The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 192

All-Star Game (2)

Chae Gwang-min was a jovial man.

For a long time, he had been overshadowed by Lee Gyu-man, his peer, and was often called the eternal runner-up. However, maintaining the position of runner-up for such a long time was in itself a remarkable feat. Could anyone say that Joe DiMaggio wasn’t great just because he didn’t surpass Ted Williams during the same era? Chae Gwang-min knew this better than anyone, and that’s why he was such a cheerful man.

He took a serious stance at the plate.

Seeing this, Jo Yu-jin wore a distressed expression, while Choi Su-won on the mound couldn’t hide his laughter.

“Ah… Senior…”

[Haha, Chae Gwang-min has shown a different concept every All-Star game. I thought he would pass this year without anything special, but oh my. He prepared something like this. It’s Jo Yu-jin’s batting form that has been talked about a lot lately.]

[I thought it was a bit strange that his uniform number was 22, but it was Jo Yu-jin’s number.]

It wasn’t even exactly the same as Jo Yu-jin’s. It was even more exaggerated and comical. His waist was bent over, making it impossible to swing the bat properly, and his butt was sticking out far behind.

“Ah, a certain player has been doing so well with this form lately, so I thought I’d learn it this time. How is it? Isn’t it cool?”

Chae Gwang-min grinned slyly.

“Senior, I don’t bend over that much, even if it’s me…”

“Well, you know? If there’s an original, you shouldn’t just copy it. You have to think about improving it. Don’t you think?”

Choi Su-won on the mound took a light breath.

If the MLB All-Star game is a documentary, the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] All-Star game is a variety show. It can’t be helped.

MLB is also showing a stronger trend of popularity voting through online fan votes, but there, the All-Star selection itself is almost like the Golden Glove award in Korea. There’s a prevailing atmosphere among the players that only those who have had a really good season should go.

But even knowing that it couldn’t be helped, he didn’t like this variety show.

He agreed that it was a festival for fans to watch and enjoy. But he didn’t think that a festival for the best players had to involve cosplay and clumsy plays to entertain the fans.

If the best players who couldn’t be on the same team usually were gathered on one team, and their opponents were the same, wouldn’t they be able to entertain those who enjoy baseball without such ridiculous plays?

Only 1 inning.

For that one inning that Choi Su-won had promised to take charge of today, he threw nearly 60 pitches before the game. That was about 1.5 times more than when he usually started as a pitcher. And so, his body was more than sufficiently warmed up.

-Thwack!!!

It was enough to make Chae Gwang-min’s comically protruding butt hit the ground.

163.1 km/h

Because he was lowering his upper body so much, it felt like the ball was whizzing right in front of his face.

[Oh my!! Initial speed of 163.1 km/h!! Choi Su-won!! He’s breaking his own 최고 [choego – best/highest] speed record with the first pitch in the All-Star game!!]

[So, Choi Su-won’s previous record was 162.9 km/h, right?]

[Yes, that’s right. He had thrown a 162.9 km/h ball twice in the past, but he had never exceeded 163. He’s finally breaking the 163 barrier in today’s All-Star game. He’s only nineteen this year. I’m really looking forward to seeing how much further this young player, whose growth isn’t even over yet, can develop.]

“Whoa, whoa… Hey, is your friend angry? Why so serious?”

“That’s the form he taught me. He might be angry because you’re mocking it, Senior.”

“Really? So he’s getting angry on your behalf? That’s… cute.”

Chae Gwang-min took his stance again.

It was almost the same as before. But if the previous one was an exaggerated version to ridicule Jo Yu-jin’s form, this time it was a stance very similar to Jo Yu-jin’s.

“Senior, no matter how I look at it, our Su-won is very serious.”

“I’m serious too.”

Choi Su-won on the mound wound up greatly.

The smoothly loosened shoulder, not thinking about the aftermath, moved very elastically.

A 163 km/h fastball.

Chae Gwang-min’s bat moved.

-Clang!!

If Choi Su-won on the mound was a genius unprecedented in KBO history, Chae Gwang-min was also a KBO legend who had been told he was a genius so many times that it was like his ears were calloused, and had accumulated experience for over 20 years.

Compared to Lee Gyu-man, his peer who was facing retirement this season and showing clear signs of aging, he was still maintaining a significant portion of his skills. He perfectly understood what purpose Jo Yu-jin’s ridiculous stance had and what principles it operated on.

It was, in fact, a stance to suppress Jo Yu-jin’s instinct to run to first base as soon as he hit the ball, while still ensuring the efficiency to run to first base very quickly.

But the small problem here was that Jo Yu-jin was a left-handed batter, while Chae Gwang-min was a right-handed batter. At the moment of impact, his head quickly turned towards third base.

‘Ugh.’

It had worked properly when he practiced a few times.

But a 163 km/h fastball was indeed different. He succeeded in getting the bat to the ball with his natural talent, but this crazy stance. He couldn’t put any power into the bat. How on earth did Jo Yu-jin pull the bat all the way through in this stance?

The batted ball rolled weakly.

He tried to turn his body, which had been forcibly turned towards third base, back towards first base, but it was hopelessly late. Lee Gyu-man, who was playing as the first baseman for the Dream All-Stars today, ran out slowly and caught the ball. And threw it to Choi Su-won, who had come to cover first base.

-Thwack!!

“Out!!”

A clean groundout to the infield.

“Gyu-man, isn’t your rookie putting too much effort into the All-Star game?”

