The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 153

153. Are the Marines Really a Strong Team? (6)

Noh Hyung-wook looked at me with a ‘what are you talking about’ expression.

“Well… it looks like they’re messing with you, senior.”

“Messing around?”

“Yes, they intentionally walked me to first to needle you and make you swing, and they’re testing you with pitches just outside the strike zone. In my opinion, only one pitch in those two at-bats was a real strike, and even that was a close call. Honestly, there’s no reason to swing if they’re not giving you anything good to hit.”

“……”

Noh Hyung-wook groaned softly.

He’s fundamentally a good hitter. He knows it, and he has a strong sense of pride.

Putting aside skill, they walked a rookie to load the bases.

They even gave him a bases-loaded walk to give him a chance to score. How many hitters could resist the urge to show something in that situation? Besides, in the previous game against the Braves, he hit a grand slam against ace Jo Chang-hyuk in a similar situation.

So, I understand his thinking. But just because I understand it doesn’t mean it was the right choice.

“Honestly, senior, if it wasn’t for me getting intentionally walked to load the bases, you probably would have been looking for a walk yourself.”

Early 21st century.

There was a big change in baseball. Started by Billy Beane, it classified overvalued and undervalued stats to find the most cost-effective players to win in baseball [Moneyball concept].

And more than 20 years have passed.

Now, nobody calls an OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging] type hitter a ‘cost-effective’ hitter. And Noh Hyung-wook is an OPS hitter. Or, you could say he’s a WAR [Wins Above Replacement] type player with very good defensive stats.

So, what distinguishes a complete hitter from an OPS hitter?

Batting average.

Originally, Noh Hyung-wook wasn’t so much a guy who hit the ball well, but a guy with a disciplined strike zone who could draw a walk if he couldn’t get a good pitch. Well, having received a huge contract to come to the Marines, that alone wouldn’t be enough.

Noh Hyung-wook didn’t answer me.

But it was enough.

He wasn’t a great hitter or a wonderful hitter, but he was a good hitter.

And that means he either has a lot of natural talent, or he has enough talent and the smarts to use it properly, and the drive to put it into action. Noh Hyung-wook was definitely the latter.

Bottom of the 5th inning.

My third at-bat.

[The Griffins choose to intentionally walk Choi Soo-won for the third consecutive at-bat.]

[In a way, it’s only natural. They gave him a walk with the bases loaded, so there’s no reason to compete with him now with one out and no runners on.]

[I really don’t know whether to say Choi Soo-won is amazing or the Griffins are amazing. Either way, all I can say is that it’s amazing.]

I walked to first base so naturally.

“Seeing you a lot today, huh?”

“I know, right? My bat’s going to rust at this rate.”

“That’s what we’re trying to do. Please rust.”

Today, the Griffins’ first baseman is Chae Chang-shik.

He’s 31 years old this year, the same age as Noh Hyung-wook. He’s too slow to play outfielder, and since he’s a left-handed hitter, the only infield position he can play is first base. Of course, that aside, he boasts a pretty hot bat as a first baseman.

Besides, his first base defense is the best in the league. His fielding ability is almost insane, and there’s even a saying that the Griffins are particularly good at handling infield ground balls because Chae Chang-shik scoops everything up so well, even if they throw it sloppily.

And he’s so friendly. He’s been subtly chatting with me on the previous two walks, and I can’t help but feel a sense of familiarity.

“Tomorrow’s a day off, right? You need to rest a bit if you’re going to pitch the day after tomorrow.”

“No, I’m planning to focus entirely on hitting as a designated hitter.”

“You’re young, so if you use your body recklessly like that, you’ll burn out quickly. A pitcher needs to take care of his elbow. If you want to have a long career, you need to be careful when you’re young. I’m telling you this because I see you as a younger brother. So, let’s take tomorrow off.”

“Even if I play tomorrow, I’ll probably just be running around without swinging the bat if things continue like this.”

“Ah, it’s going to be like that again.”

***

If you ask whether Soo-won’s advice resonated with him, the answer is yes.

Since transferring to the Marines, he’s had a bit of an obsession with hitting the ball. It couldn’t be helped. No fan would welcome a hitter who came with an 11 billion won contract only drawing walks, and what the Marines wanted from him was home runs and long hits, not a high on-base percentage. But if you ask whether he was willing to put Soo-won’s advice into practice…

Jeff Cailan on the mound glanced at first base.

Chae Chang-shik, who was originally positioned two steps behind Choi Soo-won and half a step closer to second base due to the Noh Hyung-wook shift, was slowly moving towards first base.

Pick-off attempt.

-Thwack!!!

“Safe!!!”

Choi Soo-won got up and dusted off the dirt on his body.

“He made it.”

“You were telegraphing that pick-off attempt to first base, I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Rookies sometimes lose focus and get out when they’re chatting with me. You’re definitely not naive.”

“It’s too obvious what you’re aiming for.”

-Thwack!!!

A low fastball on the outside corner, slightly outside the zone.

“Hyung-wook is really good at laying off pitches when he’s determined to. How about it? Could you lay off that one?”

“Me? I wouldn’t stand for it. I’d just pull it. They’re giving me a pitch around 93 miles per hour in that location, that’s a pitch to hit.”

“Wow… you’re really annoying. I’m glad I’m an open-minded person who doesn’t care too much about seniority, or you’d be getting hit with a bat.”

“I hear that a lot. I’d be in big trouble if I wasn’t good at baseball.”

“And you’re Korean, why are you using miles when you have kilometers?”

-Thwack!!!

