Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 308

#307. Nothing Is Impossible

What is the best way to build the strongest team?

Thinking very simply, filling the 26-man roster with players like Han Su-hyeok would be the fastest and most certain way to create the strongest team.

However, since everyone knows that’s unrealistic, the front offices of each club are forced to focus on finding the optimal combination of players.

So, what is the best combination for building a more realistic team?

Is it to fill the lineup with the highest-paid, All-Star-level players in the league?

This is at least somewhat possible.

And there is actually a team that did just that.

That’s the New York Yankees, often called the Evil Empire by other teams.

But,

even for the Yankees, their best performance didn’t come when they simply filled the lineup with expensive players.

After winning the 1978 World Series, the Yankees consistently bought the best players in the league with money, embarking on a dynasty-building effort.

However, things didn’t go as planned, and it wasn’t until 18 years later, in 1996, that they won the World Series trophy again.

Starting with that victory, the New York Yankees won three consecutive World Series titles in 1998, 1999, and 2000, building the strongest dynasty in the late 1990s.

Ironically, the construction of that Yankees dynasty began not with money, but with rebuilding.

When owner George Steinbrenner, who declared he would do anything to win, had his ownership suspended due to allegations of illegal surveillance of the team, the newly appointed general manager decided that this was the Yankees’ opportunity to rebuild. He included many players developed through their own farm system [a team or league whose purpose is to provide experience and training for young players] on the first-team roster.

The names of those rookies were Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Bernie Williams.

They were the Core Four who built the new Yankees dynasty in the late 1990s.

The departure of the owner, who would sell players at the slightest dissatisfaction and buy more expensive players, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The Yankees, with the Core Four and other rookies, combined with savvy veterans brought in from outside, reigned as the strongest team, winning the World Series trophy four times in the late 1990s alone.

But that period was not very long.

Owner George Steinbrenner, who had been released from his suspension, returned and started spending money recklessly again, indiscriminately acquiring big names like Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson, and Javier Vazquez, as well as Japanese players Hideki Matsui and Kei Igawa.

And since then, the Yankees have not won a single World Series trophy until 2030.

The lesson this history teaches is very clear.

What is needed to build a dynasty is not simply expensive players, but to achieve a balance between new and old by recruiting the necessary players in the right places.

In that respect, Seattle’s choice to acquire Adam Murphy was excellent.

Seattle’s young squad is comparable to the Core Four who built the New York Yankees dynasty.

Until now, there were no veterans to lead them.

Even if Han Su-hyeok is mentally a veteran, there was a limit to what he could do as a first-year player in the big leagues. Also, he himself had no intention of actively leading the team.

Therefore, while some balance between new and old was being achieved on the hitting side with the addition of Ty Johnson, the situation on the pitching side was still not good.

Among the rookies with less than three years of big league experience, Ryan, who had the most experience, was the captain who had to take care of the entire team, and veteran Mike Warren, acquired from the Dodgers, was a knuckleballer [a pitch thrown to minimize spin and cause an erratic, unpredictable trajectory] with a completely different pitching mechanism from other pitchers. Moreover, he was in no position to take care of other players as he was focused on transforming into a knuckleballer.

In the meantime, the dignity of a veteran was finally added to the Seattle pitching staff.

Not just any veteran, but a veteran of veterans who played for 22 years only with the league’s strongest team, the New York Yankees.

[Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics go to the 11th inning, Seattle wins 7-6 with Han Su-hyeok’s walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th]

[Adam Murphy, former ace of the Yankees, who took the mound in the top of the 9th with one out and bases loaded, reports his first save after joining Seattle with 2.2 innings of scoreless pitching]

[Experienced ball distribution shines in critical situations, experts say, “A great pitch where you could feel the dignity of a veteran”]

[Adam Murphy, who returned to active duty after half a year in a Seattle uniform, “My only goal is to become the American League champion.” When asked if it was the World Series, he said, “That’s later. First, we need to be at the top of the American League.”]

[Mariners manager Benjamin Reynolds, “I thought Adam was the card that could get us out of the crisis when the closer allowed the tying run, and he lived up to that expectation. I want to thank the front office for acquiring a great player.”]

[Mariners general manager Daniel Mitchell, “We have been meeting with Adam Murphy continuously for the past few months to acquire him. He is the right person to bring the veteran experience that our team’s pitching staff lacked and is the team’s closer this season.”]

[Han Su-hyeok on Adam Murphy’s pitching, “I don’t think the closer necessarily has to throw fastballs. Whether you strike out or get a ground ball, getting an out is the same. I welcome Adam’s joining.”]

└ To be honest, when the club said they were signing a 43-year-old retired player, I suspected the general manager had gone crazy. Damn it, I admit it. I’m an idiot.

└ Dalvin, Jonah, and our team’s relief pitchers are fast, but they’re too young. I can see them panicking when urgent situations arise. In that respect, Adam’s acquisition, who has been rolling around in the big leagues for 22 years, will be a good stimulus.

└ Did you see him yesterday with one out and bases loaded? Adam was able to strike out with a fastball that wasn’t even 90 miles per hour in that situation. Damn it, I used to hate him so much when he was wearing a Yankees uniform.

└ Anyway, the relief pitching that this team lacked the most has been added. Starting pitcher Hayashi, infielder backup Rafael, and Adam, this is a pretty satisfactory acquisition.

└ What I like most is that this team has really learned how to spend money properly this year. The players who were acquired without spending a lot of money are each doing their part.

