The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 18

18. It’s Good to Break It When You Can (1)

Reporter Lee Ji-yeon quickly wrote an article.

The article she had previously sent focused on what a 4-consecutive home run meant in a situation where high school baseball was becoming increasingly pitcher-dominant, and what impact it would have on professional baseball.

And as a bonus, she lightly touched on how he, who had already set a record for 4 consecutive home runs 20 years ago, was leaving a clear mark on the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization]. All of this was in consideration of the reality that baseball fans would only click on internet articles if they contained stories about the KBO.

However, the article did not even slightly consider that Choi Soo-won would hit another consecutive home run and break the previous record.

‘How stupid. Why didn’t I think of that?’

In fact, it was inevitable.

When a person faces a seemingly impossible challenge, it is not easy to see beyond the success or failure of the challenge. And Choi Soo-won’s 4 consecutive home runs were such a seemingly impossible challenge.

Of course, when he succeeded in the first at-bat, the possibility of a 5-consecutive home run briefly crossed her mind, but the pre-written manuscript was about two cases: when he succeeded in 4 consecutive home runs and when he failed.

And not many people can think of a third option in the face of such a binary choice.

But now, with Choi Soo-won already breaking the previous record by hitting 5 consecutive home runs, and with that record still in progress, the story had to change completely.

After pondering the title for a moment, she finally hit the enter key.

[The Best Slugger to Rewrite the 42-Year History of Korean Professional Baseball is Coming!!]

Is it okay?

Isn’t the title too provocative?

Isn’t it too much expectation and attention for a young child who has just become a second-year high school student?

She did not agree with the saying that bad comments are better than no comments. Anyone who has seen someone ruined by malicious comments would never agree with that statement.

But still, with that much skill…

The image of Choi Soo-won walking around the ground without any expression even after achieving a new home run record was vivid in her mind.

Yes, with that much skill, this level of attention will definitely be beneficial.

-Click

The submission was completed.

***

As I mentioned before, routines are very important for hitters. There’s no need to talk about the late winter of 2033 again, but since it’s a very important story, let’s talk about it briefly again and move on… (omitted) …and finally, I was able to find a way to maintain my condition as a designated hitter without going out on defense.

Perhaps if it weren’t for the experience at that time, it might have been impossible to hit home runs like this in a row today… No way. Even if I’m in poor condition, I can’t imagine struggling against high school students.

Well, it’s obvious. If you grab any of these kids here and tell them to play baseball with little league players, what kind of results would you get?

Most of them would be the reincarnation of Barry Bonds [a famous baseball player known for his hitting ability]. Of course, whether it’s during his time as the best baseball player in the world or during his steroid era depends on individual skills.

Anyway, there is that much of a gap between the current average level of high school baseball and my skills.

You can tell just by looking at the audience seats over there.

The reporters with cameras are all leaning towards first base. Why first base? Because today our Jungang High School is the away team, and therefore our dugout is on third base. The game is a game, but today’s main character is me.

With a serious expression, I slightly turned my head to the right.

I already knew from experience. I look better on the left than on the right. If I’m going to be photographed, it’s better to be photographed looking good. Oh, am I a narcissist?

Of course not. This is all based on experience.

In baseball, there is something called a 5-tool player.

It refers to a player who has all five tools necessary for a fielder: fast ball speed, the ability to hit the ball far, efficient defense, fast throwing, and excellent running ability.

But there is a really important sixth tool for fielders that no one talks about openly. That is a handsome face.

No, I’m not kidding, it’s real.

In the first place, for professional baseball, or rather professional sports, to be established, you need paying spectators. In the case of the KBO, there are some deformed forms that make it a little less so, but the MLB [Major League Baseball] is completely capitalism itself.

The reason why clubs try to win is because it is the most powerful way to attract fans. Many fans are bound to lead to a lot of revenue. That’s why each team gathers the players they need to win in a very ‘efficient’ way.

But here’s one thing.

What if there is a way to attract fans regardless of winning? Or if there is a way to increase the club’s profits? Of course, the club is willing to invest that much money in it.

And the most certain thing among them is the player’s ‘appearance’.

Just looking at the uniform sales, the sales of a player who is just good at baseball and a player who is good at baseball and also handsome are so different that it’s embarrassing to compare.

In that sense, the photos being taken now are photos that will be circulating everywhere when I play in bigger leagues in the future.

There’s no harm in managing them in advance.

Even while I was working hard to be a subject in the photos, Mungae on the mound was struggling.

It’s only early May. Even though the weather is still a bit chilly in the evening, the sweat dripping between the bumpy acne was almost as rough as the water flowing through a valley right after the summer monsoon.

No outs, runners on 1st and 3rd.

The hitters starting from the 3rd batter were slowly starting to hit Mungae’s pitches. It can’t be helped. Due to the nature of high school baseball, the skill gap between players is bound to be large, and although Pungcheon High School is not a prestigious school, the cleanup trio are still kids who play baseball quite well. If those kids are on their third at-bat, they can fully target Mungae.

Well, Mungae has been appearing after me in the 5th or 6th inning every day recently, and he only pitches for 2-3 innings at most, so he might think that his ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] is no different from mine, but in the first place, whether a hitter sees the same pitcher twice or three times is like heaven and earth.

Sometimes there are perverted pitchers who actually have a lower batting average against them in the third at-bat, but those pitchers are really a very small minority.

Of course, Mungae was also a perverted guy belonging to a minority in some sense, but unfortunately, the meaning was very negative unlike the previous case, so it is only natural that he cannot handle it from the third at-bat like that.

