The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 209

209. New Record (5)

To be honest, I was a little scared.

Of course. It would be a complete lie to say I wasn’t.

Im Gwang-hyeong had allowed a total of 17 home runs this season.

Even in his prime in the major leagues, Im Gwang-hyeong had recorded fewer than 20 home runs in a full season for three seasons. The number of games is different, and the level of players is different. So, does that mean Im Gwang-hyeong’s skills are far below what they used to be? Yes, maybe so.

However, it was more reasonable to attribute the biggest reason for these 17 home runs to Choi Su-won rather than Im Gwang-hyeong’s own performance.

As many as five.

It wouldn’t matter if there were many games, but he has hit as many as five home runs in just two games against Choi Su-won. No, that’s not right. Even if you consider the announced home run in the All-Star game, that’s six home runs against that guy alone. That’s also six home runs in six at-bats, a home run in every at-bat.

The first time we met, he allowed three consecutive home runs because his weakness was exposed, and he was in his crazy streak of seven consecutive home runs. These days, he seemed to be reviving a bit, but it wasn’t the same feeling as back then, yet he hit two consecutive home runs.

But even so, Im Gwang-hyeong stood on the mound.

When was it? It was about 10 years ago. When he had just entered the major leagues and was in his prime, he had a conversation with a legendary pitcher. He was well past his prime but hadn’t considered retirement yet, so he was about the same age as Im Gwang-hyeong now.

“Aren’t you scared? What? A guy who’s thrown as much as you have is asking something like that? Of course, I’m scared. There are tons of guys who can easily hit it over the fence if I make a slight mistake, so how can I not be scared? Damn it, when I debuted, 93 miles [149.6 km/h] was fast enough, but what kind of power inflation is this? But instead, I have something I’ve built up.”

“Experience?”

“That’s something anyone can get if they play long enough. But for a great player like me, there’s a bonus on top of that. The aura of a great player. The experience of a champion. Something like that.”

He said. A career built up instead of diminishing skills.

And that career remains like a medal, supporting him. Yes, it’s as if a champion can’t be easily defeated.

In fact, it was hard to agree at the time.

But now I have no choice but to agree. It’s not because he felt the experience or aura that the great player showed. It’s because if he didn’t believe in that, he wouldn’t have the guts to confidently throw the ball to that young hitter on the mound.

The expression still hasn’t changed.

People said that his expressionlessness proved Im Gwang-hyeong’s strong nerve and indifference, but that wasn’t true. Guys who are really brave and indifferent don’t care about such a poker face. Like Choi Su-won, who is standing at the plate now, preparing for the ball.

First ball.

The best ball.

-Clang!!

He swung at the changeup.

I was hoping it would be a ground ball to the infield, but it went out of the foul line.

‘Senior, your ball is good. Let’s go with a two-seamer in the same course.’

I don’t know what’s so good about the ball when he’s already hit two home runs today, but it was a reasonable choice. The combination of a two-seamer and a changeup was one of his winning strategies.

But he shook his head.

Jeong Byeong-cheol tilted his head once. Although he was a junior who was 16 years younger, he didn’t look arrogant. He was definitely a good catcher just by looking at that. He knows how to make suggestions to the pitcher without making him feel bad.

Personally, I told some guys on the team to study English if they were thinking about the major leagues, but it didn’t really matter. In the first place, 1/3 of them were Hispanic kids from South America who couldn’t speak English properly, and pitchers and fielders don’t need to be good at English to play in the big leagues.

But catchers are different.

It was a while ago, but why did Jojima Kenji, who was arguably the best catcher in NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball], fail in MLB [Major League Baseball]? Why did he retire from MLB at the age of thirty-three and return to NPB, even though he hit 20 home runs as a catcher in his debut season in MLB and his batting was at the league average even when he was suffering from injuries?

The answer was communication. It’s not just a matter of internal communication during the game. That can be solved by bringing an interpreter. Communication between players in the dugout and clubhouse is very important. Especially the relationship between the catcher and the pitcher.

