The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 190

190. Leading (13)

[Ah, the Braves’ dugout isn’t moving.]

[Actually, calling for an intentional walk here is a tough decision.]

[That’s right. Bottom of the 6th, tied 5-5. A bases-loaded intentional walk, even with Choi Su-won at the plate… Well, it’s *because* it’s Choi Su-won that it’s even a question.]

It was a golden opportunity.

Honestly, that’s just baseball.

In sports like soccer, basketball, or American football, a supremely talented player can sometimes break through even against three or four defenders and deliver an outstanding performance. Even if they don’t, drawing that many defenders throws off the entire balance of the play, creating a significant advantage.

Baseball, however, has a simple solution for a batter like that: just walk them. Of course, guaranteeing a runner first base has a significant impact, but it’s still not as game-changing as in other sports.

Even so, there are unavoidable moments in baseball, and this was shaping up to be one of them.

Standing at the plate, I went through my usual routine: adjusting my helmet with my left hand and tapping my head twice. Then, I gripped the bat firmly twice with my right hand, tapped the plate once, and settled into my stance.

I could see a hint of desperation in Jo Chang-hyuk’s face on the mound. Looking at him, he really did seem like a jerk.

First pitch.

A high fastball inside.

– Whizz!!!

The 158.7 km/h [approximately 98.6 mph] fastball zipped past my eyes.

The guy on the mound smirked. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but mutter a line from a manga.

‘Are you watching, Mung-ge *sunbae* [senior/mentor]? There’s someone here who’s even more talented than you.’

That bastard keeps claiming in interviews, both now and in the future after he goes to the US, that it was a misunderstanding when he hit his juniors with a bat back in school. But I guarantee you, he definitely did it. And not just once or twice, but regularly.

Of course, the umpire didn’t call a strike.

Ball count 1-0.

“If you’re just going to intentionally walk me, why not just do it automatically? Why waste four pitches and drag out the game…?”

A little jab.

I didn’t expect the school bully to read my lips, but it was definitely aimed at the catcher behind me.

“What’s wrong? Is it okay for you to throw high and inside, but you whine when you have to catch those pitches?”

Easy.

He took the bait too easily.

“Hey, how can you compare me to Chang-hyuk *sunbae*? I’m just trying to strike out batters aggressively. Chang-hyuk *sunbae* is just throwing pitches outside the zone because he’s scared of hitting me. If that’s the case, he should throw it safely outside. It would be really dangerous if he accidentally hit me with a pitch like that.”

“What kind of double standard is that? Have you already forgotten that you almost hit our Hee-sung *sunbae* with a pitch? Is it okay for Hee-sung *sunbae* to get hit, but it’s dangerous for you? Is your body made of gold?”

“No, it’s not made of gold. But there are still a lot of games left this season, and we have a lot of matchups against the Braves. I can throw up to 163 km/h [approximately 101.3 mph] when I’m serious, so it’s very dangerous.”

“…”

I calmed myself with some light trash talk and waited for the second pitch.

An inside pitch followed by an outside pitch.

– Whizz!!!

It’s a slider that breaks away.

It was the pitch that struck me out earlier, but I’m starting to recognize it now. Of course, it’s still hard to identify as a slider right away, like other players’ sliders.

I think it’s because the tunneling [when pitches appear to be on the same trajectory out of the pitcher’s hand] is long and the speed is generally high, but anyway, if the school bully’s pitch feels like ‘shwoong,’ it’s a fastball, and if it feels like ‘bwoong,’ it’s a slider.

Third pitch.

This time, it feels like ‘bwoong’ again.

I held back my swing.

– Whizz!!

“Strike!!”

[A 158.1 km/h [approximately 98.2 mph] fastball!! Choi Su-won checked his swing, but it was in the zone.]

Sigh…

It definitely felt like ‘bwoong,’ but it was a fastball. But I didn’t doubt myself or second-guess my instincts. Even experts make mistakes, and I can be wrong sometimes.