The 5th batter of Pungcheon High School came to the plate.

He was huge.

Of course, not as much as our Gyuhyuk senior, but his physique is not negligible.

Jo Yu-jin went up to the mound, covered her face with her mitt, and babbled something to Mungae.

Well, it’s obvious. She’s saying that he can handle it well enough, so he should handle it with a comfortable mind that he’s giving up 1 point and finish the inning well with a double play? Or maybe she’s saying that it’s okay to give up a walk here, so he should compete carefully.

Tsk, what a stupid guy.

It was clear that this guy hadn’t properly looked into the abyss yet. There’s no way normal encouragement will work against a crazy guy who threatens to throw the ball straight instead of making a nice catch.

“@!#$%!#@$%[email protected]!!!”

As expected.

I couldn’t hear it exactly, but something like a dog barking? Or something similar to a pig squealing came out of Mungae’s mouth. Jo Yu-jin was sweating profusely and bowed her head.

Yes, Yu-jin. It’s clear that this is your fault. In the first place, if you want to have a conversation, you should try to have a conversation with a human being. How could a person try to talk to Mungae?

“Keueung······.”

The coach’s face looked quite uncomfortable.

And he glanced at me once and then sighed deeply, which was a face that anyone could see was saying, ‘Ah, it would be perfect to put that bastard on the mound. But he’s challenging a new home run record? There’s no one to put on the mound. I’m going crazy.’

Mungae threw the ball.

The game continues.

Ball, ball, foul, ball, foul, foul.

Thus, the count is 3-2, full count.

Still, Mungae threw only difficult balls in a row for his standards.

I was wondering if it would be bases loaded with no outs with a walk. Just then.

Mungae, who bit his lower lip tightly, went into a windup.

I had a feeling.

This bastard. He’s thinking of putting a ball in the zone.

A slightly high course.

It would have been better if it was a curve and bounced once. The reason why Mungae was able to endure until now was because of Jo Yu-jin’s skill in blocking the bouncing ball with a very high probability.

The 5th batter of Pungcheon High School.

The muscle-bound bat turned greatly.

-Thwack!!

Refreshing.

He definitely has good power. The floating ball flew far away. But the launch angle was very bad. That’s almost close to 40 degrees. Of course, he has good power, so it flew far. But with that, it’s impossible to get over the fence. And fortunately? It was natural since it was the at-bat of a strong hitter, but our outfielders’ positions were not bad.

The runners on 1st and 3rd base have not moved yet.

In the case of a fly ball like now, if the fielder catches the ball without bouncing it, it becomes an out.

And in that case, there is a rule that the runner must return to the base where he was originally, but if the ball arrives before the runner returns to the base he occupied, that is also an out.

Therefore, in a fly ball situation, the runners stand on their bases. And at the moment when the fielder catches the ball like that!!

The runners on 1st and 3rd base started running at the same time.

Our left fielder quickly threw the ball to 2nd base, but it was too late. The runner was not that fast, but our left fielder’s shoulder was a little worse than that.

And Mungae, although he can’t make a laser throw even if he goes to that position, proved on the mound that he has the talent to shoot lasers with his eyes.

The left fielder’s expression hardens.

Tsk.

Anyway, one out and runner on 2nd base.

The score is 2:2

Ah, but wait a minute······.

When I think about it, we scored 2 points with 2 home runs, but they scored 2 points with sacrifice flies? Hmm, then it’s obvious what Mungae is thinking.

‘Damn incompetent fielders!!’

Well, he’s probably blaming the fielders and talking about FIP [Fielding Independent Pitching, a metric that isolates a pitcher’s contribution] in his head.

After all, FIP is an indicator that judges a pitcher only with strikeouts, home runs allowed, and walks, and according to that, Mungae is more capable than the pitcher of Pungcheon High School, at least in today’s game. The biggest point in the middle is still the home runs allowed.

Anyway, this is why I hate the indicators made by desk jockeys.

***

“Ah!!!”

It was an exclamation containing so many things.

Inside, all sorts of curses were bursting out, but she couldn’t because her friends were with her. Anyway, she was a trainee aspiring to be an idol who gives dreams and hopes to people.

No, why are all the teams she supports like this······.

If it were home, she could have watched while cursing coolly.

The current score is 4:2

Jungang High School failed to add points in the top of the 5th inning. The only good thing was that the pitcher with acne on his face did not concede any additional runs in the bottom of the 5th inning.

“I wish Soo-won was throwing the ball······.”

“Huh? Choi Soo-won is throwing the ball? Isn’t he a hitter?”

“He’s originally a pitcher. He’s also the best pitcher on the team.”

“But then why isn’t he pitching today?”

The boy who knew baseball vaguely disappeared to his friends’ side right after the 1st inning ended, and instead of that boy, a girl who didn’t know baseball at all sat next to her.

“Well······. I guess it’s because there’s a record at stake, so they’re trying to let him focus on hitting······.”

-Thwack!!

A hit that barely went over the infielder’s head.

And Jungang High School’s coach Park sent out a pinch hitter in place of the not-so-good 9th batter today.

In her opinion, it was a very good choice.

Right now, it was very important for Jungang High School to set up the table as much as possible in front of Choi Soo-won, who was the only one swinging the bat like a human being.

-Thwack!!

And coach Park’s tactics worked so miraculously well that it was a clean right-field hit.

In an instant, runners on 1st and 3rd.

“Alright!!”

Choi Soo-won, who is recording 2 at-bats, 2 hits, and 2 home runs today, came to the plate.