The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 150

150. Are the Marines Really a Strong Team? (3)

Noh Hyung-wook gripped his bat tightly.

Just last Friday, a similar situation had unfolded a mere four days prior. It wasn’t exactly the same. Back then, there was one out with runners on first and third, which could have signaled a strategy to load the bases and aim for a double play.

But now, there are no outs with runners on first and second.

The signal is so clear there’s no room for misunderstanding.

“Wow… They’re bringing out Choi Geo-noh again here.”

“What? Does that mean we get to see Noh Hyung-wook again?”

“But I really feel Noh Hyung-wook’s value even more in this situation.”

“Huh? Already? Noh Hyung-wook hasn’t even done anything yet?”

“No, Noh Hyung-wook hit twenty-nine home runs last year. Honestly, when he first came with that 11 billion price tag, it felt a bit overpriced, but now it seems like a bargain, right? But to intentionally walk a hitter like that with runners on first and second and no outs? I really think that if it weren’t for Noh Hyung-wook, Suwon might not even get a chance to swing the bat from the moment they hit double-digit home runs.”

“I guess so… Then this is pretty important. If Noh Hyung-wook shows Choi Geo-noh one more time here, that’s the angle, right?”

The Griffins’ fielders moved busily. Usually, there’s a lot of infield in [fielders move closer to home plate] during a bases-loaded situation. But the Griffins’ movements were quite different.

The entire infield shifted to the left, with the shortstop retreating to the outfield grass. The third baseman and second baseman also retreated almost to the edge of the outfield grass, leaving only the first baseman standing alone between first and second base.

Of course, defensive shifts have been used quite actively in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] recently. But this felt a bit extreme.

[Wow, the Griffins are showing a very extreme defensive shift today.]

[What should we say about this…? Actually, as we saw with Lee Joo-hyuk earlier, shifts don’t always succeed. Sometimes they turn routine ground balls into hits. Even with the bases loaded, this kind of shift seems like the risk is too great compared to the return. That’s what I think.]

[Actually, the Griffins’ defensive shifts have become a bit excessive recently, but it doesn’t seem like they were this extreme even last year. Is it because the manager is from the major leagues?]

[Well, the Griffins have made a lot of changes in the past three years. There have been cases where they hired managers from the major leagues, but this is the first time they’ve brought in someone from a major league front office, someone who graduated from an Ivy League school and rose to the level of senior director, not just someone from the Pan-Pacific scouting department, right?]

[That’s right. It’s a choice that only the Griffins could make.]

[Anyway, in the past three years, there’s been a lot of noise, but this winter, a significant number of people, including the manager and coaches, were replaced with people from the United States. I think this isn’t just because the manager changed, but because major league-style data-driven front office baseball is really being implemented. That’s what I think.]

Noh Hyung-wook frowned again.

In this situation, bunting the ball towards first base would almost certainly result in an additional run.

But it’s only the bottom of the first inning.

The score is 3:0.

Bases loaded with the cleanup hitter, Noh Hyung-wook.

Naturally, the dugout didn’t signal for a bunt.

About 80 years ago, a reporter asked Ted Williams, who, unlike Noh Hyung-wook now, had second and third base completely open,

“Wouldn’t it be possible to hit the ball to the opposite field for a hit?”

Ted Williams answered the reporter’s question with a home run.

And now, 80 years later, Ted Williams’ answer has been revealed as the most correct answer to defensive shifts.

Jeff Caylen on the mound wound up.

A 144 km/h slider.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

A huge swing.

A ferocious swing that implied he would definitely send the ball over the fence if he made solid contact.

As expected, he’s a good hitter, just like the data we received before the game.

Pitches to the outfield are distributed relatively evenly.

But pitches that land in the infield go to the 2-3 hole [the area between second and third base] with an 80% or higher probability.

KBO pitchers still tend to trust traditional defense a bit more, just like some veterans in the Big Leagues [Major League Baseball]. But that can’t be helped. People don’t change easily.

Jeff Caylen was different.

Although Lee Joo-hyuk’s batted ball earlier would have been a perfect double play if there hadn’t been a shift, he knew through ‘experience,’ not just in his head, that defensive shifts reduce runs allowed with a ‘higher’ probability.

As planned.

First pitch, a slider that breaks outside, followed by a fastball that barely catches the high outside corner.

– Bang!!!

It broke a little more than he wanted.

It was okay. It was within the expected range.

1-1 count.

Third.

Low and inside, very deep.

With the determination that it couldn’t be helped if it became a ball.

And with ‘all his might.’

Noh Hyung-wook’s eyes flashed.

A tricky but favorable pitch.

A risky but potentially hittable pitch.

His bat erupted.

– Clang!!!

A stinging pain in his palm.

A slight change shown at the last moment.

It was a two-seamer [a type of fastball].

A ground ball.

But he had pulled it as much as possible until the last moment, so it had enough power. It was a very fast ground ball, enough to hope that it might break through the infield.

Yes, if the shortstop and second baseman were in their usual positions.

With as many as three infielders standing between second and third base, the third baseman was inevitably forced to lean heavily towards third base.

The Griffins’ third baseman quickly caught the incoming ground ball.

Force out at third base on the runner from second.

And then immediately a force out at second base on the runner from first.

Noh Hyung-wook gritted his teeth and ran.

– Bang!!!

“Out!!”

But it was no use.

Force out on the batter-runner at first base.

A triple play, rarely seen with the bases loaded, had occurred.

“No, they’re turning a ground ball triple play here?”

