Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 126

‘What the hell is that…?’

It wasn’t just some random remark.

It was what Robert Wilson, the American team’s coach, said to his players.

‘You guys are the best. No one can stand in your way.’

It was the truth. It was obvious.

It’s just a single country’s league, yet it dares to call itself the World Series, but it’s the best league in the world, and no one can deny its authority.

They gathered the best players who proved their existence there in one place.

Of course, big leaguers weren’t only on the American team. Already eliminated Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, Australia, and even the Chinese national team had big leaguers.

But all those teams have already been eliminated and packed their bags.

The only enemy left in front of the American team is Korea, which doesn’t have a single active major leaguer.

That’s why they were confident of victory.

Even Ryu Han-gyul or Lim Jun-young, the top-class pitchers who were evaluated as being the closest to big leaguers, can’t play in today’s game.

Frankly, it was like the game was already decided.

A rookie throwing 104 miles? I was a little surprised to see him throw in the game against Japan, but that was it.

Ball speed? There are quite a few pitchers who throw 104 miles even if you just search the minor leagues.

A rookie with daring guts?

He’s just a rookie. The American national team is full of the best veterans who are at their peak.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they neglected to investigate Han Su-hyeok.

A 104-mile fastball and two-seam, changeup, curve.

According to Korean sources, he can throw a few more changeups, but what has been confirmed is this much.

He showed the players the video of the game against Japan where he pitched.

Some guys whistled as if they were a little surprised, but most of them weren’t scared at all even after watching the video.

It’s natural.

Fools who are only fast, or idiots who only have good control, or morons who only throw amazing changeups.

They smashed all those pitchers, and only the real deal, the realest of the real, remained, and the hitters who recorded All-Star-level stats against those big league pitchers are gathered in one place.

You can’t survive in the big leagues if you’re scared of that much.

That’s why Jack Rogers was sure.

He would be the first to crush the fearless rookie.

But.

Whoosh

“Strike!”

“Fuck!”

Swoosh

“Strike! Out!”

“…….”

Three-pitch strikeout.

The American team’s leadoff hitter, who was stunned by the 105-mile outside fastball, made a ridiculous swing at the 59-mile super-slow curve that came in next, and was struck out while staring blankly at the two-seamer that came in outside again.

“Jack.”

“Fucking, fucking, fucking!”

The next hitter, Luke Bell, who hit .300 with 30 home runs in the first half of the season, tried to stop Jack, but the agitated hitter went straight into the dugout and threw down his bat.

“What the fuck… what the hell is that rookie, haha, fucking, damn, damn!”

Then he punched the wall with his fist, muttering to himself.

At that moment, coach Robert Wilson realized.

That today’s game wouldn’t go as he expected.

Maybe they might have to face a monster they’ve never experienced before.

* * *

Crack!

“Foul!”

Swoosh

Whoosh

“Strike! Out!”

– Ah, it’s really amazing! Han Su-hyeok, who struck out the American team’s number one hitter Jack Rogers with three pitches, strikes out number two hitter Luke Bell again!

– Awesome…….

– Yes?

– Ah, no. I told you before the game, right? Just trust Han Su-hyeok and pray?

– It’s true! It was true! Han Su-hyeok has dealt with the world’s strongest American team’s 1st and 2nd table setters [leadoff hitters] with consecutive strikeouts!

– Now… baseball fans who are watching this game on their smartphones, run to a place with a large TV right now. Han Su-hyeok catching the world’s best hitters like rats, this scene that may be the first and last in our lives, how can you watch it on a smartphone screen?

– Um, Commissioner. It’s morning in Korea right now. Watching TV at this time…….

– Who cares? People who work at the company, go to the boss and say it quickly. I can’t concentrate on work right now, so let’s watch the game first, even if I have to work overtime. Those who run their own businesses, open a little later. Is sales a problem now? What? You’re unemployed? Congratulations. At least today, everyone in the world will envy you.

* * *

“Hey, Luke. How is it? It seems a little different from what you saw in the video, right?”

“It’s terrible. It’s really terrible.”

“Is it that bad?”

“The video of the game against Japan didn’t even capture half of that monster. Damn, does our power analysis team only have blind people? Hey, Aaron, don’t ever think of that guy as an Asian rookie. Alex, yeah, go to the plate thinking you’re facing Alex Davis.”

The number two hitter, Luke Bell, who was struck out, returned to the dugout with a dazed expression.

Leaving a strong warning to the next hitter, Aaron Decker, the signboard hitter [star player] of the LA Dodgers and a candidate for this season’s National League MVP.

Aaron shook his head several times with a really puzzled expression.

Alex Davis? Last season’s Cy Young winner [award for best pitcher]?

Is that Korean team’s rookie pitcher a player comparable to that Alex?

Aaron, who has respect for the career of a hitter named Luke Bell, even though they are on different teams, clenched his teeth and stepped into the plate.

‘Okay, comparing him to Alex might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but he’s a pitcher who struck out Jack Rogers, the best leadoff in the big leagues at the moment, and Luke Bell, the number two hitter who has reigned at the highest level for over 10 years, in consecutive strikeouts.

I’m not stupid enough to underestimate such a pitcher.’

‘Okay, let’s give it a try.’

