The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 176

176. What He Needs (3)

Is there a pitcher who can throw 110 miles per hour? That’s 177 kilometers per hour?

Yes, there is.

Of course, not in an actual game, but in a practice setting. And it wasn’t even a ball that went into the strike zone; it was just sent flying way back. Anyway, it is possible for a person to throw 110 miles per hour by throwing the ball from a stationary position, not a running start.

So, what would be the result if that player pitched properly?

I’ve faced him before.

It was when I hadn’t been in the majors for very long, and I was a bit intimidated because it was the major league debut of a pitcher who threw 110 miles per hour. But that day, his highest speed was 103 miles per hour? Of course, it’s close to 166 kilometers per hour, so it’s a fast ball, but honestly, it’s much more manageable compared to 177 kilometers per hour.

So, why am I going on about this at such length?

It’s because I’m wondering what would happen if I focused less on control and just threw the ball as hard as I possibly could.

If I can control the ball as well as I am now, I feel like it might be okay to throw like that.

Oh Hyung-won, standing in the batter’s box, glared at me.

His eyes are fierce. Come to think of it, his gaze is very similar to the one that Sea Squirt [a nickname, possibly referring to a younger player] used to give me. Now that I think about it, I’ve been a little busy lately and haven’t been able to contact Jin-woo hyung [older brother or close male friend] properly. I wonder if Sea Squirt is doing well? He’s a sophomore in college now, so if he does well, he might try out for the draft again next month. If I ever meet him in the professional arena or anywhere else, I’d like to give him a small gift, like four consecutive home runs.

Is it because I found a similarity to Sea Squirt?

For some reason, Oh Hyung-won’s fierce eyes felt amusing.

With that amusement filling my heart.

First pitch.

I slightly released the obsession of having to get the ball into the strike zone and really put all my strength into it. Focusing more on simply throwing fast!

-Thwack!!!

What should I call this ball?

A fastball.

Yes, the expression ‘fastball’ suited it.

Oh Hyung-won, who was standing in the batter’s box, fell on his butt.

Ah, of course, it wasn’t a strike. It was a little deep inside. About 20 centimeters away from a headshot. But even so, the emotion on Oh Hyung-won’s face wasn’t anger.

It was bewilderment.

The number was displayed on the scoreboard.

162.9 km/h

A speed slightly over 101 miles per hour.

I really gritted my teeth and threw it with all my might, but in the end, it didn’t reach 163. Well, compared to the day when my condition was good and I was consistently hitting around 161, today the limit was in the late 159s to early 160s, so it’s not a bad speed, but it’s a bit disappointing that this is all I could get even after throwing with maximum effort, even at the risk of my form collapsing.

[High inside pitch! Oh Hyung-won falls backward.]

[Ah, that ball was quite dangerous. Come to think of it, there was a collision between the Marlins and the Elitz before, right?]

[That’s right. At that time, Choi Soo-won threw a wild pitch as his first pitch in his debut game, and there was a bench clearing [a brawl where players from both teams rush onto the field].]

[Actually, when a pitcher throws the ball, it’s impossible not to make any mistakes. It’s raining now, so it can happen. However, a ball that exceeds 160 is really dangerous.]

[That’s right. That’s why being a pitcher is more difficult. The batters waiting for a 160 ball take risks, but the pitchers throwing the ball also throw the ball while overcoming the fear that something might go wrong.]

Oh Hyung-won got up from his seat and patted his butt.

The soil, wet with rainwater, doesn’t come off easily.

Was it thanks to Dillon, our bench-clearing specialist, who was ready to jump over the dugout fence as soon as he saw my wild pitch? Oh Hyung-won didn’t run to the mound just because I threw one inside wild pitch.

This is why baseball teams need at least one bench-clearing specialist. It’s no wonder the NFL has a fighting-specialized position called an enforcer [player whose role is to intimidate opponents and protect teammates]. Ah, for your information, fighting here doesn’t mean ‘fighting’ in the Korean sense of ‘cheering up,’ but real punching.

