’t fake his height and weight on his profile. He really was like that at the beginning of the season. He had the physique of an average pitcher. But he must have liked Korean food because he increased his food intake, and his muscles grew rapidly, making him even bigger.

What’s especially impressive is that he gained 18kg in 6 months, but there’s hardly any flab on his stomach. His arms and legs are thick, and his body and neck are so thick that he doesn’t look that tall from a distance, even though he’s 194cm.

Yeah, a natural-born wrestler. That’s Diltan we’re talking about.

“He must be scary.”

“I also think it’s really fortunate that Diltan is on our team.”

Jo Chang-hyuk may have been an easy target for me, but he was also a good pitcher. Again, in the original timeline, he advanced to the major leagues and, as long as he stayed healthy, he performed well enough to be considered a solid third starter by big club standards.

Actually, saying “solid third starter” might not sound that impressive. But considering that you need to be at least the 50th or 60th best pitcher out of the 30 major league teams to be called a solid third starter, it’s safe to say he’s about the same as the second foreign pitcher on a lower-ranked KBO team.

So, what I mean is.

-Bang!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

It’s not strange that he has the skill to strike out a batter like Noh Hyung-wook immediately after getting hit with an unexpected or expected home run.

“JaJa!! Fighting!!”

Yes, it clearly started as English. But now, “fighting,” which has become a Korean expression with no connection to its original meaning [meaning “cheer up” or “go for it”], was shouted very intensely by Diltan.

“I’ll be back.”

I didn’t have any fielding duties today. I watched as all the other players took their gloves and mitts and went out. My body was itching to play. But I’ll endure it. I experienced about 8 years ago how much my performance would drop if I didn’t endure this, so controlling this itch wasn’t that difficult.

I jumped up from my seat, leaned against the dugout fence, and tried to be with the players on the field as much as possible.

Diltan threw the ball.

It was pitching befitting a million-dollar ace.

At the beginning of the season, I had a conversation with Diltan after watching Jake Bohr, the starting pitcher for the Elitz, pitch.

“So, that’s a 1.7 million dollar ball, huh?”

“Yeah, last year’s Choi Dong-won Award winner [award for the best pitcher in the KBO]. Based on last year, he was the best pitcher in the KBO.”

“Doesn’t seem like much.”

“Well, I hope you can say something similar at the end of the year, Diltan. If so, you might get a lot more money from the Marines next year than you do now.”

And 7 months later.

During this 3-week conditioning training, Diltan said this to me.

“1.2 million dollars.”

“Huh?”

“If that guy was worth 1.7 million, then I was a 1.2 million dollar pitcher this season.”

“What? Why are you being so humble, Diltan?”

“It’s not humility, it’s just the truth. For reference, Swan, you’re at 730,000.”

“What, I’m only half of what you’re worth, Diltan? Isn’t that standard too weird? My ERA is still 2.93. Yours is 2.98.”

“You pitched 30 innings less than me. Besides, after playing a full season as a starter here, I understand why Jake Bohr gets 1.7 million dollars with that kind of ball.”

Diltan said this.

You don’t necessarily need to have a breaking ball that would work in the majors.

Rather, you need to minimize mistakes that wouldn’t even work in the KBO. And throughout the season, even if other players are playing on the KBO’s relaxed schedule, it’s good to have the stamina to play on an MLB-level schedule by yourself. In other words, S-class stamina and A-class pitching are more important than S-class pitching and A-class stamina.

“In that sense, Jake Bohr is better than me. How should I say it? It feels like he’s really good at distributing his energy. He subtly takes power away from unnecessary places, but if you try to imitate that poorly, you’ll really get hammered.”

“Hey, wait a minute, you were facing Jake Bohr in that Elitz game back then? Right?”

“That’s not important right now, but anyway, if we’re just talking about the regular season, I admit that Jake Bohr was a better pitcher. But anyway, the KBO includes postseason games for the Golden Glove and Choi Dong-won Award, right?”

Yes, looking at the season as a whole, Jake Bohr was a 1.7 million dollar pitcher, and Diltan Doyle was a 1.2 million dollar pitcher.

But just for one game. What if both pitchers were in their best condition and could perform at their best?

The answer is simple.

Jake Bohr has never played even half a season in the big leagues, let alone a full season. And Diltan Doyle, one way or another, had played almost a full season in the big leagues.

-Bang!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

A 153.7km/h high fastball.

Diltan Doyle, the Marines’ first-choice foreign pitcher, who had perfectly honed his body during the long three weeks, showed off his maximum skills to his heart’s content.

