The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 126

The Pitcher Is Just Good at Hitting Home Runs – Episode 126 (126/404)

126. What Home Runs Mean to Him (2)

“I was worried the league would get a bit dull with Hye-sung going to the States, but thanks to you, it’s been pretty fun, even though it’s still early. Oh, you know? Hye-sung could never beat me in home runs, no matter what else he did.”

He’s here to brag, alright. But it’s bragging with a hint of melancholy.

“Ah, yes.”

In fact, Baek Kang-ho’s obsession with being the home run king was much greater than people thought. He was undoubtedly Korea’s best home run hitter, having won the title four times in the last eight seasons, yet his obsession never waned. If anything, it only grew stronger.

This was the same even before I went back in time.

Back then, he was so obsessed with me that it was sickening, but when I started winning the home run title from 2029, he acted almost like a tragic hero. To be honest, I was incredibly annoyed at first, but around 2030 or 31, I had a serious conversation with him about it over drinks after an awards ceremony.

It was mostly about why he was so obsessed with being the home run king. Half of it was a drunkard’s rambling, and the other half was pathetic jealousy, but even in that jealousy, I understood why he had become so pathetic.

And after that conversation, instead of being annoyed, I felt a bit sorry for him. Well, something like that.

Born in 2000.

So, the members of the 2019 draft class are quite impressive. Especially the performances of the players who were first-round picks were legendary, and Baek Kang-ho was outstanding among them. He was known as a home run king since high school and won the Rookie of the Year award in his debut year with 30 home runs, making him a true star. But from his third year on, things started to change a bit.

Jung Hye-sung.

He was truly a star, just like his name [Hye-sung means comet or meteor in Korean]. Also a member of the 2019 draft class born in 2000, he grew steadily, like the protagonist of a typical Japanese baseball manga, and eventually achieved the greatest success among his peers, despite not being a first-round pick.

Baek Kang-ho failed to go to the US via posting [a system where KBO players can be bid on by MLB teams]. He reportedly had an offer of about $5 million for two years as a free agent, but he didn’t go to the US either. On the other hand, Jung Hye-sung failed in his posting but went to the US last winter for $15 million over two years.

And from his third year to his eighth year.

Baek Kang-ho couldn’t surpass Jung Hye-sung in any aspect of batting. The only thing he had an advantage in until Jung Hye-sung left was home runs.

Oh, of course, just because I felt sorry for him doesn’t mean I gave up the home run title to Baek Kang-ho. From 2029 to 2033, I didn’t miss the home run title for five consecutive years. And by a significant margin. In fact, the part that MLB valued the most about me was my power, as I was hitting 50 home runs alone in the KBO League [Korean Baseball Organization], where the second-place hitter was hitting around 40 home runs in a pitcher-friendly environment.

“Honestly, I was just going to go to the States, but the club held on to me so strongly. I’m still young, and we won the championship last year. I thought it would be okay to build a Dolphins dynasty and then go. Well, of course, our Dolphins are already the strongest team, but we need to win three in a row to be called a dynasty, right?”

He was rattling on about things I didn’t even ask, and I felt like this guy hasn’t changed at all. Something like that.

-Thwack!!!

But one thing.

There was a difference between 2030 and 2027.

“Hahaha, so you’re Su-won. Sorry, sorry. Our Kang-ho is just spouting nonsense to a rookie again. If he said anything unpleasant, I apologize on his behalf. Our Kang-ho is heartbroken these days because his friend suddenly left for the States.”

“Ah, Captain!! My heart is perfectly fine, you know? What hurts right now isn’t my heart, but my head that you hit with your fist.”

“Not Captain, but Captain!! Seriously, this guy, even if I take my eyes off him for a second. Su-won, anyway, I’m sorry. Let’s all fight hard in today’s game. Then, bye!!”

Park Ju-won.

The Dolphins’ captain, thirty-nine years old this year.

Park Ju-won was the one who won two of the four home run titles that Baek Kang-ho didn’t win in the last eight years. And he didn’t win them in his early thirties. He won the home run title at thirty-five and thirty-six. Although he failed, he also has MLB experience.

Moreover, Park Ju-won was the one who broke the high school baseball home run record 20 years ago, which I broke the year before last.

These two are the two main pillars of the Dolphins’ offense, and together they hit almost 70 home runs a year. Considering that the Phoenix’s total number of home runs last year was just over 80, it’s an absurd level.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to go around picking fights with other teams’ players? Didn’t I?”

“No, I wasn’t picking a fight, I was just giving a word of blessing to a junior as a senior…”

-Thwack!!

“That’s what I’m saying, that’s a fight. I can’t cover for you every day. Besides, the Marines have Senior Gyu-man too. That senior is quiet now, but when he gets angry, it’s no joke. I can’t do anything with my seniority. Be careful. Please. Huh?”

“Ah… I really wasn’t picking a fight…”

Baek Kang-ho’s grumbling as he was dragged away was quite amusing.

Certainly, the atmosphere is completely different from the Marines, perhaps because it is a relatively new team that was built by gathering players from various places.

-Clang!!!

[Park Ju-won!! He hit it!! A huge hit!! Over the fence!! Over the fence!!!]

[Park Ju-won’s second home run of the season. Wow, the Dolphins, the league champions last year, are really scary.]

