The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 134

Successful Pitcher (4)

Lee Jung-hoon is a good hitter.

No, I’m not just saying that, he really is a good hitter.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!”

[Swinging at a high ball! Lee Jung-hoon’s bat timing was a bit late.]

But I guess it would have been better not to mention the changeup. Just now, that swing looked like he was aiming for a changeup, but a fastball came in and he missed.

In fact, a pitcher’s throwing motion is quite simple. From the initial leg kick to the release point, it takes at most about 1 second. Moreover, they even add deception to hide the ball until the very end of that motion. But to figure out the type of pitch by looking at the height of the elbow here? It’s not easy.

Moreover, Lim Kwang-hyung, who is known for his ‘pitchability’ [ability to effectively mix and locate pitches], has very good deception. Even in Major League Baseball, which is full of talented hitters, it worked even better in the early days when his elbow angle dropped to a similar level as now.

Second.

-Clack!!!

This time, fortunately, the timing was right.

It’s just that it was a curveball. Still, it ended with a foul instead of a ground ball. That means I got a third chance.

Ball count 0-2.

Third.

Even watching from the on-deck circle, I could tell the moment he threw it.

It’s a changeup.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

A clean strikeout.

Lee Jung-hoon came in with a scowl on his face.

“Hey, you said it was the arm angle. Is that really right? Did you see it wrong?”

“No, the arm angle was right. It was obvious that it was a changeup at the end.”

“Damn it… Why can’t I tell?”

“I don’t know…”

***

Lim Kwang-hyung chuckled.

He could tell the moment he saw him reacting to the first pitch. No, he couldn’t help but know. His actions were so obvious that his thoughts were readable.

Lee Jung-hoon, that guy, is aiming for a changeup right now.

Could it be that he believes he can do the same just because Choi Soo-won hit his changeup and made a home run?

He can’t even properly distinguish a curveball, yet he’s taking his bat timing late for no reason.

In the ensuing 0-2 ball count, his intention to earn counts by fouling the ball off, like in the previous at-bat, was too obvious, so he threw a changeup, and he swung and missed for a strikeout.

Lee Jung-hoon is one of the top hitters in the league. That’s why he could be sure. After all, it’s almost impossible to aim for and hit Lim Kwang-hyung’s changeup. And that has already been proven in the major leagues. Even Mike Trout, arguably the best hitter of that era, couldn’t consistently hit his changeup.

Choi Soo-won came to the plate.

Second at-bat.

The still-youthful-looking guy raised his bat. The sharpness of his focus was so intense that it felt like you could get cut just by being near him.

That’s why Jung Byung-chul deliberately spoke to him, with the intention of taking the edge off his intensity.

“Congratulations.”

“Yes?”

“Consecutive home runs. I heard it’s a tie for the world’s most consecutive home runs. And the first in Korea.”

“Ah, that.”

Choi Soo-won replied as if Jung Byung-chul’s comment was nothing special.

“But I think it’s a little early to congratulate me.”

“Huh?”

“It’s not over yet. Breaking the record. Congratulations are usually given after the result comes out, not during the process.”

If a world record is set in events such as high jump or long jump, is the competition over?

No.

Soo-won thinks that records themselves are meaningful, but they are more meaningful because they play a role like a qualification to move on to the next level. Originally, wasn’t the 61st home run a stepping stone to hit the 62nd home run?

“Huh… you little punk. You really have great dreams.”

“Dreams are what you dream in bed when you sleep. What I’m doing is a prediction of the future, something like that.”

“I knew it from the ceremony earlier, but your attitude is still the same?”

“I think people should be consistent.”

“No, I think it’s okay if you don’t have that.”

Useless chatter.

Choi Soo-won’s intensity, which was like a blade, softened a little.

Jung Byung-chul smiled. He couldn’t shake him up by provoking him, but at least he took the edge off.

And Lim Kwang-hyung, who is on the mound now, is the best pitcher in Korea. Although he unexpectedly allowed a home run in the first inning, that should be enough.

He wound up greatly.

First pitch.

A full count on the outside corner.

-Poong!!!

A two-seam fastball that slightly goes out of the strike zone.

Choi Soo-won didn’t swing the bat.

And a very brief moment of silence.

“Strike!!!”

The umpire shouted a loud strike. Choi Soo-won at the plate turned his head and looked at the umpire once.

Jung Byung-chul can tell without even looking. The umpire’s expression is probably not good. A rookie who has only played a dozen or so games in the pros dares to complain about the call.

Did Choi Soo-won also feel that?

Or did he think that the call wasn’t worth complaining about by opening his mouth? He turned his head again.

It seems that Jung Byung-chul himself failed to piss him off, but it seems that the umpire’s decision succeeded in pissing him off. The sharp focus he had when he first came to the plate had disappeared, and what replaced it was a burning rage.

Of course, people who don’t know might think that’s scary in its own way. Yes, well, there are such cases. Anger makes people strong. It’s not for nothing that fastball pitchers shout and get angry on the mound.

But batting is about timing, and what controls that timing is clear thinking or keen instinct. Of course, there are cases where raw anger adds strength to a mis-hit ball.

But once again, the pitcher on the mound today is Lim Kwang-hyung. He is the best pitcher in Korea and is a master at playing with these kinds of hitters.

Lim Kwang-hyung prepared the second ball.

Similar location.

A two-seam that goes out a little further.

-Clack!!!

Choi Soo-won’s bat made contact.

A ball that flies far outside the third base foul line. Certainly, the contact was solid. But no matter how well you hit this pitch, it’s just a foul.