In MLB, it’s illegal to come out with a bat during a bench clearing, but it’s legal to come out empty-handed and fight without kicking. As I recall, a Canadian player was scouted by a mixed martial arts promoter and even advanced to the UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship].

Anyway, while our bench-clearing specialist Dillon was glaring, Oh Hyung-won waited for my second pitch in the batter’s box.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!”

159.9 km/h, high inside course.

This time, it was a ball that went accurately into the strike zone.

And the third.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

A curveball that dropped sharply from a high position.

Oh Hyung-won looked at the umpire with a dumbfounded expression. His expression said that the ball was out of the zone. Honestly, it was a bit ambiguous. But what can I do? There’s no video replay for strike and ball calls.

And then Jacob Wilson’s at-bat followed.

-Clang!!

He hit the first pitch.

He definitely gets his bat on my fastball quite a bit. But just because he hit the ball doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a hit. In the first place, the probability of a batter’s hit becoming a hit is around 30%. And this time, Jacob Wilson’s hit was not included in that 30%. The weakly hit fly ball couldn’t get out of the infield.

Two outs.

The rain started to get heavier.

The expected rainfall today was about 10mm per hour, but the rain falling seemed to be more than that. If we’re unlucky, this rain might lead to a rainout [game cancellation due to rain].

The next batter is the cleanup hitter [typically the team’s best hitter, batting fourth in the lineup], Ra Chan-myung.

This is why Oh Hyung-won still can’t become the representative player of the Elitz.

The league’s best bad ball hitter [hitter who can make contact with pitches outside the strike zone].

He hits any ball, and his career wRC+ [weighted Runs Created Plus, a comprehensive hitting statistic] is over 130, and last year, at the age of 34, he recorded a whopping 153.

For reference, the only Elitz player who got on base today is this Ra Chan-myung. He came out as the lead batter in the second inning and hit a ball that was quite far outside on the first pitch, eventually making it a hit.

He’s such a hitter who swings at any ball that I thought he would make a mis-hit or swing and miss, but seeing him turn that into a hit, I thought, ‘Ra Chan-myung is Ra Chan-myung after all.’

-Thud, thud.

35 years old.

Mr. Elitz.

His weighty appearance, having recorded the only hit in the previous at-bat, stirred up the quiet Jamsil [stadium name] once again.

And that commotion is probably the Elitz’s expectation.

And then it was.

“Ah, just a moment.”

He, who was walking to the plate, suddenly raised his hand to the umpire and said he would tie his shoelaces. What is it? Why was he standing in the on-deck circle [area where the next batter warms up] until now, and why is he bothering to come all the way here to tie his shoelaces? And why is he squatting down as if in slow motion, with his bat tucked under his arm, just to retie one shoelace?

***

Ra Chan-myung thought.

The heavens are helping me.

The rain was getting heavier.

Honestly, the pitcher on the mound right now is crazy. From the beginning, it was extraordinary to throw a beanball [pitch thrown intentionally at the batter’s head] as the first pitch in his pitching debut. I once saw him say in an interview that his hand slipped because he was nervous, but Ra Chan-myung is sure.

That’s complete bull.

In the context of Korean baseball, a guy who made a mistake can’t stand so confidently on the mound. Besides, look at that just now. Putting in a 162 inside beanball. It was really fortunate that Hyung-won saw the ball well, or he could have had his head cracked and gone to the hospital.

Besides, if he was just crazy, it might be okay, but his skills are as crazy as his crazy personality. How can he throw a 162 ball on a rainy day like this?

If it was the previous Marlins, we could have tried to turn the game around by taking the starter down and hitting the bullpen, but it’s difficult to do that since the trade.

Park Jae-hyuk, Go Seol-min, and Tae Ji-wan.

It’s to the point where the Braves gave it all to the Marlins to win the championship once.

Besides, looking at the way it’s raining now, a rainout is almost certain.

The only thing left is whether it ends before the 5th inning and becomes a no-game [game declared invalid and not counted], or it ends after the 6th inning and becomes a called game [shortened game due to weather or other circumstances that counts as a complete game].

It’s a shame that the one hit I luckily recorded against that monster will disappear, but it’s better for today’s game to be processed as a no-game and postponed to the second half of the season.

