Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 270

#269. The Han Su-hyeok Effect

At the start of the season, Big League fans were hesitant to accept Han Su-hyeok, who had come from an unfamiliar Asia.

Of course, as the season progressed, such doubts disappeared completely, and they began to cheer for every home run Han Su-hyeok hit.

He hit 27 home runs in 57 games this season.

If he maintains his current pace, he is likely to break the major league single-season home run record of 73, set by a player later revealed to be using performance-enhancing drugs. The fans’ focus on Han Su-hyeok is intensifying.

However,

what baseball experts, including the managers of each team, are really paying attention to is not his hitting ability.

They were shocked by his pitching stats: in 9 starts this season, he pitched 72 innings and won 8 games, allowing only 3 unearned runs.

Literally invincible.

No rookie in history, no pitcher, has ever shown the same dominance as Han Su-hyeok.

Of course, since he is also human, he will eventually give up runs and lose games.

However, at this point, if you had to choose between pitcher Han Su-hyeok and hitter Han Su-hyeok, almost all experts would choose the pitcher. His performance was so overwhelming that it defied easy description.

The third game of the season between the Seattle Mariners and the Tampa Bay Rays was broadcast live across the United States on ESPN.

Han Su-hyeok took the mound for his 10th start of the season.

Whoosh

Crack!

“Out!”

“Damn it, sorry, James. I thought it was a fastball. Ha…….”

“It’s okay. I’ll get a hit for you, so sit in the dugout and watch.”

“Okay. I believe in you.”

The leadoff hitter, who frowned and returned to the dugout after popping out to the catcher on Han Su-hyeok’s first-pitch cutter, was clearly frustrated.

Only 10 seconds into the game, one out.

The next batter was James Taylor, the Tampa Bay Rays’ leading hitter, who was aiming for the title of best hitter in the Big League.

‘I have to get a hit.’

All his efforts to catch up with Han Su-hyeok’s hitting prowess had been in vain.

Fortunately, he was a genius in his own right.

Even after a period of struggling with his swing, his balance was hardly disturbed. In yesterday’s game, when he decided to simplify his approach, he immediately got 3 hits and returned to his usual form.

Perhaps, when it comes to natural hitting talent, he may be the closest player to Han Su-hyeok.

Of course, it may be impossible to truly catch up with Han Su-hyeok in this lifetime.

James Taylor stepped up to the plate this time to face pitcher Han Su-hyeok.

“Play!”

He had enough experience with Han Su-hyeok’s pitching ability from the Olympics.

A 105-mph fastball, a two-seam fastball, cutter, splitter, and even a changeup.

He put in a lot of effort to avoid being fooled by him again.

There are several pitchers in the Big League who throw similar pitches to Han Su-hyeok.

There are pitchers who throw 105-mph fastballs, and there are pitchers who use modified fastballs that exceed 100 mph quite well. And it’s not difficult to find pitchers who build their careers with just one excellent changeup.

The problem is that Han Su-hyeok skillfully uses all of those pitches.

Is it fair for one person to be given so much talent?

But there’s nothing you can do about it.

The world is unfair anyway.

Whoosh

Boom

“Swing!”

“Tch!”

Even that was already enough to make him feel overwhelmed, but Han Su-hyeok, who had advanced to the Big League, had evolved once again.

The speed of his fastball exceeded 105 mph and reached 107 mph, which was recorded as the highest speed in the world.

There was also a slight change in his pitching repertoire.

He slightly lowered the ratio of fastballs and two-seamers and began to feature a hard sinker more often.

The problem is that the speed of the hard sinker reaches 105 mph.

Whoosh

Pow!

“Ball.”

The ball that just came in was the 105-mph hard sinker that made Han Su-hyeok virtually unhittable.

A monstrous pitch that explodes out of a pitching motion indistinguishable from his fastball.

Han Su-hyeok’s main weapon, which sinks late to avoid the batter’s swing, is almost impossible to track with the naked eye.

Generally, sinker-type balls are known to have a high risk of injury for pitchers.

But Han Su-hyeok was different.

Usually, the power of a sinker is maximized when a pitcher with a three-quarter arm slot twists his arm and throws it.

But Han Su-hyeok’s pitching form is close to a complete overhand delivery.

Besides, he doesn’t twist his arm much.

All the experts were shocked by the fact that a hard sinker with almost the same speed as a fastball comes out of a pitching form that is almost identical to when throwing a normal two-seam fastball.

In addition to the sheer velocity of this pitch, what makes it even more difficult to face pitcher Han Su-hyeok is…….

Whoosh

Pow!

“Strike!”

There is almost no interval between pitches.

He catches the ball and throws it right away, receives the ball from the catcher, and throws it again.

Once the game starts, the pitcher, batter, fielders, and even the umpire are busy keeping up with Han Su-hyeok’s relentless pace.

As a result, fielders rarely use defensive shifts in games where Han Su-hyeok pitches.

No, they *do* use them.

Han Su-hyeok does.

It’s a bit of a joke, but some experts claimed that Han Su-hyeok *induces* batted balls to the positions where the fielders are standing.

Anyway, the conclusion is this.

If hitter Han Su-hyeok is a nightmare for opposing pitchers, pitcher Han Su-hyeok is close to a disaster for opposing hitters.

‘Tch!’

James Taylor, who had previously lost to Han Su-hyeok the hitter, didn’t want to lose to Han Su-hyeok the pitcher. He gritted his teeth and glared at his opponent.

And,

Whoosh

Boom

“Swing! Out!”

He was helplessly struck out by a 106-mph fastball that caught the heart of the plate, eluding his desperate swing.

James Taylor’s sense of defeat deepened.

* * *

‘This is how it feels!’

