The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 132

132. Successful Pitcher (2)

Lee Jung-hoon felt the recent performance of the Marines was quite promising.

He was fundamentally a free spirit, and the Marines of ten years ago felt like hell to him.

Was this what the military, which he had only heard about, was like? The heroic tales of senior alumni who occasionally visited their alma mater when he was in school were actually happening in the Marines. And that wasn’t all.

Sacred Bone, True Bone, or Head Rank 6 [terms referring to the Silla Dynasty’s social class system].

Honestly, he didn’t even know what those words meant at first. Korean history wasn’t an elective, and when he was in school, it was unthinkable for the baseball team to study. Anyway, it wasn’t important that it was a social class system in the Silla Dynasty. What was important here was that Jung-hoon was Head Rank 6, not Sacred Bone or True Bone.

At first, it was funny.

“Is this some kind of child’s play?” But that humor soon turned into fear, because it wasn’t child’s play.

Lee Gyu-man, the team’s greatest hitter, was also not Sacred Bone. Strictly speaking, he belonged to True Bone. When he became the team’s representative, Lee Jung-hoon thought that all of this would improve.

However, just as the treatment of Head Rank 6 didn’t greatly improve even when Kim Chunchu, later known as King Taejong Muyeol of Silla, became king, only the boundary between True Bone and Sacred Bone became blurred, and discrimination against those from other regions still existed.

And it’s only natural that if stress arises in relationships beyond work-related stress in the workplace, it will also affect work.

In the meantime, the only fortunate thing was that Lee Jung-hoon himself was a pretty good baseball player, and his mental strength was stronger than he thought. Even in that situation, he stubbornly recorded results and was able to stay in the first team.

However, since even his co-workers were hostile in a foreign land with no ties, his indulgence in entertainment may have been inevitable.

“The reason I stayed in Busan? Hey, what else could it be? Of course, it’s money.”

It was a lie.

What caught him, who was trying to go to Seoul even if it meant getting one billion won less, because he couldn’t stand the way the guys who used to act up when they were active players continued to act up even after being appointed as coaches, was the newly appointed general manager. He assured him that although the foreign manager had failed, he would continue such reforms.

Was there any affection left for this damn team?

Perhaps it was because he was thinking about the fans who gathered at Sajik Stadium wearing jerseys with ‘Lee Jung-hoon’ printed on them. Still, one jersey would cost at least 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD], and in a country where not a single resource is produced, it wouldn’t be good for so many clothes to become unwearable.

Recent weeks.

Lee Jung-hoon was slowly feeling it. Could it be that now was the ‘timing’?

How’s the condition?

Honestly, I don’t know. It’s not like my body feels like it’s flying just because I didn’t go out and play and slept. Rather, I couldn’t sleep well because I couldn’t sleep when I tried to sleep without drinking at night.

The pitcher on the mound is Lim Gwang-hyung.

He’s crazy.

Instead of just retiring in the United States, what did he hope to gain from Phoenix that he came back and is doing this?

First pitch.

A 143.4km/h [approximately 89 mph] fastball.

– Whoosh!!

“Strike!!”

It was a crazy, precise fastball that grazed the edge of the strike zone.

But it wasn’t just because of the location.

The timing was different.

‘Two-seam?’

He was originally famous for his control of pace and use of various pitches. But after eating some American food, he became even more vicious. He threw a two-seam fastball with the exact same form and course as the four-seam he threw to Seo Kyung-joon a little while ago, and the tailing action is amazing.

Second.

Similarly, a full outside course.

– Bang!!

He barely managed to stop the bat he was swinging. The catcher asked the third base umpire if it was a check swing. Like the polite country of the East, instead of pointing with his finger, he politely used both hands. The third base umpire responded to his politeness with a hot fist [meaning a quick and decisive call].

“Strike!!”

I realized it was a slider and stopped the bat right away, but this is a strike. He looked at the umpire with a look of injustice, but nothing really changed. It’s one of the sorrows of Head Rank 6. The Korean baseball scene is all about connections and school ties, and since all the umpires are from the professional league, it’s sad even at times like this that there are no connections to the top.

