The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 170

170. Momentum (4)

The first perfect game in KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] history.

Major League teams began to recalculate their strategies more urgently. In truth, a perfect game in an AA-level league wouldn’t usually cause such a stir for MLB teams.

“Well, not unless it was thrown by a nineteen-year-old kid. And especially not if that kid was also the league’s home run king, channeling his inner Barry Bonds!”

“That’s not the point. Look at his pitching. His fastball reached 101.2 mph. Plus, his curveball is pretty good. I need to see the detailed data, but from his pitching repertoire, he knows how to intentionally throw his curveball for strikes and balls.”

The most basic requirement for using a curveball effectively in a game is control—being able to intentionally throw it for strikes and balls.

Considering that other breaking balls can be used in games simply to confuse batters with the fastball, this condition seemed harsh.

But it’s unavoidable because the curveball is essentially the only topspin pitch, making it distinctly recognizable the moment it’s thrown, unlike other breaking balls. Of course, this distinctiveness can be somewhat overcome through constant training, but a curveball is still a curveball. It’s hard to completely overcome its inherent limitations.

Despite these issues, the curveball is a very powerful pitch. If thrown correctly, it’s hard to hit even when you know it’s coming.

“Come on, he’s only nineteen. Looking at his high school records, he didn’t use the curveball that much.”

“He might not have needed to at the high school level. Even if we concede that point, being able to consistently throw it into the strike zone at his age is impressive. And his 101 mph fastball has insane control. Look at this—pitches in the center of the zone are just over 30% of the total. His horizontal spread is… wow. Is he a finesse pitcher throwing 101 mph? If he mixes in a changeup and slider, he’d be a 101 mph version of Zack Greinke in 2009.”

The more they talked, the more impressed they became.

Considering he often cited 2009 Zack Greinke as the epitome of a complete starting pitcher, and that Greinke was called a 95 mph Greg Maddux back then, calling Swan a 101 mph version of 2009 Greinke was the highest praise he could give.

“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”

“Imagine turning the KBO into AA and having a pitcher strike out fifteen in a game. Even doing something crazy like six consecutive three-pitch strikeouts in two innings, with a few veterans who are around the MLB 40-man roster mixed in.”

“Uh…”

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

At least Zack Hamilton, Baek Kang-ho, and Park Ju-won were definitely talented enough to be on a Major League 40-man roster.

“A prospect destined for the Hall of Fame?”

“I’d call him up to the majors the very next day. Of course, I’d put a strict innings limit on him—around 150 innings per year until he’s 23.”

“Isn’t that too little?”

“Many have failed after pushing them to 180, and he’s a two-way player. He’s not just someone we’ll use for six years; he’s a franchise player we’ll eventually put a plaque up for.”

“True.”

Money wasn’t a concern.

That was something for the common folk in Spider-Man’s neighborhood to worry about.

The best players should always get the best treatment, and that’s why they should always wear pinstripes [referring to the New York Yankees uniform]. It had been that way since 1920 when the god of baseball [likely referring to Babe Ruth] wore pinstripes.

Brian Cashman.

He became the general manager of the world’s best team at thirty and has held the position for 29 years.

“How much international prospect money do we have?”

“5.07 million if we give up on Domingo.”

“We obviously have to give up on him. Is that all we have?”

“Yes, we signed Robert last winter.”

“Ah, he was a QO [Qualifying Offer].”

“We only got 5.07 because we only signed him. If we had stuck to the original plan, it would have been 4.57.”

“Which teams are after Swan right now?”

“All of them. Some teams probably didn’t sign players who rejected QOs this winter because of him.”

“Then why did we sign him?”

“Because we didn’t know he’d be this good. Plus, we have a hole in our center lineup now.”

“Ah…”

Aaron Judge, who signed a nine-year mega-deal with the Yankees in the winter of 2022, had been an excellent center fielder until his unfortunate knee injury last year. He might have continued to excel if not for that.

“So, we’re out of options?”

“As I said before, a player of his caliber won’t move for just a few hundred thousand dollars. Like Shohei Ohtani, he’ll need something special. We need to target that. Like the Angels did with Ohtani.”

“Ah, I remember. But back then, you said we were the Yankees, so it would be fine.”

“That was before Swan threw a 101 mph fastball and developed a fantastic curveball while succeeding as a two-way player. Besides, even with Ohtani, you just stood there and said, ‘We’re the Yankees,’ before rappelling down a building and shouting, ‘Ohtani, come to New York!’ This time, are you planning to skydive or something?”

“Ahem…”

‘Ohtani, come to New York!’ The performance and the broken ankle from skydiving were a huge embarrassment for Cashman. He cleared his throat awkwardly at the jab from Josh Harold, the former head of the management team who had been promoted to assistant general manager.