The game entered the bottom of the second inning.

Bruce Matthews, the starting catcher for the Seattle Mariners, who came up to bat as the leadoff hitter, had a satisfied smile on his face.

He, who has been playing mainly as the 7th hitter this season, was having difficulty getting good pitches to hit.

This is because the pitchers gave him nothing but junk pitches, knowing that the two hitters behind him were primarily defensive specialists.

Sometimes, all the pitches he saw were designed to induce a weak ground ball or a chase out of the zone.

The calculation was that even if they walked him, they could still get the hitters behind him out.

But,

Whoosh

Crack!

“Foul!”

Today, he entered the cleanup hitter spot instead of Chuck Clark, who was absent. And batting behind him was Han Su-hyeok, who had adjusted his place in the batting order to manage his stamina.

Suddenly, the attitude of the pitchers towards him completely changed.

Whoosh

Pow!

“Ball!”

You could tell just by looking at the pitcher’s expression.

That focused expression of trying to get him out no matter what.

Well, even if he were a pitcher, he would never want to put a runner on base in front of a hitter like Han Su-hyeok.

This is probably why Derek’s batting average, who was placed in front of Han Su-hyeok in the lineup this season, has increased significantly.

‘Damn it, it’s only for today, but it’s exhilarating.’

Bruce, who was in a good mood thanks to the Han Su-hyeok effect, swung his bat vigorously.

Crack!

“Good! Bruce!”

“Go! Go! Go! Mariners!”

Bruce, who ripped a double by hitting a fastball right down the middle, shouted loudly towards the on-deck circle where Han Su-hyeok was waiting.

“Damn it! Han! I’ll buy you a beer after the game today! Don’t even think about running away!”

* * *

“Batter, to first base.”

“Boo!”

“Cowardly Rays bastards!”

When Bruce Matthews hit a double, the Tampa Bay manager immediately signaled for an intentional walk.

Han Su-hyeok, who walked to first base, shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t do anything about it, and another wave of boos poured down from the stands.

“Damn it! I flew for 3 hours to see that guy’s home run!”

“I drove my car for 10 hours! I didn’t come to see that kind of walk!”

“Refund the ticket price! Rays, you son of a bitch!”

One surprising thing was that many of the fans who were booing were not Seattle fans.

Rather, they were closer to casual sports fans, people who came to the stadium specifically to see Han Su-hyeok himself.

Michael Jordan, who still reigns as the most popular sports star in the United States even nearly 30 years after his retirement.

Is there a baseball player who boasts national popularity comparable to Michael Jordan? No, has there ever been?

There are a few players who can be compared, although they cannot be said to have surpassed him.

Derek Jeter, the Yankees’ captain, who was called the Emperor of New York and the Lover of America.

Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners, who was hitting home runs from his debut year and was expected to break the all-time home run record held by Hank Aaron at the time.

And Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, who competed in home runs with Sammy Sosa (another player later linked to performance-enhancing drugs) and drove the entire United States into a frenzy.

Among them, the remaining two people, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark McGwire, excluding Derek Jeter, who had scandals with many celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, and Mariah Carey due to his handsome appearance and charisma in addition to his baseball skills,

Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark McGwire have one thing in common.

That is the home run.

The value of a home run is that significant.

Fans feel tremendous catharsis in the act of sending a ball weighing only 5 ounces [145 grams] out of the ballpark with pure physical strength.

That is why sports fans, not just dedicated baseball fans, have gathered at T-Mobile Park, the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners.

“Damn it, who the hell invented the intentional walk?”

“The pitcher’s salary should be cut by $10,000 for every walk he issues.”

“Aside from everything else, it’s time to erase that damn drug cheat’s record. That guy [Han Su-hyeok] is the only one who can do it now.”

“If you avoid him again next time, I’ll set fire to the Tampa Bay stadium, you bastards!”

Amid the overwhelming support of home fans and general sports fans, Han Su-hyeok walked to first base.

No outs, runners on first and second.

Liam Landman, the 7th hitter in the batter’s box, nodded towards the bench as if he understood the situation.

And,

Tuk

“First!”

Sacrifice bunt on the first pitch,

Bruce and Han Su-hyeok safely advanced one base each on the bunt towards third base, with one out and runners on second and third.

The Seattle dugout moved once again.

“Time! Pinch hitter!”

Josh Oliver, the 8th hitter in the batter’s box, dejectedly entered the dugout.

And Chuck Clark, the right fielder who was left out of today’s starting lineup, stepped in as a pinch hitter in his place.

Seattle manager Benjamin Reynolds thought.

Since it is a game where Han Su-hyeok is pitching, they must score early.

Some may criticize bunting in the second inning,

But considering that Han Su-hyeok is on the mound today, this was something they had to do no matter what.

With that created opportunity of one out and runners on second and third, Chuck Clark prepared to hit.

Whoosh

Pow

“Ball.”

Chuck Clark is a truly enigmatic player.

Fans and experts who dislike him criticize him for getting hits in situations where he shouldn’t, seemingly at random.

But people who like him, including manager Benjamin, praise him for being able to swing his own way regardless of the game situation.

In the end, it’s the same person, but a player who is interpreted differently depending on the perspective of the person watching.

Chuck Clark swung at the first pitch without a moment’s hesitation.

Crack!

“Good!”

“Fucking! You’re the best after all! Chuck!”

A clean two-RBI single to right field that brought in both runners.

He fulfilled the manager’s expectations, stepped on first base, and raised his hand high in triumph.

The heads of the Tampa Bay dugout and the few fans who supported the team dropped in disappointment.

Considering Han Su-hyeok, who is recording an ERA of 0 this season, the two points given up in this inning seemed insurmountable.