The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 138

Mr. Marines (4)

“Ah… No matter how I think about it, I shouldn’t have made that nice play there. Eutteum should have pitched a little worse too.”

“Sunbae [senior], please stop. Jungmin will cry if he hears that.”

“Yeah, he’ll cry if he hears it. But he has to hear it to cry. It’ll be at least three years before he comes up.”

“Still, he was the second overall pick this year…”

“Gyutak, who came up with you in the second half of last year, was the first overall pick three years ago. He pitched in two games in his first year and then rotted in the minors for a year. And he was a promising player with a 1 billion won signing bonus.”

“Well, our team’s player management is a bit conservative. But Gyutak-sunbae’s performance in the minors was a bit rough the year before last. His pitching balance was off.”

“Still, that’s too much. Ah, damn. If Choi Suwon was on our team… No, he would have crushed it and come up even if he was on our team. Like you.”

“What do you mean I crushed it?”

“A catcher playing like [Barry] Bonds in the minors is crushing it. Anyway, we had to win today’s game. Ha… I wonder if Jack will give us a shutout tomorrow?”

“Well… Jack’s condition has been improving lately… But you saw it today, sunbaenim. Gwanghyung-sunbae’s condition was amazing too, but Choi Suwon just kept hitting him, and eventually, his good condition was forcibly broken.”

“Hey, you avoid the shower, you have to avoid it. Honestly, Gwanghyung-sunbae had his pride and records on the line today, so he couldn’t help it. But the home run record ended with a hit in the last at-bat, so it ended with a 7-game home run streak, and now there’s no reason not to walk him.”

“Do you think Jack will do that? He was an ace until last year, so he has his pride.”

***

[Ah, the Phoenix dugout. They’re requesting an intentional walk. Jack Sutton. He’s walking Choi Suwon for the second consecutive at-bat. Choi Suwon walks to first base.]

[If you think about it, it’s inevitable. Choi Suwon’s bat is so scary right now. In the second game against the Dolphins, he hit four consecutive home runs. His WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a baseball statistic] went up by almost 1.0 in that game. And in the game right before that, he played as a first baseman and hit three consecutive home runs and a double. His WAR went up by 0.47. That means he showed a year’s worth of performance of an average backup member in just two games.]

[So, Park Dong-sik, are you saying that since the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] season has 144 games, Choi Suwon has about 72 times the value of that backup member?]

[Ah, of course, it’s not that much. First of all, he only starts as a pitcher once a week. And there are games he misses. Besides, he can’t keep having crazy performances like the last two games. But maybe… the KBO’s WAR record, which hasn’t been broken in nearly 40 years, might be broken this time. That’s what I’m thinking.]

“Dongsik, has he completely turned? Why is he sucking up to the Marines’ prospects so deliciously?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Sucking up? It’s stating the facts.”

“Hey, the KBO’s WAR record that hasn’t been broken in 40 years is 86 SUN. By the way, he pitched 262.2 innings that year and had an ERA [Earned Run Average] of 0.99. Of course, the league ERA that year was 3.08, so there’s almost a 1-point difference from this year, but still, how can you break a monstrous number that comes from pitching 262.2 innings and having an ERA of 0.99?”

“Yeah, if Choi Suwon does that for two games, then 20 games would be 14.5, so 21 games would be perfect.”

“I don’t know. Can he pitch in 21 games? A rookie playing that much? Ah, well, if it’s the Marines, they’re a team that wins rings with MVP-level [Most Valuable Player] pitchers’ elbows, so they might win a ring this year if they do well.”

“Wow, this traitor is crossing the line hard. Why? Are you jealous because the Braves are sluggish this season and the Marines are doing well?”

“Jealous, my ass. Watch. The spring Marines’ baseball always ends with the cherry blossoms. So, this week will be the end.”

***

“You’re here again.”

“I know. I wanted to go a little further if possible. But this is it.”

“You went far yesterday. Hold back a little. You’re pitching the day after tomorrow, why are you pushing yourself?”

“Hey, do you not go today just because you went yesterday? Sunbaenim went a lot yesterday too, but he went again today.”

“I don’t have many days left, so that’s why. You have a bright future ahead of you.”

“Sunbaenim played half a season in the first team right after graduation and hit 20 home runs.”

“Oh, what? You know that? Are you my fan? Well, considering your age, you’re the right age. Should I sign something for you?”

“No, thank you.”

I exchanged silly words with Chae Gwangmin at first base.

In fact, neither Lee Gyuman nor Chae Gwangmin were people I could talk to comfortably like this before. Back then, I was just a rookie in my first year, and I wasn’t playing baseball as well as I am now.

Anyway, Chae Gwangmin had a very pleasant personality.

“Then you know that I was the youngest cleanup hitter in professional baseball history?”

“I know. So everyone thought you’d be a home run hitter, but you’ve only hit 307 home runs so far.”

“Hey, that’s because I went to Japan for a while… Anyway, I know very well because I was flying around since I was a rookie. If you’re doing well now, just do that much and don’t try to develop any further. If you listen to people saying, ‘If you do this, you’ll do better,’ you’ll end up being neither here nor there.”

“Did sunbaenim do that?”

“Yeah, man. That’s why I… Ah, damn… What am I talking about? Anyway…”

-Clang!!!

[Hit it!! Noh Hyungwook!!! A fast hit towards the 1st and 2nd base!!]

Even while talking, 80% of my attention was on the batter. My feet quickly started running towards second base. But today, the Phoenix’s second baseman reacted fantastically. A great diving catch. The second baseman got up and threw the ball towards shortstop Oh Minyeop’s glove, who was covering second base.

Will it be close?

No, no. My feet are quite fast, but even Lee Juhyuk would be out, not just me. It’s impossible. So, I’ll just slightly interfere with Oh Minyeop’s throw with a bent-leg slide.

