The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 130

130. Home Runs to Him (6)

In fact, the idea of using me as an outfielder had been consistently discussed since I joined the Marines.

Being limited to designated hitter and first baseman wasn’t ideal for me either. Considering my athleticism and instincts, it must have been even more disappointing. Of course, from a team perspective, an outfielder is more valuable than a designated hitter who can’t play the field.

But beyond those reasons, the most decisive factor was the rule about the ‘extinction of the designated hitter.’ Baseball rules are complex, partly because of their long history, and the extinction of the designated hitter is one such rule. [This rule dictates that once a designated hitter is removed, they cannot return to that role.]

Using a designated hitter instead of a pitcher is only possible at the start of the game. Also, while a pitcher can bat in the designated hitter slot during the game, the reverse is not allowed.

So, my swing today wasn’t like a National League pitcher’s at-bat, but rather like performing both designated hitter and pitcher roles simultaneously. And splitting this role in two isn’t possible under KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] rules without the Ohtani rule. [A rule allowing a player to both pitch and hit in the same game without penalty, named after Shohei Ohtani.]

[Ah, what’s happening? Why is Choi Soo-won suddenly going to the outfield?]

[It seems they want to keep Choi Soo-won at bat. But could Choi Soo-won even play outfield? As far as I know, he only has experience at first base and designated hitter.]

[It seems they can’t take Lee Gyu-man out.]

“Hey, Seo Kyung-joon was hitting well today, why go to such lengths to put Choi Soo-won in the outfield? Just take Lee Gyu-man out.”

“Right. Gyu-man’s 0 for 3 today, isn’t he?”

“If it was just hitless, I wouldn’t say anything. It was a double play. A double play.”

The outfielder’s glove felt awkward on my hand. It’s definitely heavier and longer than a pitcher’s glove. Of course, it’s thinner and lighter than a first baseman’s mitt, but the weight distribution feels different.

“Good luck.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

Seo Kyung-joon’s expression wasn’t good as he left the field. Of course. No player is happy to be replaced. And his hitting wasn’t bad today. So, he must be even more disappointed.

The pitcher who came up to the mound after me was Han Myung-hoon.

Last year, 6 wins, 11 losses, ERA [Earned Run Average] of 4.11, and the most wins among domestic players. But this isn’t meant to be sarcastic.

He achieved those results as a starting pitcher for the ‘Marines.’ Choi Min-hyuk and Ha-min are getting opportunities because of their huge signing bonuses and young age, but Han Myung-hoon has the ‘track record’ to take their starting spot at any time.

Clearly, Han Myung-hoon deserved the title of ‘Marines’ strongest domestic pitcher’ based on last year’s performance…

-Clang!!

[Hit! A high fly ball!]

Anyway, this team. It’s always like this when I try to praise them. By the way, the ball is heading my way. This was a more tense moment than when I was on the mound or at bat. It’s because my outfield defense is a bit of a mess.

Outfielders need to roughly guess where the ball will go at the moment of impact, which is only possible with experience built up through consistent training. And the earlier you start, the better. That’s why most players who switch to the outfield after high school struggle.

In fact, most of those players rely on their speed and strong arm to barely survive as outfielders when they’re young, but as they get older and their speed decreases, they quickly become unable to play outfield due to their poor judgment of fly balls.

Of course, even if my outfield defense is a bit of a mess, it’s not like I can’t catch a simple outfield fly ball. Especially not with this fast and agile twenty-year-old body.

So, I quickly ran and turned around with ease.

‘Huh?’

And I took a few steps back in the direction I came from. I had moved too far.

[Out! It’s an out. Choi Soo-won made a great play in his first time at right field.]

[It looks easy, but it’s not at all. He moved a bit too far, but he quickly covered it with his speed.]

“What? I just felt something familiar in Soo-won’s defense?”

“Could it be… Lee Joo-hyuk?”

“Wow, damn… I just got goosebumps. Did Soo-won get outfield defense tutoring from Lee Joo-hyuk? Isn’t that zigzag defense Lee Joo-hyuk’s personal special move?”

“No, maybe we’ve been misunderstanding something big. Maybe that’s a natural phenomenon that appears when hardware ‘overwhelmingly’ surpasses software…”

“But then, Soo-won is new to the outfield, so that’s understandable, but why is Lee Joo-hyuk, who’s been an outfielder for six years, like that?”

“Maybe six years wasn’t enough to fill him with an athlete’s body worthy of an Olympic medalist?”

[Top of the 6th. Han Myung-hoon safely gets out of a two-out, runner on second crisis.]

[Han Myung-hoon, who showed good form as a starter last year. He’s been excellent as a setup man this season.]

[However, the worrying part is that he has a lot of games where he pitches for more than two innings.]

[That’s right. Of course, he’s used to pitching long innings since he was a starter last year, but unlike starters who have a set routine, relievers have to pitch often without knowing when they’ll come out.]

Wow, I was really startled for a moment.

The ball didn’t travel as far as I thought. It was just a simple fly ball, so it was fortunate, but if it had been a proper barreled hit, it would have been a disaster.

The bottom of the 6th and the top of the 7th defensive innings passed quickly. Fortunately, no more balls came my way. It seemed like the manager was considering using a pinch hitter instead of Han Myung-hoon in the bottom of the 6th, but it was a great pitching performance that made it worth keeping him in for his at-bat.

And the bottom of the 7th.

The batting order started with the second batter, Lee Jung-hoon.

I, the next in line, immediately grabbed my bat and headed to the on-deck circle. Lee Jung-hoon, who would normally be full of chatter, was quiet.

