The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 175

The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well – Episode 175 (175/404)

175. What He Needed (2)

Oh Hyung-won remembered it clearly.

The sight of that cocky rookie throwing a beanball as his first pitch from the mound, and then, instead of apologizing, sticking his chin out defiantly.

Of course, he also remembered something else.

The giant foreigner who ran to the mound faster than anyone else and tossed him high into the air.

He gripped his bat tightly and glared at Choi Soo-won with fierce eyes.

Oh Hyung-won wasn’t one to be intimidated, no matter where he went. He could subdue any clumsy rookie with just a glare.

Of course, the guy on the mound didn’t seem intimidated at all; instead, he wore a faint smile.

‘Is he mocking me?’

Oh Hyung-won frowned.

He was a hitter with a good eye for the ball. At the same time, he also had poor contact. But that was inevitable as long as his swing aimed for long hits.

Even though he struck out a lot, his approach of aggressively swinging at pitches inside the strike zone and laying off pitches outside the zone, rather than trying to get on base with weak hits, was a sound strategy.

Thanks to this, his O-swing% [swing rate at pitches outside the zone] was extremely low, and his Z-swing% [swing rate at pitches inside the zone] was extremely high. At the same time, his Z-contact% [contact rate at pitches inside the zone] was absurdly low, showing strange stats rarely seen in Korean baseball.

He had many walks and even more strikeouts, but more than 40% of his hits were extra-base hits, making him a truly bizarre hitter. In MLB, Adam Dunn was a famous hitter of this type, but the difference between him and Oh Hyung-won was that Adam Dunn had more power, so about 60% of his extra-base hits were home runs, while Oh Hyung-won had far more doubles and triples than home runs thanks to playing in Jamsil Stadium, a large ballpark.

His good eye caught Choi Soo-won’s first pitch.

Today, his condition was truly at its peak.

To exaggerate a bit, he could even see the seams on the ball as it left the pitcher’s hand.

Fastball.

The ball entered the zone.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

It was a 159.7 km/h (99.2 mph) fastball.

It came in higher than expected.

The pitch had good velocity. Besides, the timing was a bit off, and it seemed like he needed to swing about half a beat faster.

But how?

He swung his bat right away as soon as he anticipated the location, but the timing was late. If he had to swing even faster than this, was that even possible?

There was no time to overthink.

The pitching tempo was very fast.

Second.

This time, he saw it clearly too.

It’s a fastball.

It’s coming into the zone.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

“Wow, you s…”

Oh Hyung-won swallowed the curse that rose to the tip of his tongue, raised his hand, and stepped out of the batter’s box for a moment.

He knew what kind of ball was coming, and it was definitely a ball coming into the zone. Of course, he often missed balls that came into the zone, but on days like today when his condition was good, he hit them pretty well. Moreover, the balls that Choi Soo-won was throwing now were not breaking balls, but just straight fastballs.

A big, deep breath.

And Oh Hyung-won returned to the batter’s box.

‘My condition is perfect today. I can hit it. I’m definitely going to hit it.’

Third.

Ball count 0-2.

Choi Soo-won on the mound threw the ball.

He didn’t expect it.

‘Is this bastard throwing another fastball?’

Moreover, this time too, it was a fastball coming straight into the zone. Even closer to the center than the previous ball.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike! Out!!!”

He almost threw his bat in a moment of anger.

The anger was not towards the guy who threw the ball. It was anger at himself for not being able to hit a ball that was so obvious three times in a row.

Jacob Wilson, who was in the on-deck circle, didn’t dare to say anything as he stomped back. Well, there wasn’t really anything to say. He had just struck out on three straight fastballs.

Certainly, KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] hitters are often weak against fastballs above a certain speed.

Besides, although there are more pitchers who throw 100 miles per hour these days, there are not many pitchers who can throw it properly into the zone like that. Probably, with just that pitch alone, that guy is a pitcher who deserves to be drafted in the 1st round, or at least a sandwich pick [a pick between the first and second rounds].

‘The fact that a pitcher who throws such a crazy ball has more talent for swinging the bat than throwing the ball is truly…’

God is unfair.

At least Jacob Wilson knew that fact better than the players playing in the KBO.

Monsters of absurd caliber.

He was also drafted in the 3rd round, 87th overall, but he knew very well how extraordinary the talent of the monsters who were drafted in the 1st round and went straight to the majors within 2 or 3 years was. Moreover, he also knew that there were real monsters in the world who made even those monsters with extraordinary talent ‘ordinary’.

The monster standing on the mound right now is one of those real monsters.

Well, if you add hitting to that, he might be more than just one of the real monsters, but one of the monsters who will really make a name for himself in history. But if you only look at pitching, one of the two divided talents, it wouldn’t be that much.

Besides, he’s only nineteen years old.

The possibility exists.

He had already hit several 100-mile-per-hour balls out of the park in AA [Double-A Minor League]. He is different from the other players on this team in terms of adapting to fastballs.

First pitch.

A 99.8-mile-per-hour fastball grazed the zone.

– Bang!!!

High inside course.

It’s a ball that’s slightly out of the zone.

“Strike!!!”

“What?”

Are you crazy?

Is the umpire finally out of his mind?

He’s calling that a strike? If it had come in a little more, it would have hit my shoulder, no exaggeration?

But the umpire’s expression was firm.

Ball count 0-1.

Second.

This time too, a slightly high course.

He swung the bat quickly.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

A curveball that drops sharply in the air.

The drop was absurd.