Of course, intentionally sticking your foot into a fielder’s body is against the rules not only in MLB [Major League Baseball] but also in KBO. So, just to the extent that it doesn’t get caught. Just on my path. So, just enough to make the foot stepping on second base feel a little dangerous.

But as expected, last year’s Golden Glove winner was different.

Of course, the KBO’s Golden Glove isn’t purely awarded for defense like the MLB’s Gold Glove, but rather for offensive power. However, in Oh Minyeop’s case, he was a shortstop who was said to have better defense than offense, so you could guess his defensive skills.

After the KBO established a rule prohibiting sliding threats to second base, the neighborhood play was blocked and became subject to video review, just like in MLB. That means you can’t take your foot off second base until the ball is accurately in the glove.

So, this was a feat.

The exact match of the timing of running from between 2nd and 3rd base to 2nd base and the timing of receiving the ball. And using that momentum to jump throw.

-Thwack!!!

Even in that unstable position, a very accurate throw was made. It was to the point where the first baseman just had to put his mitt there and the ball went right in.

[Stable defense. Phoenix makes a double play.]

[The Marines fail to score in the top of the 3rd inning, and the inning ends.]

[Following Im Gwanghyung yesterday, Jack Sutton is showing a very good performance today.]

[In fact, Phoenix has a pretty good starting lineup. Jack Sutton has recorded a total of 17 innings, 7 runs, and 3 earned runs so far.]

[Well… Jack Sutton is unlucky. Despite such stats, he still has 0 wins. I wonder if he can get his first win of the season today!! Now, back to Phoenix’s offense. Dilton Doiley is on the mound.]

“Swan, you hit three home runs and a double in yesterday’s game. I don’t expect that much, but just hit one home run.”

“I want to too. But they won’t give me a chance.”

“Damn. Those cowardly bastards.”

Dilton grumbled and went to the mound.

I passed him and took my place at first base. Well, even though he was grumbling, I wasn’t too worried because our players’ hitting condition wasn’t that bad today.

Even Jack Sutton was a second starter because Im Gwanghyung was there, but he was a pitcher who could be a first starter on most teams. We had three hits in three innings against such a pitcher.

If it’s Choi Suwon and the eight dwarves, the opponent’s choice is too easy. In most situations, they can just keep walking him. But if one or two solid hitters are backing me up, it’s awkward to just send me out with a walk.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

Dilton Doiley happily got one out.

The ball is definitely coming out a bit. With this kind of ball, the opponent can definitely attack easily…

-Clang!!!

[Oh Minyeop!! Oh Minyeop hit it!! A huge hit!! Center fielder Lee Juhyuk!! Runs!! Fast!!]

And Lee Juhyuk, who had been showing good performance recently, did a Lee Juhyuk again.

So, it wasn’t that he couldn’t catch the ball because the expected landing point was too far, but he passed the expected landing point and then came back to catch the ball and missed it. It was a tragedy created by his too-fast feet.

[Ah…]

[There’s a saying in baseball that good defense is followed by good offense. Luck follows Oh Minyeop, who showed good defense in the previous inning.]

Dilton was breathing heavily with a red face. Lee Juhyuk’s face, who was in the outfield, didn’t look too good, probably because of his self-blame for the error, or maybe because of the fear that the huge wrestler’s palm, who seemed to have chosen the wrong path, might be heading towards his back if the error led to a run.

Anyway, the furious Dilton threw a really explosive ball.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

A fastball going back and forth at 155km/h [kilometers per hour].

The command wasn’t very good, but the Phoenix hitters couldn’t easily attack Dilton’s ball. Yeah, Oh Minyeop is a bit special, and there aren’t many hitters in Phoenix who can properly attack that ball today.

At best, Jung Byungcheol. And if I had to add one more, it would be Chae Gwangmin.

The game continued.

It was Gyuman-sunbae’s second home run of the season in the top of the 4th inning that broke the 0:0 tie.

A solo home run with a similar distance to yesterday.

Honestly, just because Gyuman-sunbae hit a home run yesterday and today doesn’t mean his skills suddenly improved again.

However, form is temporary, but class is permanent. It was reasonable to assume that the batting cycle, which had been falling due to poor condition, suddenly rose with yesterday’s home run.

Thus, the top of the 8th inning, no outs.

The score is 5:1

-Thwack!!!

Seo Kyungjun and Lee Junghoon, and even Jo Yujin in front of them, were all on base.

My bat created a clean 3 RBIs [Runs Batted In].

[Mr. Marines Revived!? Home Run in 2 Consecutive Games!!]

[11:3 Great Victory!! Marines Confirm Winning Series!!]

[Unstoppable Momentum!! Marines!! Series Sweep Against Phoenix!!]

[Finally!! Finally!! This Year is Really Different!! Marines!! Series Sweep in 1 Year and 3 Months!!]

There is momentum in baseball. In that sense, we definitely gained momentum. That’s because we had a 5-game winning streak since the game against the Dolphins.

The next game is in Seoul again.

The opponent is the Braves, a team that is considered the strongest batting team in the league along with the Dolphins, and the team that our Marines lost 17 points to last year.

And before going back in time.

It was also the team I played for.

Ah, and one more thing.

“Huh? Park Eun-jin?”

“Park Eun-jin? Do you know anyone?”

“No, she’s the third one here. Her.”

“Angie?”

“Angie? Is she famous?”

“No, she’s not that famous yet. She’s just a rookie girl group that’s eyeing the minor leagues?”

“If she’s eyeing the minor leagues, that’s the third team. Isn’t that completely screwed?”

“No, no. The world of idols is a bit different from ours.”

A classmate I hadn’t heard from in months debuted as an idol without me knowing.