The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 19

19. It’s Good to Break It When You Can (2)

As I’ve mentioned before, baseball is a game with a very long history. Depending on the records, but based on the creation of something resembling modern baseball, it’s about 180 years old. Even if we consider the live-ball era, which is essentially modern baseball, over 100 years have passed.

And during that long time, countless ‘traditions and unwritten rules’ have emerged. One of these unwritten rules is that ‘you don’t deliberately interfere with great records.’

For example, if a pitcher is on the verge of achieving a no-hitter or perfect game, attempting to break it with a bunt is generally frowned upon. Similarly, if a batter is chasing a title, like a consecutive hit streak or home run record, you typically shouldn’t issue an intentional walk.

Of course, these are just unwritten rules, not official regulations. This means that breaking them won’t result in a penalty.

In that sense, something else comes to mind. It was October 2, 2039, and a chilly wind was blowing. At the time, I was chasing the all-time MLB home run record… (omitted) … As a result, that player received a lot of criticism, even from his own team’s fans. From the following season, 2040, he was booed every time he played at our home stadium.

Eventually, he apologized to me privately and issued a lengthy public apology. Although I publicly accepted his apology, his team’s fans still didn’t forgive him. In a way, that player was quite unfortunate. After all, he was just following instructions from the dugout.

Anyway, like this, an unwritten rule is something you don’t necessarily have to follow, but you have to be prepared for the consequences if you break it.

Of course, this also varies slightly from league to league. In MLB, a league steeped in tradition with a history of about 200 years, they are very sensitive to these unwritten rules. In the relatively younger KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], many believe there’s no need to adhere to them in crucial moments.

The reason I’m going into so much detail about baseball’s unwritten rules is because of Pungcheon High School’s current decision.

-Thwack!!

The catcher took a step to the side and caught the slightly off-target ball.

2-0.

The Pungcheon High School pitcher on the mound didn’t look good.

Well. About 89 pitches so far? He’s probably getting tired. But his expression wasn’t just due to physical fatigue.

-Boo-oo-oo-oo

The audience’s jeers echoed through the stadium.

Considering that the total audience was only about three hundred people, and a good portion of them were acquaintances of the Pungcheon High School players, it was quite a loud booing.

I worried that this might be traumatic for the pitcher. He’s just a high school student. Being booed by hundreds of people is difficult for the average person to handle. I just hoped that the starting pitcher of Pungcheon High School had a strong mentality, like a sea squirt [a type of marine animal known for its resilience].

The current score was 4-2.

No outs, runners on 1st and 3rd.

You don’t even need a home run. A solid hit would tie the score. The Pungcheon High School coach’s decision was clearly rational. Above all, I was a batter who had hit 5 consecutive home runs so far.

The pitcher prepared the third ball.

In professional baseball, there’s now a called intentional walk, which is a somewhat pointless rule. But among the rules of baseball, the most complicated rule, balk [an illegal movement by the pitcher], states that the catcher must be in the catcher’s box before the pitcher throws the ball.

Typically, high school baseball is a bit stricter about this, but it varies slightly depending on the umpire. But now, with runners on 1st and 3rd, Pungcheon High School didn’t want to take the risk, so the catcher couldn’t completely leave the catcher’s box until the pitcher threw the ball.

Was it because of that?

Or was it because the audience’s jeers were a burden?

Or maybe it was just a simple bad throw.

It was clearly a ball that was going to miss.

But unlike the previous two balls, it wasn’t completely out of reach. It was within a range where I might want to try to hit it.

I felt it instinctively. It’s an opportunity. If I swing my bat now, they’ll throw the ball even further away, even if it means risking it going out of the zone.

However, if I force it now when the pitcher is trying to intentionally walk me, and I end up hitting a ground ball that results in a double play? Perhaps the average person wouldn’t swing the bat easily because of such worries. But since I’m not an average person, I didn’t worry about that at all.

Back in 2031, when I was challenging the KBO single-season home run record.

The coach of the opposing team, who held the previous record, said this in a media interview.

“What do you think about Suwon’s challenge to the home run record? Haha, I’ve said this to other juniors before. ‘Opportunities don’t come often. It’s good to break it when you can.’ Well, I think that answers your question.”

Wasn’t that the best thing a coach could say to a junior who was challenging his record? At the time, I put the coach’s words into action.

And it was the same now.

It was impossible with the batting form I had until now.

I slightly lifted my left leg and put it down on the ground. And using that leg as a swing axis, I put extreme weight on it.

A rough rotation.

For a moment, my ankles, legs, and knees ached.

It was the batting form I used before I had my current, refined batting form right before regression. There are many problems, such as a high risk of injury and a low contact rate, but still one thing.

The power is incredible.

That’s how I strongly hit a ball that was going far outside.

-Clang!!

A sound like a ball splitting echoed through the stadium.

