Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 18

#17. Practice Game (1)

Baseball players, especially professional baseball players who make a living from the sport, are, without exaggeration, mostly addicted to superstitions.

They go through similar training routines every day and make similar plays on the field, yet some days they hit three consecutive home runs, and other days they strike out three times in a row. This inconsistency leads them to attribute the cause to external factors rather than themselves.

It’s like a kind of psychological defense mechanism.

Thinking back to my time in the major leagues, there were all sorts of crazy guys.

There was a lunatic who wore the same underwear for an entire month after hitting a home run, and there were guys who would throw a fit if their locker room items weren’t arranged exactly as they had left them.

Damn, even thinking about it now, they were really out of their minds.

Anyway, among those superstitions and jinxes, the most persistent is the nemesis relationship, where a clear cause cannot be found.

An opponent you’d rather avoid, regardless of objective skill.

Or, conversely, an opponent you feel like you could beat a hundred times out of a hundred.

Once such a relationship is established, it’s not easy to break free from it.

From that perspective, Jeong Dae-han, the catcher for the Suwon Commanders today, was keenly interested in the Warriors’ rookie shortstop, whom he would be facing throughout the season.

Would this guy become Suwon Commanders’ pushover, or would he become their nemesis?

“So, you’re Han Su-hyeok.”

“Hello.”

“Alright, let’s have some fun.”

“Yes, senior.”

Jeong Dae-han looked at Han Su-hyeok with narrowed eyes.

‘He’s got an amazing physique, just as I’d heard.’

His official profile says he’s 192cm [approximately 6’4″], and his whole body is muscular, with particularly long arms and legs, making the batter’s box look full.

‘I can’t be too complacent with outside pitches.’

He has been working with left-handed ace Choi Kyeong-jae for five years and is the type of catcher who often calls for a tight two-seamer [a type of fastball with slight horizontal movement] on the outside corner against right-handed batters.

The ball comes in over the strike zone, and just the slight movement to the outside can induce swings and misses from right-handed batters.

But I can’t afford to be so complacent with this guy.

With his arms and legs stretching out so freely, he seems like he could reach any outside pitch.

‘Then, should I check his eye for the ball first?’

Choi Kyeong-jae, after receiving Jeong Dae-han’s sign, slowly wound up.

The two-seam fastball, which made Choi Kyeong-jae the Suwon Commanders’ number one starter and a national representative.

The ball, with almost no difference in speed from his four-seamer [a standard fastball], flew towards the high outside course, just outside the strike zone.

“Ball.”

He doesn’t even flinch.

Could it be that he didn’t react?

I don’t think so. I can’t explain it, but that’s what the catcher’s intuition is telling me.

I’d like to call for a backdoor slider [a breaking ball that starts outside the strike zone and curves back in] that breaks from outside to inside the zone, but today the manager’s request is to suppress the spirit of the big-name rookie Han Su-hyeok.

After sorting out his thoughts, Jeong Dae-han this time called for a four-seam fastball that would come in tight to the body.

Unlike other left-handed pitchers, Choi Kyeong-jae often threw four-seamers inside to right-handed batters. This is because Choi Kyeong-jae’s deception is very good.

Until the moment he releases the ball, his hand is completely hidden, so from the batter’s perspective, it feels like the ball is suddenly flying in from mid-air.

That’s how the weakness of a left-handed pitcher facing a right-handed batter is offset.

Thanks to getting his condition up a little early, Choi Kyeong-jae’s four-seam fastball reached 148km/h [approximately 92 mph]. The same ball that made him an 18-game winner last season flew towards Han Su-hyeok’s knees.

In that instant, Jeong Dae-han felt it.

The tremendous aura emanating from Han Su-hyeok’s body.

That clear energy that he couldn’t explain.

Woooooong

Then, he saw a swing for the first time in his life, no, a swing he had only seen from the huge foreign hitters he met at the WBC [World Baseball Classic], tearing through the air.

The tremendous swing, with the wind pressure felt even through the mask, and the next moment, an enormous sound of destruction followed, as if the ball was being split apart.

Ttaaaaaaaak!