“Crazy? No, the 1-2 side [the area between first and second base] is so empty, are they insane?”

“If he had just lifted the ball, they would have scored, but a ground ball? A ground ball?”

The murmuring in the stands grew louder.

Noh Hyung-wook’s face flushed red.

Was it anger? Or shame? What was certain was that it wasn’t the flush caused by running to first base with all his might.

The Marines’ attack in the bottom of the first inning ended with a triple play.

***

The atmosphere in the dugout was a bit off.

It couldn’t be helped.

Originally, being doused with cold water after heating up was worse for the atmosphere than never having heated up in the first place. The atmosphere was already not great after two consecutive losses following my no-hitter, and now, after giving up three runs in the first inning with our ace on the mound and failing to score with the bases loaded and no outs, it would be crazy to try to create an upbeat atmosphere here…

“Alright!! Let’s go!! There are still eight innings left!! Let’s shut them down cleanly.”

It was Jo Yu-jin.

For reference, this guy isn’t even starting today.

Sigh… Judging by the atmosphere, I feel like I’m going to get chewed out.

“Yeah, Yu-jin is right. Only the first inning has passed. Let’s shut them down cleanly and go for the comeback.”

“Yes!!!”

“Hey, you’re not even starting today, but you’re so energetic? Yeah, man. You have to show this kind of thing so the manager will think twice when using you as a pinch hitter.”

“Kyung-joon, Yu-jin’s batting average is .180…”

“Oh, really? Hey, batting average doesn’t always tell the whole story. Playing as a catcher is different from being a pinch hitter, and it depends on your condition.”

“Haha, you’re absolutely right.”

Huh? What’s going on?

Kyu-man and Seo Kyung-joon were taking Jo Yu-jin’s side.

‘Hey, what’s up?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘No, you suddenly went off, and Kyu-man and Kyung-joon helped you out.’

‘Oh, that. I had dinner with them yesterday, and they said that the atmosphere in our dugout is too static these days, so they told me, the youngest, to be a bit more outgoing.’

‘Huh? Kyu-man said that?’

‘Yeah, they said it would be too much pressure for them to do it themselves.’

Could it be that taking Jo Yu-jin to that gathering had an effect? So, there were movements to try to do well in their own way even in places I didn’t know about. Well, Kyu-man has already announced his retirement, so he must have a strong desire to finish well.

Dilton, who had been watching the scene, lightly tapped Jjo Yu on the back once and headed to the mound.

It seemed like a sign that he was somewhat pleased. Of course, that one light touch probably felt like a powerful back slap to Jjo Yu, but that wasn’t very important.

What was important was Dilton’s mood.

Yes, Dilton was definitely a pitcher with weaknesses. Before I went back in time, Dilton had a 7.00 ERA [Earned Run Average] and was kicked out after three months. And when I looked at him, the biggest of those weaknesses was his mentality. But in a situation like this, that mentality could actually be an advantage.

If he’s in a bad mood, his pitching deteriorates endlessly, but if he rides the momentum, he shows something beyond his ability.

Of course, our previous attack was a complete disaster. But Dilton seemed to like the dugout cheering him on despite that.

– Clang!!

Kang Ra-on dove.

A hair’s breadth away.

His outstretched arm caught the ground ball. A half-collapsed posture. He tossed the ball to Saul in that same posture.

Saul didn’t catch the ball with his glove.

It was a movement that deserved to be called truly graceful. He snatched the ball, which was flying in a gentle arc, with his bare hand, and threw it towards first base with the same momentum he used to snatch it.

– Bang!!!

“Out!!!”

The throw landed accurately in Lee Kyu-man’s mitt.

Dilton on the mound roared as if he had struck out a batter.

And with that momentum, he retired the side in order.

Clearly, the game was losing 3:0.

The process of failing to score in the first inning wasn’t very good either. But still, the feeling was okay.

Bottom of the second inning.

Kyu-man hit a hit.

In the baseball world, there’s a saying, ‘Lee Kyu-man hitting a triple.’

For reference, Kyu-man hit only 8 triples during his 21 seasons, 2517 games, 10311 plate appearances, 8812 at-bats, 2772 hits, and 451 home runs.

In other words, the saying ‘Lee Kyu-man hitting a triple’ means something that is absurdly unlikely. But recently, that saying has been upgraded one step further to ‘Lee Kyu-man hitting a double.’

For Kyu-man, whose speed has decreased even further recently, a ground ball in front of the right fielder was too common, and a single in front of the left fielder had become too natural.

But that Kyu-man came up as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the second inning and hit a hit, a double at that.

The sound of Lee Kyu-man hitting a double had become a reality.

Kyu-man, who was on second base, gasped for breath.

It was a situation where Lee Joo-hyuk might have been able to hit an inside-the-park home run, but it barely became a double, but a double was a double.

If this leads to a score…

The bottom of the lineup, consisting of Seo Kyung-joon, Saul Lopez, Choi Jin-woong, and Lee Joo-hyuk. It looked a bit lacking compared to other teams, but it was still the strongest bottom of the lineup we could field right now. Honestly, it was a lineup with more potential than having guys like Jo Yu-jin, Kim Hoon, Jung Ji-woon, and Kwon Hyuk-joo in there.

– Clang!!!

Seo Kyung-joon’s fly ball to the outfield.

And then Saul Lopez’s double with one out and runners on second and third.

Choi Jin-woong, who returned after 6 weeks due to testicular swelling and a torn adductor muscle, came to the plate.