The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 117

Debut Game? (4)

Just a few minutes ago.

“Hey, what the hell is this? Wasn’t I brought here to be the ace? Why are you taking out the ace who perfectly shut down 5.1 innings with runners on first and third with one out? Does this even make sense?”

He strongly appealed to the pitching coach who came to the mound to replace him, but it didn’t work.

The result was one run allowed.

Dilton watched until the end of the inning, feeling like he would do something bad if he stayed in the dugout. He went to the bathroom and roughly washed his face with his un-iced arm. He washed his face repeatedly with the cold water, but Dilton Dooley’s flushed face didn’t return to normal easily.

“!#@$%!#$%!”

He burst out a string of curses.

Only then did the frustration that had been building up in his chest feel a little relieved.

Right, he heard the Marlins were a team desperate for victory.

And Dilton himself hadn’t shown much yet, and even though he hadn’t allowed any runs today, he hadn’t shown a dominant performance, so maybe that was it.

Dilton repeated this to himself several times, calming himself down before leaving the bathroom and heading back to the dugout. Sitting in the dugout as the team’s winning pitcher and watching the rest of the game was also a virtue an ace should have.

And the very moment he passed through the door of the dugout after walking down the hallway.

“Shit, pal?”

Dilton couldn’t help but utter the curse he had recently learned.

***

Marlin’s shortstop, Kang Raon, had been evaluated as having a very strong competitive spirit since childhood.

And he found that very strange.

Isn’t it natural to have a competitive spirit if you aspire to be a professional player? A determination to win. What could be more professional than that?

When Kang Raon was first drafted by the Marlins, his goal was to become a ‘hero.’ Yeah, leading a team that hasn’t won a championship in 28 years to victory would be a romantic thing to do.

And 7 years.

Now, Kang Raon’s goal was to escape the Marlins.

Of course, what Kang Raon had to do was the same in both cases.

To win the championship, the Marlins needed him to be a good player.

Similarly, to escape the Marlins, he needed to be a good player.

Only two years left until free agency.

He swung his bat with all his might.

-Clang!!

Kang Raon’s hit finally came in the third at-bat.

Kang Raon ran quickly as the batted ball flew far past the infield. Only a few steps left to first base. Could he make it to second? Maybe he could. But the first base coach stopped him.

‘I think I could have made it…’

A slightly disappointing instruction.

Kang Raon was always disappointed by things like this. If you don’t take a 20% risk, you get nothing in return. And the Marlins never take that 20% risk.

Whether it’s offense or defense.

Lee Jung-hoon stepped into the batter’s box.

He’s a senior [older or more experienced player] who often invites him out for drinks. Well, they communicate pretty well. He didn’t like the Marlins either.

But what he couldn’t understand was why he stayed with the Marlins. The amount offered by Seoul was about 500 million less in total, but if it were Kang Raon himself, he would have escaped the Marlins even if it was 1 billion less.

“Soo-won. It looks like I’ll have to settle for one RBI [Runs Batted In] this time.”

“Are you going to hit into a double play?”

“Home run. I’m talking about a home run. With a comment like this at this timing, it obviously means I’m going to hit a home run and come back.”

“Ah…”

“This bastard… I’ll see you when I get back.”

First pitch, fastball.

Lee Jung-hoon swung his bat.

It was a two-seamer [a type of fastball that moves slightly to the side].

-Clang!!!

A perfectly mis-hit ball.

That completed a textbook 6-4-3 double play [a common double play in baseball where the ball is hit to the shortstop (6), who throws to the second baseman (4), who then throws to the first baseman (3) for the out].

“……”

Lee Jung-hoon quietly picked up the bat he had thrown down and returned to the dugout, avoiding Choi Soo-won’s eyes.

Two outs, no runners.

-Boom boom boom boom

It wasn’t from the cheering squad.

The loud drumming of a huge drum brought by a fan heightened the atmosphere.

Opening game and debut game.

A rookie who hit two home runs in two consecutive at-bats against the previous year’s Choi Dong-won Award winner [an award given to the best pitcher in the KBO League, South Korea’s professional baseball league], scoring three RBIs.
Moreover, that pitcher had only allowed four runners on base so far.

The tension gradually increased.

In that atmosphere, Jake Bohr on the mound threw the ball hard.

Accurately towards Choi Soo-won’s body.

-Thwack!!!

***

Anyone who has been hit by a baseball flying at 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph] can relate.

It really freaking hurts. But being able to think that it hurts at that moment is lucky. If you get hit in the wrong place, you’ll lose your mind in an instant. Sometimes there are guys who say it’s okay as long as you don’t get hit in the head or face, but if you get hit in the torso, especially the ribs, you can break your ribs and bruise or bleed in your lungs.

Being hit by a baseball traveling over 150 km/h means that.

I couldn’t help but let out a groan.

A tremendous pain shot up my thigh. The thought that came to my mind in the midst of that was that he’s still a decent human being, so he has some manners when throwing a beanball [a pitch intentionally thrown at the batter]. Or so I thought.

Was it a mistake?

No way.

Jake Bohr is a pitcher who boasts a decent command that allows him to throw the ball into the strike zone even when he squeezes out every last bit of strength. This ball that hit my thigh accurately was definitely intentional.

I threw the bat back slightly and glared at Jake Bohr on the mound once.

I thought I should stop them if the players from our dugout ran out, but these bastards. No one runs out. There’s a bit of a commotion, but anyway, it wasn’t an atmosphere where a bench-clearing brawl would break out.

Well, it’s not like I got hit above the waist, it’s just my thigh, so it could happen. Of course, I was a rookie hitter who was hitting consecutive home runs in two at-bats in my debut game and opening game, but the criticism about that would be taken care of by various news outlets and internet users after today’s game.