[So, the count is now 2-1. The best outcome for Jo Chang-hyuk would be to induce a double play. But surprisingly, Choi Su-won hasn’t grounded into a single double play this season.]

[Ah, you’re right. With all his other impressive stats, it went unnoticed, but he hasn’t hit into a single double play.]

[Yes, double plays are usually inevitable for players with a lot of hits. It’s bound to happen if you hit often. But Choi Su-won has 0 double plays despite having 58 hits so far. That’s because 27 of those 58 hits are home runs, and 14 are doubles and triples. Only 17 are singles. Moreover, his batted ball quality is insane. GD/FB [Ground ball/Fly ball ratio] is 0.48 and LD% [Line Drive percentage] is 26.7%. Furthermore, he’s fast, and the runners ahead of him are either Lee Jung-hoon, Kang Ra-on, or Jo Yu-jin, who are all very fast runners. It’s hard to turn a double play with that combination.]

[Haha, our commentator Park Dong-shik is getting a little excited. Simply put, he hits more than twice as many fly balls as ground balls, and line drives make up over a quarter of his hits. Anyway, it will be interesting to see if Jo Chang-hyuk can get Choi Su-won to hit into his first double play today. And as we’re talking about it, here comes the 4th pitch!!]

Fourth pitch.

This time, a deep inside pitch.

It’s going outside the zone.

– Whizz!!!

“Strike!!!”

A 158.3 km/h [approximately 98.4 mph] fastball.

The umpire punched it in.

Ball count 2-2.

Wait, they’re calling *that* a strike?

Jo Chang-hyuk on the mound smirked.

“What? You were just staring at the ball, but you were running your mouth so much? What’s wrong? Is the ball too fast and difficult? Should I throw you a breaking ball? A breaking ball?”

I was getting annoyed.

I readjusted my helmet and tapped my head twice again. Then, I gripped the bat hard twice.

“A breaking ball is good. If you throw me a breaking ball, I’ll repay you with an out-of-the-park home run.”

“Bullshit.”

“Hey, I’m feeling generous. I’ll show you an out-of-the-park home run even if you throw me a fastball.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Try it if you can.”

Suddenly, a good idea popped into my head.

I held the bat as it was and extended the end of it beyond the fence, as if it were an extension of my stance.

A home run call.

It was the ultimate provocation you could make against a pitcher.

[Oh? Choi Su-won seems to have changed his routine slightly?]

“What is it? Is this bastard completely crazy?”

“No, my body is a little stiff because I haven’t swung the bat much at the plate.”

However, Jo Chang-hyuk’s expression didn’t change.

It seemed like he didn’t understand my home run call.

Fifth pitch.

Clearly, by KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] standards, the school bully is a daring pitcher.

Even at 0-2, he often throws the ball over the middle of the plate instead of throwing a breaking ball.

– Whizz!!

But that’s the KBO story.

Jo Chang-hyuk, who played in the MLB, wasn’t that daring of a pitcher. The reason he was able to make such bold pitches here wasn’t because he was mentally strong, but because it worked. So, he can’t throw the ball with such confidence even in situations where it seems like he’ll get hit if he throws it.

The umpire’s hand didn’t go up.

3-2

Full count.

“I was going to show you a special out-of-the-park home run, but this is going too far outside the zone, isn’t it?”

“Bullshit.”

“You said that earlier too. Your vocabulary is limited. Aren’t you a little lacking in vocabulary?”

I shrugged once and readjusted my helmet.

And I raised my bat towards the fence again, just like before.

“Are you serious, you bastard?”

“I’m stiff. I’m stiff.”

Did he finally understand the meaning?

I could feel the corners of Jo Chang-hyuk’s mouth twitching on the mound.

Sixth pitch.

A slightly off pitch.

– Clack!!

The ball went foul.

The count is still 3-2.

I focused.