Noh Hyung-wook stopped his bat on a slider that exquisitely moved out from the center. The umpire didn’t call a strike. The catcher asked if it was a checked swing, but the result didn’t change.

“Ah, never mind. I heard rumors that you’re going to America soon. Just use miles. It’ll be confusing if you use both.”

“There’s a rumor that I’m going to America?”

“Not in Korea. Our general manager and the head of the scouting team are guys who played baseball in America. They’re acting like it’s almost certain you’re coming to America next year? Is that not true?”

“Hey, I received 2 billion won, the Marines wouldn’t let me go that easily, would they?”

“Doesn’t that cover the posting fee [fee paid to the player’s original team when they move to a foreign league]? Or does it not?”

“It’s not a flat 20% for international prospects anymore with the recent revision, but still, it’s not a big amount compared to my value. They can control a league MVP-level starting pitcher and hitter for six years at a cheap price on one roster.”

“Wow, how can every word you say be so annoying? But it’s even more annoying because it’s true?”

-Thwack!!!

A two-seamer that came low and inside.

Noh Hyung-wook held back his bat again.

Ball count 0-3.

“But seeing you think about all that, it seems like it’s not just a rumor?”

“Well, I still think it’s a rumor, but you never know!!!”

-Thwack!!!

“Safe!!!”

A surprise pick-off attempt.

Soo-won dusted off his clothes again.

“…You never know.”

“Ha, persistent guy. I thought I had the timing perfectly, but he made it again.”

Three and a half steps.

Choi Soo-won lowered his stance.

And Noh Hyung-wook looked at Soo-won.

A walk?

It was good advice.

What kind of hitter draws a lot of walks? A hitter who is good at recognizing pitches that are outside the zone. So, there is one prerequisite: the pitcher must throw pitches that are outside the zone.

So, what kind of hitter does a pitcher throw pitches outside the zone to?

Ball count 0-3

Low and inside.

A pitch that dug in a little more than the two-seamer that was called a ball a little while ago.

Noh Hyung-wook’s bat moved like lightning.

The fielders were still in their usual shift.

He pulled it.

Just like he had ingrained in his body for a long time.

One of the two.

Two-seamer or fastball.

He couldn’t tell the difference.

So, he just focused all his strength on the hitting point with the feeling that

-Clang!!!

The ball flew into the sky.

His fingertips tingled.

The dirty ball once again missed the sweet spot.

Choi Soo-won on first base started running.

The ball kept going.

Outfield fly?

Home run?

I don’t know. Noh Hyung-wook just ran.

The Griffins’ left fielder was already close to the fence. The ball didn’t fall easily. The Griffins’ left fielder stepped on the fence and jumped.

Jumping catch.

[Ah… in front of the fence… Left fielder Im Dong-hoon catches the ball.]

Choi Soo-won returned to first base.

A disappointing result.

Just a little, just a little was missing.

So, Noh Hyung-wook had to admit that his batting cycle had dropped a little.

Two outs, runner on first.

No score…

-Clang!!!

“Huh?”

“Huh!?”

“Huh??”

First pitch.

Lee Gyu-man.

A mistake.

The ball that stretched out hit the right-center fence directly.

Choi Soo-won ran again.

Faster than before.

Lee Gyu-man also ran.

No matter how much of a slow runner Lee Gyu-man was, he couldn’t be slow enough to turn a hit that hit the fence directly into a ground ball. A comfortable safe at first base.

And the time it takes for Lee Gyu-man to arrive at first base comfortably is enough time for a fast runner to start from first base, pass second base, go to third base, and even rush home.

Relay play from center fielder to shortstop.

It was a disappointing defensive play for the Griffins. If they had let the strong-armed right fielder catch the ball about 0.2 seconds later and throw it, the result might have been better.

-Thwack!!!!

Almost at the same time.

But Choi Soo-won’s right hand touched home plate first.

“Safe!!!”

4:3.

Dilton ran out of the dugout with a speed that didn’t match his huge size.

“Hahaha. Swan!! Good!! You pretty thing. I knew you could do it. I believed in you!!”

A comeback in the bottom of the 5th inning.

Of course, there was no miracle of adding more points.

But that was enough for Dilton.

In the 6th and 7th innings, he clearly showed how much stronger of a pitcher he was.

The speed of the last ball he threw in the 7th inning was a whopping 157.9km/h [approximately 98 mph].

It was the fastest ball he had thrown in today’s game, no, this season.

[The birth of the first player in professional baseball history to get a bases-loaded intentional walk!! Choi Soo-won 4 at-bats, 0 hits, 4 walks.]

[Was the Griffins’ choice the right one?]

[Busan Marines!! The league’s strongest starting lineup, powerful batting lineup, and the worst bullpen.]

Game 1 of the Classic Series.

Longtime Marines fans who watched the game said this.

The ace’s good pitching.

The hitters’ fighting spirit.

The game that continued to be neck and neck until the end.

And the come-from-behind loss due to the bullpen’s arson [failure of the bullpen to hold the lead, resulting in a loss].

Today’s game was extremely Marine-like.

“Still, we’ve gotten a bit stronger, haven’t we? I think we’ll really make it to the fall baseball [playoffs] this year.”

“You’re saying that after watching today’s game? And we’ve gotten stronger? Did you even watch the same game as me?”

“No, according to the original story, we should have had a disastrous defense, but that didn’t happen. Looking at it, Lee Joo-hyuk seems to be doing well on defense these days.”

“Ah, damn… what is it? It’s annoying, but why is it persuasive?”

Have the Busan Marines really gotten stronger?

And Game 2.

Choi Soo-won succeeded in getting on base in every at-bat. 3 walks. And one double and an intentional walk.