Ball count 0-2.

A unilaterally advantageous situation for the pitcher.

Jung Byung-chul opened his mouth.

“How is it? That prediction you’re talking about? Do you still see hope sparkling?”

“Well, I can see something sparkling… Ah, it flew so far away that it became a star in the sky.”

“You’re full of it. Isn’t that your burning fighting spirit?”

Third.

-Poong!!

A ball that went out a little further than what he swung at just now.

Choi Soo-won’s bat didn’t move. And the umpire hesitated for a moment. To be honest, he thought he could call this a strike.

Not only was it not much different from the ball Choi Soo-won swung at earlier, but also the impudence of a rookie daring to object to the ball call. And considering that the pitcher on the mound is Lim Kwang-hyung, it would be okay to call this much.

But the great record of 5 consecutive home runs.

That heavy burden weighed down on the home plate umpire’s shoulders. Honestly, the ball was a little out of the zone. But to call a strike on this?

The umpire’s hand did not go up.

The ball count is now 1-2.

Choi Soo-won waited for the fourth ball.

***

The reason I first turned my head to look at the umpire’s face was nothing special.

I just wanted to visually confirm the answer I would give to someone who asks, ‘What was the biggest obstacle to the world’s first 6 consecutive home runs?’ when I do an interview after becoming a home run king or something later.

Wow, even though they protect their own, and arms bend inward [Korean proverb meaning people favor their own kind]. It’s not like they’re giving a special zone to a foreign player, but the same Korean person has a great record in front of him. To call a ball like that just because he has more experience.

To be honest, I wouldn’t have been angry if they had called that pitch on the inside corner.

Because they already called it like that in the first inning and have been consistently calling it like that since then. But they suddenly call a strike on that when they haven’t been calling that far outside based on the right-handed hitter?

Lim Kwang-hyung must have been very happy about that, and he rushed in with the momentum to extract the essence from the 2nd verse to the 3rd verse [baseball term for continuing to throw the same pitch]. Honestly, if they had called a strike on this 3rd ball here, there would have been no choice. I would have just left the 6 consecutive home runs for the next opportunity and prayed that rotten eggs would hit the umpire’s face.

But still, it must have been a burden on the umpire himself to go that far, so he didn’t call a strike.

Then, what will Lim Kwang-hyung do next?

Will he recognize that calling the same pitch up to the 4th verse is a brain fart and do something else? Or will he stubbornly throw the same ball up to the 4th verse, regardless of whether it’s a brain fart or not?

Lim Kwang-hyung threw the fourth ball.

-Poong!!

It was a curveball.

No, I’d be very disappointed if you thought I was Lee Jung-hoon and would be fooled by this and swing the bat. No. Well, I understand that he wanted to go safely with one because the count is favorable now and our team’s hitters have been fooled by this curveball quite a bit today.

Fifth.

Changeup.

It was definitely obvious.

I firmly planted my feet and swung as it was.

Even in this situation, what’s amazing about Lim Kwang-hyung is that he located the changeup in a spot close to the area I was looking to hit in the first pitch.

Because they give such a wide zone to the inside corner, I didn’t stand close to the plate, so it’s a pitch that’s impossible to hit the sweet spot unless I loosen my armpits a little.

Yeah, if this was a fastball, it would have been really difficult.

But at most, it’s only about 120km/h [approximately 75 mph].

I really leisurely put the hitting point behind and twisted my body extremely before swinging the bat, as if this ball was the head of the umpire who was making shitty calls from behind.

As a result, with the feeling that the frustration that had been building up for a while was released,

-Clack!!!

The baseball flew high, high.

“Become a star?”

“This crazy bastard…”

[He… he… he hit it!! Choi Soo-won!!! In a 2-2 situation, he takes Lim Kwang-hyung’s changeup and hits it over!! A huge hit!! Over the fence!! Over the fence!!!!!!]

[6 consecutive at-bats!! 6 consecutive home runs!! World’s first!! 6 consecutive at-bat home runs!! A rookie in his first year!! A young hitter who is nineteen years old this year records consecutive home runs against Lim Kwang-hyung, who was a starter in the major leagues until just two years ago!!]

-Clap clap clap

Applause poured in from all directions as I circled the bases.

Today’s game was an away game.

Of course, the Marlins have been doing well lately, and thanks to that, quite a few Marlins fans came to the stadium, but anyway, an away game is an away game. But the sound of applause echoing in the stadium was so great that I forgot that this was an away stadium.

Is it the spirit of Koreans after all?

No, it might just be because it’s such a great record. Besides, the team they’re cheering for is still winning by 1 point, so they have plenty of reason to celebrate.

[Wow, how should I explain this? Lim Kwang-hyung, who is on the mound for Phoenix today, was showing really great pitching. So far, he has six strikeouts and only two hits in 3.1 innings. But those two are both Choi Soo-won’s home runs. Ha… Choi Soo-won is really scary.]

Around the infield and back to home.

The teammates who ran out of the dugout frantically held out their palms to me. Thanks to that, I didn’t even have time to clench my fist 멋지게 [meotjige – stylishly/coolly] while doing consecutive high-fives.

Well, it wasn’t bad.

2:3.

Lim Kwang-hyung added two more strikeouts and finished the inning.

***

“Ha… shit… is it real? It’s real when I see him hit… I’m going crazy.”

“What’s real?”

The man who was in charge of the Marlins’ lineup until last year.

Noh Hyung-wook, the highest-paid player on the team, spoke to Lee Jung-hoon.