Of course, it can be seen as a victim mentality in some ways. It could be that the umpire made a really accurate call. But from Lee Jung-hoon’s point of view, he can’t help but think that way.

Third.

Two-seam.

– Clang!!!

He cut at it, holding the bat short and pushing it out. The ball that slightly missed the third base foul line rolled on the floor.

It’s a strategy to hold out until a good ball comes when the count is not good.

Of course, as long as the pitcher on the mound is Lim Gwang-hyung, it is not known how long he can hold out. But Lee Jung-hoon has already been in the Marines for 11 years. He’s experienced at holding out.

Fourth.

Finally, a four-seam.

But the course was too bad.

– Bang!!

It was the first ball in play.

The count is now 1-2.

Choi Soo-won was seen in the waiting batter’s box.

Even mountains and rivers change in ten years. Lee Jung-hoon, who didn’t even know what the *golpumje* [romanization of 골품제, the Silla Dynasty’s social class system] was, now knew that it was a system of the Silla Dynasty that existed in the past, and that unlike the True Bone, which eventually ascended to the throne, the Head Rank 6 was Head Rank 6 until the moment the Silla Dynasty collapsed.

‘So, is that Choi Soo-won a sign that this Marines team is doomed?’

No, that can’t be.

If you haven’t won the championship in 35 years in a league with only 10 teams, it’s as good as doomed. So the Marines are already a doomed team. How can you doom something that’s already doomed? So it would be reasonable to see this as a sign that the Marines will be reborn, just like the Goryeo Dynasty was newly established in the place where Silla collapsed.

– Clang!!

The second cut.

Still, perhaps because it was a little better than before, the baseball flew deep into the third base infield stands.

‘So, is Soo-won Wang Geon [founder of the Goryeo Dynasty] and I’m Gung Ye [a controversial figure in Korean history]? But the one-eyed bald head doesn’t look good…’

Useless thoughts.

But even so, Lee Jung-hoon’s bat was sharp.

– Clang!!

The sharp swing of a player who has endured 11 years in the first team sent a 147.9km/h [approximately 92 mph] four-seam over the third base foul line.

The ball count is still 1-2.

Lim Gwang-hyung on the mound threw his seventh ball.

Lee Jung-hoon’s bat moved. It was a very late start to the swing.

It was a timing for a breaking ball, and it was a timing that could have been cut if it was a fastball.

But it was even later than that.

– Whoosh!!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

A 123.8km/h [approximately 77 mph] changeup.

It was an absurdly slow ball. This was Lim Gwang-hyung’s most powerful weapon that allowed him to play in the major leagues for six years, and it was also a ball that was rated as a plus-plus based on Lim Gwang-hyung’s prime.

Strikeout after seven pitches.

It was a bit of a disappointing result. According to a Major League report I read when I was engrossed in this, it’s a benefit even if a batter strikes out after seeing about 10 balls, so this is definitely a loss.

But…

“I watched well, senior.”

“Do you know a little?”

“Yes, I was wondering what the changeup timing would be today, and it’s perfect.”

The Marines’ best hitter, who was in the waiting batter’s box, grabbed his bat and walked to the plate.

To challenge the five consecutive home runs, which has never happened in KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] history, and only once in the history of world baseball.

***

As I went back in time, there have been quite a few changes in history.

There were parts that were greatly related to me, such as the drafts in 2026 and 2027, but there were also parts that I thought were not greatly related to me.

One of them is Lim Gwang-hyung.

I remember exactly.

Even before going back in time, I clearly faced that senior before. But that’s definitely not this year, my first year. Lim Gwang-hyung clearly didn’t have elbow surgery and played in the big leagues for three more years before returning. The 2029 season, when I won my first MVP, was the year that senior returned, and at that time, I hit multiple home runs in that senior’s comeback game.

However, at that time, Lim Gwang-hyung threw a fastball of about 145km/h [approximately 90 mph] instead of a fastball of 148km/h [approximately 92 mph]. He even threw it while gritting his teeth and breaking his balance.

In that sense, Lim Gwang-hyung today was really a completely different pitcher.