[Looking at last year’s record, the Dolphins were first in the league in both batting average and slugging percentage. There are only four 30-home run hitters in the league, including foreign players, and two of them are Dolphins players.]

[Since the league’s pitcher-friendly environment started in 2022, it’s common for teams to bring in slugging foreign hitters, but this overlaps with NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level of baseball in Japan], so the cost-effectiveness isn’t great. But the Dolphins brought in an infielder who is good at defense and picking pitches at a relatively low price, right? It’s not like they didn’t spend money either, they invested all the remaining money in the starting pitchers. Personally, I think the Dolphins are a very strong championship contender again this year.]

[Okay, the score is 5:3 again. Ah, the Marines are finally taking Diego Rodriguez down.]

The first game against the Dolphins.

Diego Rodriguez, who was hit with a three-run homer with two outs in the 6th inning, was eventually taken off the mound. Overall, his pitches weren’t that bad. Park Ju-won just hit it well. And that’s the scary thing about home runs. From 2:3 with runners on first and second, they just ran away to 5:3 in one shot.

Kwak Jae-young went up to the mound.

The oldest member of the pitching staff, it’s easy to explain if you think of him as Marine’s Senior Jin-woo. He has a very good personality. However, the disappointing thing is that his skills are also like Senior Jin-woo.

-Clang!!

Fortunately, he didn’t give up any runs after coming up with two outs, but there were runners on first and third.

If Han Myung-hoon, our proudest homegrown pitcher with the most wins last year, had come up, it would have been a little better, but he had been pitching too often recently, and even though middle relievers are used like slaves, it’s not a good idea to bring him up when the score is behind.

Anyway, the first game on Friday.

We ended up losing 8:4.

***

“So, if you’re the 1,601st person to enter, you get a signed Choi Su-won ball and a commemorative photo, right?”

“That’s right. And if you’re the 16,013th person to enter, they’ll give you the uniform Choi Su-won wore in today’s game and the glove he used during practice, signed.”

The Marines’ PR team was working hard.

In fact, the only PR that the club’s PR team can do is to add a few lines to the internet articles of reporters who have connections, and to upload related materials to the club’s official website or SNS [Social Networking Service]. Moreover, the period for planning, getting approval, and uploading the event itself was only four days, which was not very long. As a result, not many of the spectators who came to see today’s game knew about the event.

“But is the entrance count working properly? They’re not just doing it haphazardly and giving it to people they know, are they?”

“Uh, they’re counting with the entrance code, so it should be working properly. And what are they going to rig it for, giving away something so great? Honestly, if you’re a club official, you can just get a signed Choi Su-won ball.”

“No, that’s true, but the 16,013th person gets the uniform and glove that the player wore. That’s worth at least several hundred thousand won, so they might do that.”

“Idiot. Just forget about the 16,013th person. That doesn’t exist. Even if it’s Saturday, sixteen thousand people at a Marines game these days? Does that make any sense? Didn’t you see the news that eight thousand people came on the weekend last year?”

“Really? Didn’t more people come to the opening game?”

“That’s because of the opening game effect. But even then, almost half of the stadium was empty. I guarantee that there will be fewer people at today’s game than at the opening game.”

But it didn’t take long for his bold statement to be proven wrong.

As the bus passed each stop, the number of people getting on increased. Traffic congestion intensified, and the bus, which had become more crowded than a rush-hour bus, started to leave without picking up passengers, telling them to take the next bus.

Yes, 16,013 people was definitely a hard number to imagine for the Marines at the end of last year. But what they overlooked was that the Marines at the end of last year had already failed to advance to the postseason.

No fan goes to the stadium to see their team lose. Everyone wants to see their team win. This is also true for the Phoenix, who claim to be ‘happy’ and ‘Buddhist fans’ [fans who remain calm and detached even when their team loses]. Therefore, what ultimately draws people to the stadium is victory.

The Marines won a winning series for the first time in 246 days in the last Jamsil game. Of course, it may be ‘just’ a winning series to some. But for Marines fans who have stubbornly believed in the words ‘this year is different’ for a long time, a winning series in 246 days was reason enough to take the time to come to the stadium on the weekend.

Moreover, a promising player with 160.1km/h.

Although there was no large-scale promotion or advertising through the media, the rumors inevitably spread among baseball fans. Especially if it’s the protagonist of two consecutive home runs in his debut game, who has been a promising player worth 2 billion won since high school and has made remarkable contributions in practice games with MLB.

“So, the starting pitcher is also batting today?”

“That’s right. Mom, how many times are you going to ask the same thing? Ugh.”

“Hey, a mom can ask the same thing a few times. When you were little, your mom kept answering the same thing a hundred times.”

“No, Dad gets annoyed when Mom keeps asking the same questions, why are you only doing that to me?”

“This little punk? You think you can mess with your dad just because you’ve grown up a bit. Hey, are you and I the same? If you’re so upset, get married quickly and get annoyed at your wife.”

“No, who wouldn’t go if they didn’t want to?”

Numerous spectators gathered in family units.

The children who visited Sajik [a famous baseball stadium in Busan, South Korea] with their fathers and mothers when they were young had grown up and were now visiting Sajik again with their fathers and mothers.

18,721 spectators.

And at the center of the attention of the gathered spectators, Choi Su-won prepared for his second pitching of the season.

The pitcher, who had warmed up with braised short ribs in the morning and went to work, was in the best condition since the season started.