The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 121

The Pitcher Who Just Hits Home Runs Well – Episode 121

121. The Pitcher with Six Tools (2)

Monday was a baseball-free day. So, naturally, all baseball fans could do was rehash the previous day’s game.

Some debated whether a certain hitter on our team had prepared particularly well during the off-season, while others declared our team was already doomed for the year.

Of course, no one took those pronouncements too seriously.

The person praising the hitter’s preparation would likely demand he be sent down to the minor leagues after his first hitless game. And the doomsayer would surely proclaim our team would win the championship if we won just one more game.

It was a roller coaster of emotions, like a support group for the manic-depressive, but wasn’t that part of what made the baseball community so enjoyable?

And this time, from Monday night into Tuesday morning.

The issue that continued to dominate discussions was, of course, Choi Su-won. The standout topic was his starting game on Sunday. This was only natural. His two home runs in his debut game on Friday had also generated buzz, but as the saying goes, the grand prize is awarded for second-half performance.

Most people tend to focus on the most recent events.

And among those events, one stood out.

A post titled “Regarding the Choi Su-won 160km/h Bubble Theory” was burning up the message boards with over 800 comments.

As those in the know are aware, there are several ways to measure pitch velocity.

There’s the Doppler effect measurement method traditionally used by teams, and the method of measuring velocity in frames using broadcast cameras.

Of course, the latter is a more sophisticated method, but it typically results in velocities that are 2-3 km/h faster. In fact, when Major League Baseball changed its velocity standard from Pitch f/x [a system using cameras and radar to track pitch data] to TrackMan [a similar, more advanced system] in 2017, the same pitchers saw their velocities increase by 1 mph.

(Velocity data photos from MLB in 2016 and 2017)

Even the old-fashioned speed guns that use the Doppler effect are slower than Pitch f/x.

(Velocity data photos of players who played in both the 1990s and 2000s)

You see, when 155 km/h is displayed on the broadcast screen, people go ‘Wow,’ but the reason why 152 km/h is displayed on the scoreboard is due to these measurement differences.

Oh, of course, Choi Su-won also had 160.1 km/h displayed on the scoreboard after the catcher messed up [likely referring to a passed ball or wild pitch]. But you know what? Sajik Stadium [home of the Busan Marines] doesn’t use speed guns that use the Doppler effect anymore. The scoreboard also uses TrackMan data. Of course, velocity isn’t an official record in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], so if 160.1 km/h is displayed on the scoreboard, it means it exceeded 160. But if you ask if he’s truly the first to exceed 160, I’d say, well, there have been a few more native pitchers who have exceeded 160 based on TrackMan before.

(Screenshot data of players who recorded velocities of 160 km/h or higher on TV broadcasts)

So, the point is fairness. The pitchers who exceeded 160 before couldn’t exceed 160 because the team standard was the speed gun, and Choi Su-won exceeded it because it was after TrackMan was introduced? Of course, as I said before, velocity isn’t an official record in the KBO. But still, if Choi Su-won really wants to be known as the best fireballer in Korean history who exceeded 160, he should throw 163. Because based on the previous speed gun standard, it would only be about 157.

Since the bulletin board is usually full of attention-grabbing and miscellaneous posts, a fairly elaborate post based on data scraped from various sources quickly caught people’s attention.

People refuted. People affirmed. People made personal attacks.

In the midst of that enormous flood of comments, the one smiling the most was none other than the Marines’ PR team. Clearly, they had one win and two losses. They had a losing series from the opening game, but looking at the online atmosphere, it was almost like the Marines had won the championship.

“Velocity definitely has a big impact.”

“Well, the numbers are just intuitive and easy to understand at a glance. Instead of explaining in detail how powerful a combination of a 140 km/h fastball with the same pitching form and a 120 km/h changeup is, it’s more eye-catching to just say 160 km/h.”

“But if that’s the case, shouldn’t we hold an event to capitalize on the momentum?”

“An event? Well… Home run records are popular for a long time, so we can have a lottery event or give a prize to the person who catches the home run ball. But the highest velocity alone is a bit weak…”

“Well, you know, something like this. Since it was 160.1 km/h, we could give the 1601st entering spectator a commemorative photo with Choi Su-won and an autographed ball. Something like that. From what I see, he used to be really good at fan service to kids.”

“Well, that’s not bad.”

“Shall we proceed?”

The PR team leader pondered for a moment.

“Ye-ji, do you have the data on how many spectators we had in April last year?”

“Yes, just a moment. I’ll look it up.”

“I remember the atmosphere was pretty good and the results were good in April last year, so the number of spectators was quite high.”

In the past, the Busan Marines were the most popular team. Although the Changwon Blazes had absorbed a significant portion of the Yeongnam region’s [southeastern region of Korea] popularity, and the population of the Yeongnam region itself was decreasing day by day, it was still a popular team that was in the top five in terms of average attendance.

“Ah, Team Leader, I found it. The average attendance in April last year was 8,227.”

“Only that much? We were in third place in April.”

“That’s because we did so poorly the year before last, and the weather wasn’t very good. Besides, we mostly traveled for away games when people started to gather at the end.”

“When is Choi Su-won’s next appearance?”

“Unless something happens, wouldn’t it be this Saturday’s game against the Daejeon Phoenix? Even if it’s delayed, it’ll be Sunday.”