Because that monster is a ‘rookie.’

Besides, looking at his physique, he can’t possibly show that kind of performance until the end of the season while doing both pitching and hitting.

If baseball was a sport with about 30 games a year, that monster would be almost invincible, but baseball is a long-term battle with 144 games a year. I guarantee that with that body, he’ll be exhausted by the time the monsoon season passes.

I tied my right shoelace and retied my left shoelace.

I performed my routine at the plate. Thanks to the pace-of-play rules, I couldn’t perform it as long as I used to, but fortunately, Ra Chan-myung’s routine was quite complicated, as long as his long career.

The pitcher on the mound threw the first pitch without any delay.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!”

Honestly, it was a ball that I would have swung at right away normally. But I held back. Today, I’m aiming for a full count [three balls and two strikes] as much as possible.

I estimate 20 minutes.

No matter how hard I try, the game can’t last more than 20 minutes in this environment. It’s definitely a rainout. 2 minutes and 30 seconds for each offense and defense change, so that’s 5 minutes.

One remaining out in the bottom of the 4th inning, and the top and bottom of the 5th inning.

If I can drag out ten counts for 15 minutes, a no-game is possible.

A 16-year veteran.

Ra Chan-myung’s stalling has begun.

“Ah, just a moment. I think there’s a crack in my bat.”

***

I doubted it.

But after seeing what he’s showing, it’s too obvious.

That bastard is stalling to aim for a no-game.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier.

Maybe if it was Sajik [another baseball stadium known for its enthusiastic fans], the boos would be pouring out like crazy, and the umpire would feel a bit of pressure from those boos, but the atmosphere in Jamsil, where most of the fans are Elitz fans, was a bit different.

Our fans come quite a lot for ordinary games, but honestly, it’s too much to come to the home games of the Elitz or the Hawks. It’s no wonder professional baseball fans keep saying Elmaho, Elmaho [likely a phrase or inside joke among fans].

Eventually, the guy who was messing with his bat for some reason even replaced his bat.

It wasn’t a long time, but those were actions that could have psychologically shaken a real rookie pitcher. The pressure of a game that was being won without giving up any runs becoming a no-game while the rain was getting heavier was not something to be ignored.

Ah, what about me?

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!”

[Ah, Choi Soo-won throws a fastball right down the middle. Despite that tremendous speed, he was using the left and right sides amazingly well in today’s game, but it seems that Ra Chan-myung’s shaking has worked a little.]

The falling rain dripped off the brim of my cap.

My uniform is sticking to my body, and in the meantime, Ra Chan-myung is taking one foot out of the batter’s box again and doing something strange. Honestly, the umpire could stop him, but it feels like he’s giving him too much leeway, considering his name value, home-field advantage, and experience.

Third.

According to the plan, he’ll probably touch this one.

He’s probably intending to make it a foul as much as possible.

I’m going to make it impossible for him to do that.

Third pitch.

High course.

Ra Chan-myung’s eyes lit up.

The bat powerfully springing out with the timing 맞춰춰 [Korean expression for ‘perfectly 맞춰’] to the 160 fastball.

When the bat moved about 1/5, his movement slowed down as if a brake had been applied. He noticed it a little late.

That the ball I just threw wasn’t a fastball.

It’s not that Ra Chan-myung’s eye is lacking because he’s a bad ball hitter.

If that were the case, his high contact rate couldn’t be explained.

It was closer to the fact that Ra Chan-myung was confident in making any ball that came his way a hit, so he was hitting balls in a wider range than the strike zone. That means his hitting skill is that good.

But the curveball is the most difficult pitch to hit among all the pitches in baseball, even if you know it’s coming.

Ah, except for the knuckleball.

Even my curveball perfectly stole Ra Chan-myung’s timing.

-Clang!!!

The fact that he somehow managed to get the bat on the baseball was a move worthy of the reputation of the best bad ball hitter in Korea, but that was it.

Kim Hoon, the second baseman, lightly caught the weakly rolling ball and threw it to first base.

“Out!!!”

Three up, three down in the bottom of the 4th inning.

And the bottom of the 6th inning did not return.