“Keuh!”

Jeong Dae-han involuntarily gasped.

Han Su-hyeok, kneeling down, lifted the ball that was coming low and inside to the right-handed batter, towards the batter’s shin.

It made a tremendous sound, but at first, I thought it would be an outfield fly. The launch angle of the batted ball was too high.

Shuaaaak

But it wasn’t.

The batted ball, launched at a 45-degree angle, no, almost 50 degrees, cut through the Arizona sky and flew endlessly.

Far, far, maintaining its trajectory, continuing far away.

Even the Suwon outfielders gave up on defense and stared blankly at the trajectory of the batted ball.

The batted ball, flying at a tremendous altitude as if equipped with a propulsion device, eventually went over the fence and flew completely out of the stadium.

It’s an out-of-the-park home run that seems out of this world.

Whirr

Han Su-hyeok, who was admiring the sight from the batter’s box, threw the bat back and slowly started running to first base.

Normally, I might have thought it was arrogant, but after seeing something so incredible, I don’t even feel angry.

In all honesty, I feel like I should applaud.

Regardless of seniority or rivalry, you’d have to pay to see a hit like that.

Dori dori [shaking head]

As Jeong Dae-han stared blankly at Han Su-hyeok, the manager’s face came into view.

Gu Yong-sik’s face, who had been so confident before the game started, was flushed red.

He turned his head back to look at the mound.

Choi Kyeong-jae, the team’s ace, was looking at him with an expression as if he was about to burst into tears.

‘Shit’

Only then did he remember what kind of jinx this team’s ace had.

Being caught as a pushover by a batter who hit a big one off him in their first encounter, that was the one and only jinx of Suwon’s ace, Choi Kyeong-jae.

Suddenly, he felt resentful towards the manager. He should have ordered him to play it safe.

As Jeong Dae-han requested a timeout and ran to the mound, his mind began to get complicated.

* * *

“Hey, friend, that was a great home run.”

“Thanks. And it seems like that pitcher’s ball rises a little at the end, so be careful when the ball is on the edge of the plate.”

“Really? Hehe, good information.”

After hearing my words, Max stepped into the batter’s box and carefully started choosing his pitches.

“Ball.”

Whether he accepted my advice last time or not, Max had since abandoned his desire for long hits and was focusing on creating faster and more accurate hits.

In the end, Max succeeded in getting on first base by carefully picking out Choi Kyeong-jae’s pitches, whose mentality had been shattered by my home run.

He’s a better hitter than I thought.

Good. It seems like my precious dollars won’t become worthless.

“Hmm.”

“Ahn Chi-wook, you…”

“Hmm?”

“That pitcher will probably keep throwing inside to you.”

“Really? What’s your basis for that?”

Well, is it the analysis of pitching patterns that comes from 15 years of major league experience?

“Anyway, don’t talk nonsense, take the unnecessary force out of your shoulders, and wait for the inside pitch.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

Regardless of the size of their natural talent, it’s unreasonable to expect a battle of wits from a rookie who has just entered the pros.

In this case, the best solution is to provide guidelines from the side and let them swing their own swing.

I pushed the guy, who had even forgotten to go into the batter’s box because he was pondering my words, on the back and added a word.

“Lightly, the ball has a better finish than you think, so don’t think about swinging big, just lightly.”

After pushing him onto the plate like that, I returned to the dugout and sat on the bench.

Manager Lee Dae-jun approached me as if he had been waiting and asked.

“What were you talking about for so long? Did you find any weaknesses in the pitcher?”

“No, manager. Just telling him to work hard.”

“Good. Even if you’re teammates, sometimes that kind of encouragement is necessary. Good job.”

Hmm.

By the way, why does this guy’s gaze feel so burdensome these days?

* * *

As I advised, Ahn Chi-wook focused his hitting on the pitcher’s inside pitches.

And Suwon’s ace Choi Kyeong-jae intensively targeted Ahn Chi-wook’s inside, as I had predicted.

As the ball came into the expected course, Ahn Chi-wook flinched and swung his bat.