[In an instant, the ball count is 0-2. Wow, Choi Soo-won’s pitching seems to have improved even more since his perfect game. He’s been absolutely untouchable so far!! No one has been able to touch Choi Soo-won’s ball.]

[Choi Soo-won is only nineteen years old. Each of those experiences can make the player grow rapidly.]

[Wow, nineteen. I always feel like it’s absurd. Has there ever been a player like this in KBO history, or even in the history of world baseball? Choi Soo-won. He’s now one pitch away from his third no-hit inning of his career!!]

He on the mound wound up.

It’s a fastball.

No, even if it’s not a fastball, it doesn’t matter. If so, then he just needs to somehow delay the timing and cut it. Whatever it is, he’ll match the timing to the fastball.

– Clang!!!

Finally, the first contact of the game today.

The batted ball went outside the foul line.

The bat was pushed back.

The number on the scoreboard was 159.1 km/h (98.8 mph).

Roughly 99 miles per hour.

When he was playing in AA, he had definitely hit 100-mile-per-hour balls over the fence.

Of course, his ball wasn’t coming in on such an absurd course as it is now. He was a prospect who needed to work on his control before even talking about command, unlike now.

Fourth.

The pitching tempo is crazy fast.

The drizzling rain wet his lips. A headwind blew for a moment. Thin raindrops hit his wide-open eyes.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike! Out!!!”

He aimed for the fastball.

But what came in was an even faster ball.

161.1 km/h (100.1 mph)

A 100-mile-per-hour fastball that no one could deny pierced the zone.

Three up, three down.

The Elitz’s attack in the bottom of the 1st inning ended.

The game continued.

***

From 1st base to 2nd base.

And then to 3rd base again.

The lanky body ran out straight.

It felt like he was bouncing, but the speed was definitely fast. As a result, he arrived at 3rd base almost as fast as the batter arrived at 1st base.

“His base running is quite good too. What’s his speed like?”

“He usually gets to 1st base in about 4.4 seconds after hitting.”

“Doesn’t seem that fast compared to his running speed?”

“Yes, his swing is so powerful. But his speed from 1st to 3rd base is about 7.2 seconds, so his base-running sense is also very excellent, and he’s also very fast.”

Considering that the major league average last year was 4.59 seconds to 1st base for a right-handed hitter,

And the average from 1st to 3rd base was 7.87 seconds, his base-running sense and speed were definitely excellent.

But did he come to Korea now to see him running like that?

“I see, but at this rate, won’t we be able to see Swan swinging his bat at the plate today? Two intentional walks in a row… I want to see it in person, not just on video.”

“Well, Choi Soo-won’s hitting is usually very good. It’s possible if the Marlins are winning by a large margin or if it’s bases loaded, but I don’t think it’ll be easy. He averages less than 2 at-bats per game these days.”

“2 at-bats… Maintaining that much hitting in that situation… He’s a monster in many ways.”

It was a pity that he couldn’t see his hitting properly.

But Joshua Pagno Man couldn’t help but be greatly impressed by just one of his two wings, pitching.

Pitching, which is evaluated as still lacking compared to hitting.

But in Joshua’s opinion, considering that the big leagues often give the 5th starter spot to prospects who are expected to grow into aces in the future, Soo-won could be put on the big league roster right now and given the 5th starter spot.

Of course, the simple pitching repertoire of fastballs and curves was a bit disappointing.

“The record says he also throws sliders and changeups.”

“The completion is quite lacking, but he throws them occasionally as a surprise.”

“But KBO would have been better for honing his slider, but he’s throwing fastballs and curves. That’s a bit unusual.”

“I know that he was trained by Park Kwang-shik, a pitcher who used to play in AAA [Triple-A Minor League].”

Who he was trained by didn’t really matter.

“So he received intensive training for about 3 months.”

“3 months?”

But the period used to acquire the pitch was very important.

Of course, the fact that he can’t throw sliders or changeups properly means that he is likely to have a particularly good match with curves. But even so, he honed that much curve in just 3 months? Of course, even if it’s not that, and the period he received to correct the curve he was throwing before was 3 months, it is an undeniable fact that his pitch acquisition ability is considerable.

“Any contact from Eric?”

“Not yet.”

“Has it been about an hour since the meeting started?”

“It’s been 1 hour and 20 minutes now.”

In fact, Japanese data is likely to be less valid.

But right now, it was a situation where he had to gather even one more straw. And that comes as a stronger conviction the more he watches that monster named Choi Soo-won.

Choi Soo-won stepped on home plate with a sacrifice fly that followed.

***

Bottom of the 4th inning.

I was able to feel a lot in the process of throwing the ball for 3 innings already.

Pine tar is basically an illegal substance.

But that pine tar is ultimately a pine extract like rosin, and the only difference is that rosin bags are in powder form and this is in liquid form from the start.

But why do they use it? Of course, it’s because it’s stickier. So, when a pitcher puts saliva on his finger, he has to rub it on his clothes afterward so that it’s not an illegal substance.

But because it’s raining, water naturally forms on my hand and mixes with the rosin, maximizing the stickiness. Thanks to this, the rosin bag on the mound was replaced twice in the middle, but anyway, it was quite good from the pitcher’s point of view. I don’t know about the spin rate cheating that people often talk about right now, and I’ll have to check the numbers later, but apart from that, what should I say? It feels like the ball sticks to my hand, so I feel like my control is a bit more stable?

Normally, you might think that more precise command would be possible.

But that’s what ordinary people think.

Extraordinary people like me take it one step further.

‘Huh? Then doesn’t that mean I can pay a little less attention to control?’

Leading hitter Oh Hyung-won came to the plate.