└ No need to say more. You know what? Han Su-hyeok is playing for the minimum salary this season. We’re using a player who we couldn’t get even if we gave him tens of millions of dollars for less than a million dollars.

└ My God, I understand for sure when you say that. Thank God.

* * *

‘Hmm, this is how you deal with pitches inside…….’

On Monday morning, with no game, Choi Jae-min is repeatedly playing a video dozens of times on the bed of the Seoul Warriors’ second-team dormitory, which boasts facilities comparable to a special-class hotel.

It was Han Su-hyeok’s batting video for this season, which the club had edited according to Choi Jae-min’s request some time ago.

‘This… can I imitate it?’

Choi Jae-min, who dreamed of becoming the first deaf professional baseball player in Korea, met Han Su-hyeok and achieved that dream.

From a developmental player to a second-team player, and then back to a first-team player,

He is now in his third year as a professional and is playing as the Warriors’ pinch-hitter specialist this season.

Compared to Choi Ma-ru, who is his classmate and has secured a starting spot for the Warriors, and Park Dong-seok, who is steadily taking classes as a starting catcher, it is insignificant, but Choi Jae-min is still grateful for the opportunity given to him and spends each day.

The biggest help for Choi Jae-min to get here was, of course, Han Su-hyeok.

He met as a teacher and student through social service activities, and he not only helped him take the Warriors developmental player test, but also greatly helped to erase the uncomfortable gazes that were poured on Choi Jae-min after joining the team.

That’s why Han Su-hyeok was more of a teacher to Choi Jae-min than a senior.

‘The take-back has become much simpler.’

Choi Jae-min, who stopped the video, got up and imitated Han Su-hyeok’s batting stance.

Choi Jae-min’s biggest concern recently was dealing with pitches inside.

When he first entered the professional baseball plate, the gazes the pitchers sent were almost the same.

A half-baked player with a hearing impairment.

Ironically, that prejudice helped Choi Jae-min adapt to the pros.

Regardless of their feelings about him, opposing pitchers didn’t try to attack Choi Jae-min’s body. They were afraid that they might hit Choi Jae-min if they threw the ball in that course, and that they would be attacked by public opinion.

Almost all of the balls were formed on the outside course, which was where Choi Jae-min had strengths.

But,

[Choi Jae-min hits 6 home runs in 80 at-bats in the first half, showing batting skills that are too good to be limited to pinch-hitting]

[Warriors manager Lee Dae-jun, “We are considering using him as a first baseman or corner outfielder in the long term.”]

As he achieved noticeable results in limited batting opportunities, the eyes of opposing pitchers changed.

The proportion of balls coming into the body course, which Choi Jae-min had difficulty with since high school, increased significantly.

It is natural to say that not being able to hear is inconvenient in many ways.

It’s also scary.

In a silent space where nothing can be heard, Choi Jae-min’s bat cut through the air as a white ball suddenly flew towards his body.

The number of times the pinch-hitting operation failed increased, and the number of times another player entered the plate instead of him gradually increased.

Choi Jae-min thought.

Maybe this is the last trial given to him.

He spent the whole day off watching Han Su-hyeok’s batting video.

And he succeeded in finding one small clue.

This season, Han Su-hyeok made many changes to his batting mechanism to deal with 105 mph fastballs flying towards his body.

But what Choi Jae-min paid attention to was not the mechanism.

A fast ball that flies almost touching the end of the helmet, a modified fastball that flies as if it will hit the knee and bends into the zone.

It was Han Su-hyeok’s batting stance, which felt like a giant tree firmly planted in the ground, not moving even with such balls.

That wasn’t just because he was technically skilled.

It is natural to say that Han Su-hyeok would also be scared. He would sweat at the fear of being hit by such a ball and getting injured.

He is also human.

But Han Su-hyeok did not back down.

He did not flinch even at the opposing pitcher’s threatening ball, and eventually made the pitchers who were intimidated give up the body fight.

‘As expected, Su-hyeok hyung [older brother or respected male figure] is…….’

Choi Jae-min realized.

What he needs now is not skill but courage.

He had to abandon the tolerance and sympathy for himself, which had made him accept his shortcomings because his body was uncomfortable.

Click

Choi Jae-min, who turned off the video, got up and headed to the training ground.

“Hey, Choi Jae-min, you’re out? I was going to call you earlier, but I thought something was serious, so we just came out by ourselves.”

“That’s right. I stopped this crazy guy from taking you. I did a good job, right?”

His classmates and best friends, Choi Ma-ru and Park Dong-seok, were already there.

The Warriors’ next-generation stars, who still stay in the second-team dormitory despite being players who receive hundreds of millions of dollars in salary, and do not neglect training whenever they have time.

Choi Jae-min said to them.

‘I·miss·Su·hyeok·hyung·so·much’

Leaving behind the laughter of his classmates, Choi Jae-min entered the batting cage.

The words of a baseball player he respects second only to himself came to his mind.

[One must think that nothing is impossible until there is no hope.

Obstacles are not more than a stage we must pass in order to succeed.]

You must think that nothing is impossible until all hope is gone.

Disability is just a gateway to achieving your goals.

The words left by Jim Abbott, a pitcher with a congenital disability in his right arm up to the wrist, who was born with a disability that made even daily life impossible, let alone an athlete, and who achieved the great record of a no-hitter while playing for the Angels, Yankees, and White Sox, echoed in Choi Jae-min’s heart.