A very slight remaining carelessness, a mind that looks down on Asian rookies, and a sense of ennui that is naturally formed by being on the world’s strongest team.

Aaron Decker, the center hitter of the LA Dodgers and the number one candidate for this season’s National League MVP, who cleanly shook off all those feelings, began to face Han Su-hyeok with sincerity.

And the first pitch he had been waiting for came.

Swoosh

“Cough!”

“Strike!”

The fastball that flew close to his head suddenly swerved and dug into the zone.

Aaron, who unknowingly fell on his butt, stared at the scoreboard with a blank expression.

‘93 miles? A 93-mile curve?’

* * *

My heart is pounding like crazy. I almost missed it.

The terrifying power curve, reaching 149 km/h [93 mph], surprised not only the hitter but also the catcher.

‘Ugh…….’

Jeong Dae-han, who returned the ball to the pitcher, rubbed his left hand wearing the catcher’s mitt and let out a faint groan.

A fastball with a maximum speed of 168 km/h [104 mph], a 162 km/h [101 mph] two-seam, a cut fastball, a changeup, and a curve.

These are the balls that Han Su-hyeok threw while striking out the previous two hitters.

It’s really crazy. This must be insane.

He did throw 168 in the All-Star game, but it felt different from then.

I’ll have to check again later through videos and measurement data, but in terms of spin rate and trajectory, the ball he threw at the American hitters was much more terrifying than the one he threw in the All-Star game.

Now I can understand Choi Kyung-jae’s feelings.

It doesn’t make sense to face such a monster as an enemy. Maybe becoming the same side is the only way out.

‘Hmm…….’

But now is not the time to worry about the second FA [free agency] that is still a year and a half away.

The problem is just catching his ball right now.

Five pitches have already come out. The problem is that this is not the end.

The terrifying high-speed slider he showed in the Magicians game hasn’t come out yet.

There may be more weapons that have not yet been revealed.

‘Heh…….’

Jeong Dae-han unknowingly let out a hollow laugh.

If hitter Han Su-hyeok is a monster, pitcher Han Su-hyeok felt like a legendary beast from mythology, even more so.

The ball he threw with a little less power for control was 165 km/h [102.5 mph]. Han Su-hyeok had the control to put that ridiculous ball into the 9-divided zone [precise pitching location within the strike zone].

The two-seam and cut fastball that exceeded 160 km/h [99.4 mph] are really terrible. It’s a weapon of hell that will plunge the hitters who swung their bats thinking it was a fastball into despair.

A super-slow curve with a speed difference of nearly 70 km/h [43.5 mph] from the fastball, a fast changeup that feels like an average pitcher’s forkball, and the terrifying power curve close to 150 km/h [93 mph] that he just threw.

“Hahahaha, Ahahaha, Ahahahaha!”

“What’s so funny?”

I laughed out loud without realizing it.

Aaron Decker asked Jeong Dae-han with an unpleasant expression.

Jeong Dae-han has been steadily studying English to work with foreign pitchers. I can understand this much.

And I can say this much.

“Welcome to hell, friend.”

* * *

Whoosh

“Strike! Out!”

– Another strikeout, it’s a strikeout! Han Su-hyeok strikes out the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd hitters of the world’s strongest American national team with consecutive strikeouts!

– Ugh! It’s really crazy… it’s crazy! Is this even possible? Counting from the last game against Japan, it’s 11 consecutive strikeouts. No hitter who has participated in the WBC [World Baseball Classic] so far has been able to touch Han Su-hyeok’s ball.

– Commissioner, let’s calm down for a moment and think calmly. As far as I know, with the speed revolution, there are quite a few pitchers in American universities or minor leagues who throw 103 miles, that is, over 165 km/h [102.5 mph]. What is the difference between those players and Han Su-hyeok?

– First of all, the control is 넘사 [Korean slang for ‘unreachable’], no, it’s at an incomparable level. As you said, that’s right. Among the college players who have been selected by the big leagues over the past few years, there have been several pitchers who can throw 104 miles. But only a very small number of them make it to the big leagues.

– Is that because of control?

– That’s right. The fastballs those players threw were literally all-in on speed, ignoring control. But the ball Han Su-hyeok threw is different. A ball that is controlled to at least 4 divisions, that is, the outside high course and low course, and the inside high course and low course, is 169 km/h [105 mph].

– That’s amazing.

– It’s amazing. In addition, if you lower the speed just a little, you have the ability to divide the zone into 9 and throw it. And there’s another difference.

– What is it?

– It’s the various pitches that support such a powerful fastball. A variety of fastballs such as two-seam and cut fastball, a power curve that flies to the hitter’s head and digs into the zone, a high-speed changeup, a super-slow curve with a difference of more than 70 km/h [43.5 mph] from the fastball, etc. There are plenty of balls to support the fastball. How can you hit a 169 km/h [105 mph] ball suddenly flying between those balls?

– Commissioner, I suddenly have a thought.

– What are you thinking?

– The feelings of 90% of baseball fans who are watching the game on TV right now, that is, the fans of the remaining 9 teams except for the Warriors fans.

– Hmm…….

– Are those who have to meet Warriors pitcher Han Su-hyeok in the second half of the year cheering right now, or are they in despair?

– …Jesus.