Of course, it wasn’t the exact sweet spot. Usually, the sweet spot zone of a bat is about 15 centimeters below the end of the bat, but this ball was about 2 or 3 centimeters off from there.

My back foot slightly lifted off the ground, and my body shook. But until the end of the final follow-through, I didn’t let go of the two hands that were holding the bat.

The pitcher on the mound looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and then turned around to look at the ball flying far away.

“Crazy…”

A curse word slipped from the catcher’s mouth.

I lightly tossed the bat and ran towards first base as if jogging. Ugh… I feel a slight pain in my left leg. Well, it doesn’t seem like I’m seriously injured or anything. It just seems like I put too much force on it in an instant, so it’s a bit strained. This level of pain is what ordinary baseball players experience throughout the season.

The batted ball that flew so far hit the netting beyond the Mokdong fence in the same location as before. It was a little disappointing. If I had hit it a little better, it might have gone out of the park. Well, whether you hit the first floor or the third floor of the outfield, or whether it goes over the fence, it’s all the same home run, but the feeling is different.

6 consecutive home runs. Until now, I had just been circling the ground without any emotion, but I raised my right arm with all my might. The stands erupted once again at that small gesture.

Of course, it was only 300 people…

***

“F***, he’s insane… He’s completely crazy. That guy.”

A curse word slipped from Deputy Kim’s mouth without him realizing it.

He had never used such vulgar language since becoming a mature member of society, let alone in his school days. But that scene just now was so unbelievable that such words couldn’t help but come out. Of course, it wasn’t meant negatively. For this man, who had followed the path of all-boys middle school, all-boys high school, and engineering college, this curse word was the ultimate expression of amazement.

No, he pulled a ball that was going outside during an intentional walk and made it a home run? Is this really possible for a high school student? No, this isn’t the time to argue about whether he’s a high school student or not. Which professional player can pull off such a feat?

Noh Hyung-wook, the team’s leading home run hitter who recorded 21 home runs last year?

Deputy Kim shook his head.

It can’t be done. Even if I imagine Noh Hyung-wook being in that position, I can’t picture him turning that pitch into a home run.

Then Baek Kang-ho of the Dolphins, who won the league home run title last year with 37 home runs? If it’s that guy, who is rumored to be going to the United States through posting [a system where KBO players can be transferred to MLB] at the end of this season…

It’s difficult…

Deputy Kim broadened the scope of his imagination.

Although his prime has passed, what about Park Joo-won of the Dolphins, who comes to mind when you think of home run king? He is the main character of the 4 consecutive high school home run record 20 years ago that Choi Suwon broke today, and a man who literally dominated the KBO during his prime. Although he failed in the major leagues, he was the most destructive hitter Deputy Kim had ever seen.

‘Yes… If it’s Park Joo-won in his prime…’

He was startled when he thought that far.

No matter how great he is, is he comparing a high school student’s hit to that of a professional, not just any professional, but the best hitter in the KBO in the 2010s?

“Ah… I’m going crazy.”

But it seemed that he wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Of course, it may not have been Park Joo-won specifically. But at least any scout who saw Choi Suwon’s home run here couldn’t help but recognize how incredible that play was.

‘Our team’s performance this year is 7th, right? So, rather than not being able to make it to the fall baseball season, it would be better to be in last place…’

He shook his head in surprise at the thought that came to his mind without him realizing it. No matter how much he wants Choi Suwon, he’s hoping the team will be in last place.

But he didn’t know. The fact that there were more surprises left for him today.

***

In the end, Ahn Byeong-young couldn’t handle the top of the 6th inning.

Of course, it wasn’t his choice. 105 pitches with a runner on 1st base and no outs. The pitchers from Jungang High School came up to the mound after Ahn Byeong-young.

‘Ah…’

And Park Eun-jin realized.

That the pitcher with acne all over his face was the only normal one in Jungang High School.

Three pitchers scored a whopping 6 runs in just 2 innings until the top of the 7th inning.

It was a frustrating situation for those who were cheering for Jungang High School.

However, fortunately, Pungcheon High School also didn’t have anyone other than the pitcher Lee Kyung-seok, who they put out as their ace today.

The current score is 11-10.

Each team scored 6 points in just 2 innings.

If you look at the score, it seemed like a huge slugfest, but in reality, it was more of a crazy combination of walks and errors.

And what raised Park Eun-jin’s blood pressure even more was that Pungcheon High School, who had already failed to intentionally walk Suwon in the 5th inning, tried another intentional walk in the 7th inning and stubbornly broke the consecutive home run record.

And the game continued.

“Huh? Eun-jin. What’s that?”

She had been faithfully answering the questions of her friend who was sitting next to her and didn’t know much about baseball, but she couldn’t answer this question.

Top of the 8th inning.

Choi Suwon went up to the mound.