“It’s not that he’s putting in effort, it’s just that he did what he always does, and you got swept away like a fallen leaf.”

“Swept away what?”

“Ugh, never mind. Go prepare for defense. Seeing how Su-won is doing today, it doesn’t look like he’s planning on letting any batters get on base in the first inning.”

“Ah… This event game isn’t fun. Not fun at all.”

Chae Gwang-min grumbled and retreated to the dugout.

And then Ra Chan-myeong of the Litz, the second batter, stepped up to the plate. At the age of 35 this year, his career average wRC+ [Weighted Runs Created Plus, a comprehensive hitting statistic] is 137. Before last year’s FA [Free Agency], he recorded a wRC+ of 153, and this year he’s maintaining a wRC+ of 147. Considering that the average wRC+ for a center fielder is 100, he’s a monster with 47% more run production than the average center fielder in the league. Of course, with the pitcher on the mound having a wRC+ of 301, the word ‘only’ is appropriate for a wRC+ of 147.

“Your friend is really fired up today, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Well, there’s no rule that everyone has to take it easy just because it’s the All-Star game. It’s not good to see a rookie too relaxed. Besides, more than half of the people gathered here today came to see if your friend is really MLB [Major League Baseball] material. He needs to show them properly.”

“Haha…”

“But you know.”

Ra Chan-myeong glared fiercely at Choi Su-won on the mound.

“I’ve been to the majors once, and it’s not easy.”

Ra Chan-myeong, who had an average wRC+ of over 131 for 9 years after his debut in the KBO, recorded an average wRC+ of 87 in the majors for 3 seasons. In his third year, he even spent half the season in the minors.

The majors?

Yeah, well, I admit he’s good with the bat. But to be a successful pitcher in the majors, it takes more than just throwing a 163 km/h ball.

Ra Chan-myeong was going to make that clear today.

Well, it was also a bit annoying that the sports sections and even the main portal pages were full of articles about Choi Su-won’s MLB challenge ahead of the KBO All-Star game.

“It’s not like I’m throwing sand in someone else’s party food.”

First pitch.

A 162.8 km/h fastball pierced deep into the inside course.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!!”

He briefly raised his hand and stepped away from the plate.

‘What is it?’

The last time he faced Choi Su-won was two months ago. Since then, their schedules hadn’t matched. He knew the speed had increased a bit. But this ball doesn’t have the same power he remembers.

The time to think was short.

He stepped back to the plate.

Second.

-Clang!!!

Many people call Ra Chan-myeong a lazy genius. Of course, he wasn’t a lazy genius. It’s impossible to achieve this kind of performance in the pros without ‘effort.’ However, apart from that effort, he is indeed someone who belongs to the category of ‘genius.’

Although not the same as Choi Su-won, he also had an excellent ability to instinctively track the trajectory of the ball. That’s why he was able to correct the trajectory of the fastball Choi Su-won was throwing in his head just by seeing one ball directly at the plate.

But that was it.

The bat was pushed back ridiculously.

The high-flying ball went weakly into the glove of the second baseman.

Flyout to the infield.

He looked at the batted ball for a moment, then turned to Jo Yu-jin and said with a serious expression.

“I look forward to the Marines’ big decision.”

“Yes?”

Su-won struck out the next third batter with a breaking ball on the fifth pitch.

Three up, three down.

Amidst the generous applause of the crowd filling Jamsil Stadium, it was the Dream All-Stars’ turn to attack.

***

[Now, the Dream All-Stars’ attack in the bottom of the first. Choi Su-won, who was just on the mound, is coming up as the lead batter.]

[A pitcher who was throwing 163-kilometer balls on the mound is immediately coming to the plate. It’s really a two-way player. It can’t help but be the romance of baseball.]

[That’s right. I think Manager Kang Sang-gu of the Dream All-Stars thought of that too.]

Bottom of the first, our first attack.

Kim Seung-jin of the Blaze, the catcher for the Nanum All-Stars, spoke to me.

“Hey, let’s take it easy. It’s an event game. If you get hurt doing that, you’re the only one who’ll lose out.”

“Senior Gyu-man told me that even if it’s an event game, rookies will get criticized if they play half-heartedly. So, if I’m going to do it, I’m going to try to ride the car with gritted teeth [give it my all].”

“No, even so. Huh? It’s an event game, so you have to do some fan service. The result of today’s game doesn’t affect the standings. You have to make the people who came to watch the game laugh and enjoy themselves. Don’t you think?”

“Is that so? Then, would it be okay if I did some performance too?”

“Of course. That’s what the All-Star game is for.”

He nodded readily.

“Won’t they say I’m too cocky?”

“Hey, what’s cocky about it? In the All-Star game. It’s a game where everyone just laughs and moves on no matter what they do. If anyone says anything, huh? Tell them I told you to do it. Got it?”

“Yes, thank you, Senior.”

Honestly, I was just going to do my best and get the best results.

I thought that would be enough for today’s All-Star game. But if Kim Seung-jin is pushing me like this and I don’t respond, it’s not polite.

So, after performing my routine at the plate as usual, I raised my bat and pointed to the huge electronic display in the center of the outfield.

[…Is Choi Su-won really doing that now?]

[Haha… It’s the All-Star game. Isn’t it the All-Star game? Anyway, it’s a very energetic spirit befitting a young player.]

The All-Star game.

An event game where no one will intentionally walk me.

I have decided to hit the first 4 consecutive home runs in All-Star game history today.