“What was the attendance like on weekends and holidays in April last year?”

“Home games were in the second and third weeks, and there were 11,651, 10,319, 14,411, and 13,047 spectators respectively.”

“We had over 21,000 people on Saturday of the opening series, right? Even if we consider that a special opening game effect, looking at the current atmosphere, people will gather to see Choi Su-won’s 160 km/h ball. So, we’ll have at least 16,000 people, right?”

“Yes. That’s probably right.”

The PR team leader nodded.

“Then let’s do this. We can display the velocity up to two decimal places anyway.”

“Wait a minute. Team Leader, are you perhaps?”

“Let’s make it the 16,013th entering spectator.”

“Team Leader, I don’t think that’s a good idea. What are you going to do if we don’t get 16,013 people?”

“That’s right, Team Leader. Then how about this? The 1,601st spectator is guaranteed to come, so we can give them a small gift. And we can give the 16,013th spectator a big gift, regardless of whether it’s a weekday or a weekend.”

“Oh, Team Leader. Ye-ji’s idea is good. If he breaks the highest velocity record, we can naturally increase the number. Who knows? Maybe if he keeps breaking the highest velocity record little by little and it becomes a hot topic, we might get over 16,000 spectators even on weekdays?”

“16,000 on weekdays? Is that even possible?”

“I think Elitz had about 18,000 on a Thursday when they were competing with the Hawks for the final postseason spot around the end of last year?”

The Marines PR team swallowed the words that were on the tip of their tongues, ‘We won’t be able to do that unless we’re competing for the final postseason spot.’ Because there’s a time and place for self-deprecating jokes.

“Then let’s proceed according to Ye-ji’s opinion. Ye-ji, create the promotional copy and send me the design draft by today. As quickly as possible. And Kim, contact the operations team and get in touch with Choi Su-won.”

“Yes!!”

***

Half of the people in South Korea live in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon. And half of the professional teams in South Korea are also located in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon. This means that local teams like the Marines have to travel to Seoul for more than half of their away games.

This also causes some differences in actual performance. Players perform relatively well at their home stadium because they are familiar with the stadium, but the fact that commuting from home is different from commuting from a 4-star tourist hotel is also a factor that cannot be overlooked.

“I really understand why Ho-chang went to Seoul even though they offered him 500 million less every time we go to Seoul for an away game.”

“If you understand, why didn’t you go too, Lee Jung-hoon? Elitz offered you 500 million less too.”

“Oh, come on, Senior Kyung-joon. It was 500 million including all the options. If you take out the options, it was an 800 million difference, so the actual amount is quite large. Besides, if you think about the difference in housing prices and living expenses between Seoul and Busan. Above all, I’m a star in Seomyeon [a popular district in Busan], but it’s a bit different in Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul].”

“Tsk.”

The large bus headed to Seoul.

The Marines’ away bus was a total of three, but unlike typical 4-seater express buses, they were 3-seater premium buses, and the front-to-back spacing between seats was very wide, with 22 seats, each of which was almost equivalent to a business class seat on an airplane.

Honestly, even in the major leagues, there are no teams that ride such good buses.

Of course, they basically fly and use buses to travel from the airport to the hotel, but they still ride the bus for almost 30 minutes to an hour, and every time I missed the bus I used to ride in Korea.

“We should take Su-won, who was born in Seoul, to Gangnam. Right, Su-won?”

“Yes?”

“Hey, Lee Jung-hoon, go alone if you’re going. No, what kind of club are you taking a minor who can’t even drink to? If you even show a hint of that, I won’t stand still this time.”

“Oh, it’s a joke. A joke. I wasn’t planning on going with a minor either.”

Lee Jung-hoon and Seo Kyung-joon bickered. And as always, Kang Ra-on and Noh Hyung-wook looked at them with dissatisfied expressions.

And in the corner seat of the bus.

Lee Gyu-man, who was sitting alone in the upper seat far away from the manager sitting in the front, called Lee Jung-hoon in a low voice.

“Jung-hoon.”

“Yes, Senior Gyu-man.”

“You’re getting old, so refrain from it for a while.”

“Haha, yes!! I understand!!”

“Don’t even think about harassing Ha-min just because he turned twenty.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about taking him out in the first place. If I take Ha-min, there’s a high probability that I’ll spend money and just be a supporting character. I may have an idol face, but I can’t beat an actor’s face.”

Seo Kyung-joon asked with an expression of catching Lee Jung-hoon’s natural response.

“Really? So, you’re trying to take Su-won because he’s easier to handle?”

“Hey, Su-won and I have different genres. I’m an idol face. He’s a model face. It’s a different pool. We’re both winning. Honestly, if I just wanted to stand out unilaterally, I would have asked you to go with me, Senior.”

“What, you bastard?”

Seoul Jamsil Stadium.

The most vast stadium in South Korea, uniquely shared by two professional teams.

Of course, it wasn’t the game against Elitz, which was the first series of the opening game. The Seoul team that had won the most championships after the Hawks and Griffins in the long history of the KBO. It was the Jaguars who were our second three-game series opponent.

Bottom of the 1st inning of the first game of the series.

A pitcher with the face of an actor came up on the mound.

It was Baek Ha-min’s professional debut as a starter in the first team.