***

Top of the 7th inning.

Jo Chang-hyuk, sitting in the dugout, muttered to himself.

‘Shit… is this completely screwed up?’

Jo Chang-hyuk kept his promise.

He endured tremendous jeers in the bottom of the 4th and 6th innings and executed automatic intentional walks to Choi Soo-won. Honestly, he was so frustrated that he wanted to shout for one more chance, but he tried his best to hold back.

The pitching itself was also close to perfect.

There were occasional hits, but excluding those two automatic intentional walks, there were only two runners on base. Yes, today Jo Chang-hyuk was showing very excellent pitching with 6 innings, 1 run allowed, 2 hits allowed (1 home run allowed), 1 walk, and a whopping 9 strikeouts.

In particular, considering that today was his fourth appearance in just 18 days, it goes without saying how excellent his pitching was.

But…

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

[Ah!! A sharply dropping 141.3km/h fast slider. Diltan Doyle gets another strikeout. Already his tenth strikeout of the game!!]

[Diltan’s slider is especially good today. No hitter on the Braves can properly attack that ball right now.]

[Diltan Doyle has not allowed a single hit or walk in 6.2 innings so far. Both of the Braves’ two runners on base were due to errors.]

[In fact, if an error occurs while playing the game like that, it’s easy to have your mentality shaken. But Diltan Doyle is playing the game as if nothing happened, which is truly amazing.]

Over the past 7 months.

The slider was the most improved aspect of Diltan’s pitching repertoire during his time in Korea. But the biggest improvement for Diltan Doyle as a pitcher was in his mentality.

This season.

Choi Soo-won recorded 52 earned runs while allowing a total of 62 runs. And Diltan allowed 79 runs while allowing 64 earned runs. In fact, with a difference of about 15 points, considering the Marines’ terrible defense, the difference between runs allowed and earned runs wasn’t that great. There were as many as three pitchers in the league with a bigger difference than that.

But originally, errors are determined by the record keeper, and Diltan Doyle lost out several times in this area. Even considering only the errors that the entire nation except for the record keeper could acknowledge, it was a whopping 3 points.

And Diltan recorded an ERA of 2.98 even in that environment.

Diltan Doyle, who was greatly shaken by the team’s errors at the beginning of the season, was no longer there.

A mind as strong as his increased physique supported him.

-Clang!!!

Lee Joo-hyuk, who missed an absurd ball in the 4th inning, ran.

Diltan’s solid pectorals, which could be seen even through his clothes, flickered before his eyes. And what about the broad latissimus dorsi that can sometimes be seen beyond the mirror when showering?

Diltan’s face, shouting “Alright” to him for missing the ball, was the epitome of a fierce god.

He felt an intense determination to tear him apart if he missed the ball one more time.

Instead of safely catching the ball on one bounce, Lee Joo-hyuk dove.

A precarious range.

[Lee Joo-hyuk dives!! Ah!! A little far!!]

[Lee Jung-hoon, who came to cover, safely handles the ball. The runner is safe at first base. Two outs, runner on first. The score is 1:0. The Marines are leading by 1 point.]

“Alright, alright”

Does that really mean it’s okay? Or does it mean he’s going to make it okay?

Diltan struck out the next batter again.

That way, the number 1:0 did not change.

Bottom of the 7th inning.

Jo Chang-hyuk pitched well again.

He showed off the best play a pitcher can make, KKK [three strikeouts in a row].

‘Please earn your keep, you bastards. Huh?’

But the best play a pitcher can make in baseball cannot change the course of the game. Especially on a day like today when the opposing pitcher is also showing the best play.

Diltan Doyle came to the mound in the 8th inning.

And he fixed the score on the scoreboard to that number.

117 pitches.

12 strikeouts. 1 hit allowed.

8 innings, no runs allowed.

What decided the first game was the one chance Jo Chang-hyuk had taken in the top of the 1st inning.

That is, the home run that Choi Soo-won had sent over the fence.

[Choi Soo-won’s bat is still hot in the Korean Series!!]

[Choi Soo-won’s (4 plate appearances, 1 at-bat, 1 hit, 1 home run, 3 walks) solo home run in the top of the 1st inning decided the game!!]

[A total of 28 strikeouts by both teams!! A masterpiece pitching battle that heated up the first game of the Korean Series!!]

[I’ll take responsibility for the Korean Series? Choi Soo-won, who hit the game-winning hit in the first game, is selected as the starting pitcher for the second game!!]