I ran lightly towards first base.

A throbbing pain shot up my thigh. I could tell from experience. This is a bruise that will last at least 6 weeks. Even that’s because I’m young and recover quickly, so it’s 6 weeks. If I got hit in my 30s, it would be an 8-week injury.

But I didn’t limp.

It’s a man’s pride. It means that a beanball thrown by a guy like you can’t make me limp. Jake Bohr on the mound looked at me with a nasty expression.

Yeah, I guess he didn’t like the ceremony I did a little bit in the first and second at-bats or something.

Lee Gyu-man entered the batter’s box, snorting.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

And to prevent his injured junior from hurting his leg even more if he ran, he finished the inning cleanly with a strikeout.

“Swan!! Did you see that bastard’s expression? That was 100% intentional. I saw it clearly while washing my face.”

“Calm down, Dilton.”

“How can I calm down right now? Besides, I was about to go out and punch him in the face, but these damn bastards grabbed me.”

“It’s just the thigh. If it was above the waist, the seniors probably wouldn’t have grabbed you.”

The dugout was a little noisy earlier, and it seemed like Dilton was thinking of running out. It didn’t seem like he was purely angry about the beanball. It seemed like he wanted to vent his anger about being taken out with runners on first and third despite not allowing any runs. Anyway, it’s a bit of an overreaction to have a bench-clearing brawl over this.

“Damn it. I should have still been on the mound. If I was, I would have hit him right away. Damn bastards. Swan, I’ll tell our pitcher. To hit that hitter who got a timely hit earlier properly.”

“Whoa, whoa, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’re winning. Let’s not help them unite for no reason and just take the win cleanly. Okay?”

“Ha… Swan. You shouldn’t be nice to guys like that. They’ll take you lightly.”

“I know. But later. Let’s win today first. Huh? I have to go out and play defense, so let’s talk about it over dinner after this. Okay?”

Dilton turned away with a sulky face at my words.

The more I talked to him, the more I understood why he failed in Korea. He definitely has a fiery personality.

3:1.

The game continued.

Han Myung-hoon, who came up in the top of the 6th with one out, pitched until the top of the 7th. A 4.11 ERA [Earned Run Average], 6-win, 11-loss starter may not seem like much, but it actually is. Especially if the team he pitched for was the Marlins.

Basically, the pitchers are cut off in order of how well they pitch up to 5 starters, and the rest play in the bullpen. In that sense, it doesn’t make sense that Han Myung-hoon, who was virtually the 3rd starter last year, is playing in the bullpen. Of course, what makes even less sense is that a 6-win, 11-loss pitcher was the 3rd starter.

Anyway, Han Myung-hoon did a good job of holding them scoreless in the 7th.

And the 8th and 9th innings. The Marlins, as usual, gave the fans the thrill of being able to watch the game with excitement until the end. Of course, usually, they would have added a ‘come-from-behind loss’ as an excuse to get drunk.

But surprisingly, today was a little different.

If the typical Marlins pattern was to allow the tying run in the 9th and lose in extra innings, today the Marlins pulled off the upset of adding two more points in the bottom of the 8th.

[Marlins win the opening game 5:2!!]

[100% hitter!! The birth of a monster rookie!! Choi Soo-won’s debut game, 4 at-bats, 2 hits, 2 home runs, 1 hit by pitch, 1 sacrifice fly, 4 RBIs!!]

[Mr. Marlin’s disappointing report card with 4 at-bats and no hits in the opening game]

Immediately after the game.

As expected, everyone from the media to my surroundings went crazy. However, what was a little different from my expectations was that Jake Bohr’s beanball didn’t become a big topic. It was because my debut was so sensational.

Oh, and I couldn’t go out to eat with Dilton after the game. It was because the club recommended that I get a proper checkup at the hospital. I also felt a little uncomfortable in the last at-bat, so I gladly accepted the recommendation.

Fortunately, the results showed that it wasn’t a severe contusion [a bruise].

It was just an injury that would heal if I just applied a compress and left it for a few days. Well, this kind of injury is commonplace when playing baseball. There were times when I played the remaining games of the season with a fractured bone, so compared to that, this wasn’t even an injury.

-Clang!!

[He hit it!! Choi Soo-won!! Choi Soo-won is swinging his bat with an undying fire today.]

However, it was true that I felt a little uncomfortable, so I didn’t put as much power into my hitting. I thought I should keep checking my batting form on the weekends for the time being. Originally, if my body is uncomfortable like this, my form tends to break down little by little without me knowing it, so it’s important to catch these things early.

[Elitz wins the second game against the Marlins 7:3!!]

[Marlins and Elitz’s third game. Will the monster rookie Choi Soo-won start?]

[Choi Soo-won is already a legend as a hitter!! What will he show as a pitcher?]

And finally, the third game.

The moment I had been waiting for had arrived.

[Okay, Marlins and Elitz. The third game of the Elitz and Marlins series. Choi Soo-won is on the mound today.]

[Choi Soo-won has been causing quite a stir with his hitting in the last two games, but the first reason Choi Soo-won became famous was actually his 150 km/h fastball.]

[That’s right. This player was already throwing 150 km/h in his first year. Well, I’m looking forward to seeing what he can show as a pitcher today.]

[Kang So-gu, who showed considerable hitting ability in the last two games, is coming up as the first batter today.]

Kang So-gu, who was batting second until yesterday, is the lead-off hitter, so the batting order is just right.

Winding up.

I pulled my body to the limit as if condensing all the power of my entire body.

Taking the initiative.

Therefore, power over location.

Therefore, with the fastest ball I can throw right now.

Therefore, as if the taut bowstring was being released.

My first pitch accurately hit the spot I was aiming for.

-Thwack!!

Pitcher Choi Soo-won’s first professional game pitching.