I think I can believe that he is a real active major leaguer. It’s not for nothing that he’s playing as the first starter, ahead of both foreign pitchers. Of course, his career itself was incomparably great.

Anyway, Lim Gwang-hyung in his prime was a pitcher who was said to have very excellent *pitchability* [a term referring to a pitcher’s overall skill and ability to control the game]. It’s an unnecessarily difficult word, but to summarize it roughly, it means a pitcher who has good control, is smart and experienced enough to utilize that good control, and can throw various pitches. It can be seen as a story attached to a pitcher who has everything except velocity.

The major league-level pitcher who had everything except that velocity threw the ball.

The first pitch was a fastball.

I swung the bat.

The location was really amazing.

A high ball in a deep inside course.

I stopped the bat.

– Bang!!

“Strike!!”

Lim Gwang-hyung on the mound smirked.

So he’s a year older than me before I went back in time.

If you only consider experience, it’s about even with me. He must have thought roughly the same as me.

‘You can’t hit this kind of ball right now. Isn’t that right?’

That’s right.

If I wasn’t in the middle of setting a record, I could have swung coolly. But the ball just now was a course that was hard to get over the fence unless it was a lucky hit. Honestly, the fact that I got a strike call on this kind of ball is also the result of almost accurately understanding today’s umpire’s zone in front.

In addition, the zone also included some service area [meaning the umpire was giving the pitcher the benefit of the doubt]. Damn it. But I can’t help it. Just like the service area of the veranda gets wider when you come to the latest apartment, the more experience and the better the career of the pitcher, the wider the service area becomes. Today’s umpire looks like he’s in his 40s, so maybe he worked with Lim Gwang-hyung when he was active.

Second.

The ball flies to me as if tempting me, slightly away from home plate.

A fastball on the outside low course.

– Bang!!!

It was a two-seam.

The umpire’s hand doesn’t go up this time. Lim Gwang-hyung raises his eyebrows. Is it because he lived in the United States? His expression is quite rich for a pitcher. You’re dying to hit a home run, but you don’t swing the bat even at a low course fastball? I think that’s roughly the expression.

1-1

The third ball flies to the center.

But it’s a curve.

It hooked and fell, bounced on the floor once, and was sucked into the catcher’s mitt.

Honestly, this was a bit of a show, *pitchability* or whatever. I don’t think he threw curves much even in the big leagues, but this old man seems to be having some fun today. If not, he might have really thought that I was so blinded by the home run that I would blindly swing if the ball came to the center.

Now the count is 1-2.

I haven’t even swung the bat once yet, but it feels like there have been a lot of useless mind games. Anyway, the kids who are said to have high *pitchability* are a bit annoying for this reason. The more annoying case here is when they are sucked into their own design.

Fourth.

Fastball.

– Clang!!!

I swung the bat with all my might.

The batted ball went out coolly. So I threw the bat and ran first. But the feel isn’t very good. It was a ball that came inside, but it was a two-seam. It’s a ball that would have been a fly ball out if I hadn’t extended my armpits a little at the last moment.

[Fast batted ball!! Ah, but it slightly missed the left foul pole.]

As expected, it was a foul home run.

Was Lim Gwang-hyung on the mound also a little surprised? The rich expression that was showing on his face disappeared.

Yes.

The hitter standing in front of you now is not a young junior that you are taking pity on.

And the fifth ball.

Good.

It’s a changeup.

A ball that disrupts the hitter’s timing.

Moreover, Lim Gwang-hyung’s changeup also has a very sharp movement. Perhaps if we base it on his prime for one year, it would be a ball that would be in the top ten even if we combined the entire league. It’s not the top ten of the league’s changeups. It’s the top ten of all the pitches in the entire league.

– Clang!!!

But I could confidently say that I was a hitter who was in the top five in the history of baseball. If such a hitter already knows that the ball that the pitcher is throwing is a changeup, can he really not hit it?

Yes, I was able to distinguish the changeup that Lim Gwang-hyung, who started as a starter today, was throwing.

The batted ball went over the fence.

1:0

The second five consecutive home runs recorded in baseball history.

And Lim Gwang-hyung on the mound still had plenty of energy.