“Anyway, I’ll try to find something that Swan would find appealing. Just like Shohei Ohtani prioritized a team that would fully support his two-way aspirations, Swan must have something like that too.”

“What if another team offers more money and finds the same thing?”

“Then you can skydive while highlighting the advantages of the Yankees, right?”

“Harold, do you miss your old job as the head of the management team?”

“Just kidding. Just kidding. Well, if the offers are similar, I think an extra million dollars would be fine. As I said before, we’re the New York Yankees.”

“Yes, we’re the New York Yankees.”

Brian Cashman nodded.

***

Han Myung-hoon took a deep breath in the dugout with his eyes closed.

At the start of the season, he thought he would be stuck in the bullpen, but it was an unexpected stroke of luck.

Last year, he was the Marines’ winningest domestic pitcher.

His record was 6 wins and 11 losses.

So, while it was true that he was the winningest domestic pitcher, it was also a somewhat sarcastic title. It meant the team was so bad that he was the winningest domestic pitcher with only 6 wins and 11 losses.

Two days ago,

he watched enviously as Choi Soo-won handed out watches to eight players.

Even though there’s a tradition of buying the catcher a luxury watch after a perfect game, it felt like an overwhelming display of wealth for just one game. And he didn’t just give it to the catcher who caught the game; he gave watches to all the fielders.

He secretly looked up how much they cost. Based on the retail price, each player’s watch was worth 50% of his annual salary, and the watch given to Jo Yu-jin, who caught the game that day, was worth almost as much as all the other players’ watches combined.

Even just looking at the resale prices, the watches the fielders received were about 1.2 times more expensive. There weren’t even any resale listings for the watch Jo Yu-jin received.

As expected of a pitcher with a 2 billion won signing bonus.

No, it was the confidence that he could earn so much that 2 billion won would seem like pocket change.

He was envious.

Of the fielders who received the watches? Of Jo Yu-jin, who received the most expensive watch?

No, that wasn’t it.

He was envious of Choi Soo-won’s confidence to hand out the watches so casually, his certainty about his future, and the perfect game that allowed him to give out those watches.

Baek Ha-min pitched well in the first game against the Changwon Blazes yesterday, going 7 innings with 2 runs allowed and earning his fourth win of the season. That lowered his ERA [Earned Run Average] to 2.71. It was hard to believe he was just the fourth starter.

“Senior.”

“…Let’s go.”

He opened his eyes at Jo Yu-jin’s voice.

The guy who made silly comments about getting an Apple Watch Pro Max when he received the watch apparently asked Lee Jung-hoon about the price and has since carefully put the watch back in its box and keeps it at home.

He seems a bit spacey, but his skills as a catcher are excellent.

Top of the 2nd inning.

Sajik Stadium.

The numbers on the scoreboard looked unfamiliar.

Normally, when he came to the mound in the top of the 2nd inning at Sajik Stadium, there shouldn’t be any numbers other than 0 on the bottom line, but today, there was a 3 in the first column.

No, wait.

Thinking back, there seemed to be more games with numbers other than 0 this year.

Wasn’t it said that this was the first time in three years that the Dolphins hadn’t scored the most runs in the KBO in May? And the Marines had the most runs by the end of May for the first time in 16 years since 2011.

0:3.

Han Myung-hoon came to the mound with unfamiliar run support.

-Clang!!

Age 23 this year,

A fastball with a top speed of 146 km/h.

It wasn’t a fastball that could overwhelm opposing hitters.

But his slider, which clocked around 139 km/h with a sharp break, and his well-controlled two-seamer at 143 km/h were definitely effective. There were occasional solid hits, but ground balls and flyouts intermittently cooled down the Blazes’ offense.

Of course, if it were the Marines of last year, those ground balls would often turn into infield hits due to ridiculous errors.

The people weren’t much different.

“My ball!!”

But this loud and assertive shout turned an infield pop-up that landed in the Bermuda Triangle where three infielders converged into an out.

It was a basic play for a professional team.

But Han Myung-hoon was moved by the defense.

5.2 innings, 4 runs allowed.

It would have been an obvious loss last year.

But as he left the mound, the scoreboard showed the number 8 for the Marines.

A starting pitcher’s win that was now worthless to someone. And the title of winningest domestic pitcher that someone used to mock him.

But Han Myung-hoon was happy to meet the requirements to be the winning pitcher with 5.2 innings and 4 runs allowed.

Although it wasn’t the enviable pitching of that monster from three days ago, who perfectly shut down 9 innings, it was proof that he was a necessary player for the Marines today.

[Marines win 2nd game against Blazes 9:5!!]

[Busan Marines on a 5-game winning streak!! Reclaim 3rd place in the league!!]

[Choi Soo-won’s 14th home run of the season in the bottom of the 8th, adding 1 point!!]