Was it because I teased him for only adding one RBI [Runs Batted In] when he said he’d hit a grand slam in the previous at-bat? Or was it because I teased him for hitting a two-run homer instead of a three-run homer because the runner only made it to the base? This time, his expression was quite determined.

The pitcher on the mound for the Dolphins wasn’t Yoo Hyung-joon, who started today.

His mentality was already shattered when I hit my second home run against him. The pitcher who came up now was Jo Joong-woo. The Dolphins’ third card of the game.

-Whoosh!!

First pitch.

Lee Jung-hoon swung aggressively at a sharp slider and was fooled.

“Strike!”

He frowned and stepped out of the batter’s box to take a deep breath.

Some hitters like to step up to the plate right after playing defense, while others don’t. It seemed like Lee Jung-hoon was the latter.

Second pitch.

Jo Joong-woo’s pitch sharply targeted the corner of the zone.

-Clang!!

But as if he had been waiting for it, Lee Jung-hoon’s bat swung and lifted the ball high.

[Hit! Lee Jung-hoon! To the right-center! A huge hit! It’s going, going!] Is it going over!]

Lee Jung-hoon threw down his bat, looked at me once, and smiled. His smile was so confident that I couldn’t say anything.

The Dolphins’ center fielder, Kang Il-jin, ran out.

Of course, he wasn’t as fast as our center fielder, Lee Joo-hyuk. From the start, Lee Joo-hyuk’s speed was more suited for a track athlete than a baseball player.

Anyway, he was fast. And what was different from Lee Joo-hyuk was that his steps contained ‘confidence.’ A strong belief that the ball would fall where he was going. He turned around in the same posture he was running in and powerfully extended his glove.

-Thwack

[Wow! Kang Il-jin! Super catch! This is a really amazing play that’s hard to see!]

[Bottom of the 7th, the score is still a four-point difference. The Dolphins players haven’t lost their focus yet.]

[4 and 5 points. It’s only a 1-point difference, but it feels a bit different. The former is a score that can be caught up with one grand slam, but the latter is a score that can’t be caught up even with a grand slam. I wonder what kind of result this defense will bring to today’s game. The game continues.]

Lee Jung-hoon, who was leisurely running towards first base, froze. But this might sound a bit harsh, but somehow that senior looks better being embarrassed about a flyout than swaggering in after hitting a home run.

“Ah… he caught it.”

“That was close.”

“I’m telling you, we need to move Sajik’s fences closer.”

“By the way, the broadcast would have captured a cool image of you hitting a home run and walking leisurely…”

“Well, it’s not like I’m not used to being criticized for being flashy. I’ll just be a little embarrassed. And if we win the game, there won’t be any talk about that. Besides, the center of attention today is someone else.”

“That’s true.”

“Go and hit another one. Someone said that the opportunity to set a record doesn’t come often, so you have to seize it when it comes.”

“Yes.”

[Bottom of the 7th. One out, no runners on. Choi Soo-won is at the plate. His fourth at-bat of the game.]

[3 at-bats, 3 hits, 3 home runs, and 7 RBIs today. All of the Marines’ runs today have come from Choi Soo-won’s home runs.]

One out, no runners on.

The batter at the plate is a monster who has hit 3 home runs in 3 at-bats today.

And the score is a 4-point difference.

In reality, if they had any sense, they would walk me here. But they probably can’t. Just like how baseball’s unwritten rules prevent me from celebrating too flamboyantly even after hitting a home run, not intentionally interfering with a record is also an unwritten rule of baseball.

Of course, unlike MLB [Major League Baseball], Korea is a bit more lenient about it. There’s a perception that winning the game is more important than unwritten rules.

Well, it’s hard to say which is more right. Because we’re playing the game according to the rules, but that game is ultimately played ‘to show’ to the fans. American baseball fans think it’s cowardly to interfere with a record in a way that’s not a head-to-head competition, even if the team’s victory is at stake, but Korean baseball fans don’t think that way. It’s just a different culture.

But the score is a whopping 4-point difference right now. And there are no runners on base. Even if I hit a home run, it’s only 1 point added. But what if they intentionally walk me here and break my consecutive home run record? Honestly, that would be crossing the line.

I guarantee it.

If they do that, the Dolphins’ hitters will have to wear helmets with reinforced steel on their heads in every game I pitch from the next game on.

And as I expected, the Dolphins’ dugout didn’t send a signal for an intentional walk to the umpire.

Unlike high school baseball, professional baseball has been applying the pace-of-play rules for a long time, and according to that, an intentional walk is recognized if the manager expresses his intention, even without throwing the ball.

Jo Joong-woo, standing on the mound, carefully prepared the ball.

-Whoosh!!

A first pitch that misses the zone.

-Whoosh!!

A second pitch that also misses the zone.

-Ooooooooo

A huge booing that echoes through Sajik Stadium.

The pitcher takes off his hat and wipes the sweat from his forehead amidst the noise.

And the third pitch.

It wasn’t a bad pitch.

Yes, it definitely wasn’t a bad pitch.

Just about the same as the pitch that Lee Jung-hoon almost hit a home run on earlier?

That was enough.

-Clang!!!

This time, Kang Il-jin didn’t chase the ball either.

The top of Sajik’s outfield.

A huge fourth home run landed.

[Pitcher Choi Soo-won gets his first win!! And the third player in history to hit 4 consecutive home runs in one game!!]

[Choi Soo-won. ‘I just swung with the thought of making up for the runs I lost, and I wasn’t really conscious of the record.’]

[Choi Soo-won will not play in the third game against the Dolphins on Sunday!! The challenge for a new record will be on the road to Daejeon next Tuesday!!]