My condition wasn’t great today, and it couldn’t be helped because my body rhythm was thrown off by the postponement of the game by one day.

But baseball is like that.

It’s different from sports like basketball, soccer, and American football, where you play every few days and give it your all. Maintaining consistency every day and performing well whether you’re feeling good or bad is the essence of baseball, an everyday sport.

Seventh pitch.

This time, my stance didn’t change.

The catcher behind me was chattering.

By this point, did the spectators also sense something?

The cheering section, which had been cheering me on fiercely, was buzzing. The movements of the cheerleaders, who were moving powerfully, were still precise, but the faces of the people watching the game had an unknown tension.

And Jo Chang-hyuk on the mound wound up powerfully.

I focused.

I focused even harder.

Honestly, if I strike out after all this, it would be incredibly embarrassing.

His movements came into my eyes clearly.

The hand that had been behind his head snapped forward.

I felt the rhythm.

The ball flew in.

It was in the middle of the zone.

But I could tell. This is ‘bwoong.’

So, the final trajectory of the ball wouldn’t be in the middle of the zone.

Yes, a breaking ball disguised as a strike.

It was a slider.

However, the destination was a little different.

The slider, which had consistently fooled me by appearing to be an outside pitch in the zone, traced a trajectory that slightly drifted from the middle to the outside of the zone.

Was it carelessness? Or was he so pissed off by my home run call that the ball slipped a little from his hand?

It didn’t matter.

A long tunneling.

And the slider, which had started to break, began to move further outside.

I swung the bat.

Before the ball moved any further.

When it was still in a good position for me to hit.

Thus, the bat, swung with a compact motion, connected with the baseball far out in front of my body.

– Clang!!!!

Powerful contact.

But my body, moving even more powerfully, pulled the ball to the opposite field.

Left-center.

Exactly where I had extended my bat.

A well-hit ball soared at a perfect angle.

A moment of silence.

I tossed the bat away in my follow-through.

And I slowly jogged towards first base.

– Wooaaaaaaaah!!!

The outfielders, who had been running towards the fence, stopped in their tracks.

Jo Chang-hyuk, who was turning to watch the ball, didn’t hang his head.

[Choi Su-won hit it!! High into the sky!! Left field!! It’s going, going, gone!! Grand slam!! Choi Su-won hits a grand slam!! Choi Su-won has launched his 28th home run of the season!]

[Wow, you knew it was gone the moment it left the bat. A massive home run. Ah, wait a minute. Did it go out of the park?]

[Yes, I think so? Ah, that’s right. It went out of the park. Choi Su-won’s grand slam is an out-of-the-park home run!! So, Sajik Stadium’s all-time… fifth, fifth out-of-the-park home run!!]

[Bottom of the 6th. The score is now 9:5. Choi Su-won adds a whopping four runs, and the Marines are taking a commanding lead in the game!!]

“You crazy bastard!!”

Lee Jung-hoon, who had crossed home plate just ahead of me, smacked my helmet hard as I rounded third and stepped on home plate.

“Ah, *sunbae*. My head is ringing.”

“You little punk. You’re really crazy. That was it just now.”

“What was?”

“Ah, that was your home run call just now.”

“Was I caught?”

“You crazy bastard. Hey, you don’t say ‘Was I caught?’ You deny it to the end. Save it for a shocking confession on a talk show in 10 years, no, 20 years. Deny it until the end now. Got it?”

I nodded.

Well, I was honestly planning on doing that anyway. It was too much to admit to a home run call in my rookie year.

“Ah, that’s right. But Su-won, did you know that?”

“What is it?”

“That it was *Sunbae* Gyu-man who hit an out-of-the-park home run at Sajik Stadium before you.”

*Sunbae* Gyu-man’s face, who was walking up to the on-deck circle in the distance, was a mix of emotions. But one thing was certain: the biggest part of that complicated emotion was joy.

[Marines reclaim the lead!!]

It was the first time in 15 years.