However, the relatively well-hit ball went straight to the second baseman, resulting in an out.

“Remember the bet about getting on base today? Friend, you haven’t gotten on base even once.”

“······”

Ahn Chi-wook, whose expression was distorted by Max Walker’s provocation, tried to act nonchalant and chewed on sunflower seeds.

The score was 1 to 0, and the expressions of the Suwon Commanders players, who had unexpectedly conceded the first point, changed slightly.

The faces that were full of confidence at the start of the game now had a sense of determination for some reason. It seems the opposing manager gave them a big talking-to.

In the bottom of the first inning, Senior Jeong Tae-ho, who is likely to be our team’s fourth starter this season, went to the mound.

Since as many pitchers as possible would be pitching short stints anyway, it didn’t matter who went up first.

Of course, the fans seemed to think a little differently.

﹂Ah… the other team has Choi Kyeong-jae, but we have Jeong Tae-ho, what’s the deal? It’s like watching my eyes rot.

﹂Don’t be too harsh. He’s still our fourth starter.

﹂A guy who would be a mop-up pitcher if he went to another team is coming out as the first starter…

﹂Forget about that, Han Su-hyeok’s home run is still awesome even if I watch it again. It makes my heart swell just by looking at it.

﹂Yeah… let’s just keep replaying that. It looks like we’ll have to defend for a long time anyway.

The fans’ predictions came true exactly.

Jeong Tae-ho, who was hit with three consecutive hits from the 1st to 3rd batters, ended up giving up a grand slam to Suwon Commanders’ 4th batter, Kang Tae-yong.

With all four hits flying to the outfield, there’s nothing I can do.

That’s how the score quickly became 4 to 1.

Manager Lee Dae-jun’s face turned bright red, while conversely, Suwon Manager Gu Yong-sik’s expression began to stabilize noticeably.

“Time!”

Eventually, Manager Lee Dae-jun went up to the mound and kicked Jeong Tae-ho in the butt.

He sent him out as the first pitcher because he remembered pitching well in the last game against Suwon last season, but it ended up only boosting the opposing team’s morale.

Ryan Stark, our team’s real ace, came up to the mound where Jeong Tae-ho had stepped down.

“Out!”

He still hadn’t gotten his condition up to par, but he was still a good pitcher.

Ryan, who got the 5th, 6th, and 7th batters out in order, came down from the mound with an indifferent expression.

If we couldn’t use two foreign players as starting pitchers, no matter how good I was, I would never have thought about making the Warriors win the championship.

Thank goodness. Because there are excellent foreign workers.

“Su-hyeok.”

“Yes, senior.”

“Just give me your hand once.”

“Yes?”

“I just want to get some of the energy from the home run hitter.”

“······”

After the offense and defense switched, Cho Seong-oh, the oldest player who was going to be the lead batter, grabbed my hand and smiled once, then quickly ran out to the plate.

Cho Seong-oh, a veteran who joined this team after graduating from college and has been with the Warriors for 11 years.

A left-handed hitter who started as a second baseman, then became a third baseman at the age of thirty, and then again switched to first base last season.

His stats of 0.275 / 0.341 / 0412 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs are not very noticeable, but he is still a veteran among veterans who has maintained his position with consistent performance.

He is one of the players I am paying the most attention to in this camp.

Although he is not young, he has a strong physique that seems to be innate and offensive indicators that have been increasing slightly every year for the past few years.

From the outside, his passive play may be a bit concerning, but that’s probably because he has lived as an outsider, pushed aside by the mainstream forces in the team like Hwang Seong-min and Song Gi-tae.

Many factors are needed to make a team win the championship.

And one of the important things is the presence of a veteran who leads the team.

We need a senior player who can bring the juniors together with the experience, know-how, and career he has built up, and who can be a center of gravity when difficult things happen.

“Out!”

Senior Cho Seong-oh, who struck out after a battle that went to 7 pitches, returned to the dugout with a frustrated expression.

No matter how I think about it, I’m tempted.

Hmm, should I invite this senior to Jacob World?

He may end up shitting blood, but if he can endure that process, I think I can make him a new person.

* * *