In addition, Jojima was famous for not leading according to the instructions in the dugout, and when communication with the pitcher was cut off, suspicion about his lead grew even more, and eventually, ace pitchers publicly avoided him.

If he could have just had a conversation after the game about how this lead was like this and it failed, but this one was successful, the relationship wouldn’t have broken down to that extent.

Anyway, Jeong Byeong-cheol was a talented hitter that Im Gwang-hyeong would seriously advise.

If Choi Su-won hadn’t been there this season, he would have easily won the Rookie of the Year award, and maybe he would have grown into a player who could aim for the MVP award in the next year or the year after when Choi Su-won disappears. But that’s all in the distant future.

A reasonable choice?

That’s only when the opponent is reasonable. It’s difficult against a monster like that who is out of the ordinary. Im Gwang-hyeong had a strange conviction that if he threw a two-seamer now, he would send it straight out of the fence.

Maybe this is the aura of a great player, the experience of a champion that the legendary pitcher told me about back then.

‘Well, it’s hard to say that since I’ve already been hit so hard…’

Im Gwang-hyeong threw the ball.

The same course.

Not a two-seamer, but another changeup.

-Clang!!!

Choi Su-won’s bat swung at the ball.

Stronger than before.

And more appropriately.

With a timing that would have sent it right over the fence if he had thrown a two-seamer.

The batted ball slightly passed over the infield stands.

Ball count 0-2.

It’s a unilaterally driven count, but it feels like I’m being unilaterally driven.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

Third.

If it’s a normal choice, it’s the fastest fastball in the high inside course.

It’s a decision ball that has been steadily working since the damn fly ball revolution. Although the speed is 2 or 3 miles [3.2 – 4.8 km/h] slower than in his prime, the changeup has slowed down as much, so it’s not a bad choice since he’s already shown two changeups.

But Jeong Byeong-cheol asked for a two-seamer that slightly misses the low outside course. He’s definitely a guy who can read the pitcher’s mind. But it’s still not enough. If the abyss gazes at you, the abyss also gazes at you, and to catch a monster, I must become a monster myself.

The pitcher on the mound now, although his body was deteriorated and was a complete human body, at least his heart was like a monster.

Third.

Low outside course.

Changeup.

It was the most powerful ball he could throw.

***

Three consecutive balls?

I thought he would throw the fastest four-seam fastball in the high inside course.

The timing of the batting was also set to the four-seam fastball.

Changeup on the low outside course.

I desperately controlled the bat.

But it wasn’t enough. The timing and course were too far from what I expected. It would have been better to swing after seeing it. But Im Gwang-hyeong threw the ball according to my thoughts, so I made a mistake by aiming for something big.

-Bang!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

A pop fly to the catcher.

I felt a little bitter because it was a strikeout taken from Im Gwang-hyeong, who was like a lucky totem who always gave me home runs. But if I hit home runs in 6 consecutive at-bats, I should consider this as a tax…

“Senior!! Good ball!! That was very good!!”

No, that’s not right.

I feel bitter.

How can I consider a strikeout as a tax? No, taxes are something you don’t want to pay no matter how much money you make. The same goes for home runs. Even if you hit a hundred home runs, you can’t be happy with a strikeout.

[Im Gwang-hyeong finally strikes out Choi Su-won with three balls. He doesn’t allow Choi Su-won’s 50th home run.]

[He’s a player with a bad match, but Im Gwang-hyeong finally overcomes it. In fact, he could have given a walk at that point. Of course, there is a symbolic meaning of 50 home runs, and there is also the weight of Im Gwang-hyeong as an ace, but Phoenix is also fighting for 5th place, so every win is precious.]

[But isn’t that what an ace is? The team believes in the ace, and the ace responds to the team’s trust. Im Gwang-hyeong is such a player in Phoenix.]

The first person to greet me in the returning dugout was Lee Jeong-hoon.

“Three-pitch strikeout?”

Of course, it wasn’t a good meaning.

This human…

“…Senior, are you here to make fun of me right now?”

“No, it’s not. How dare I, who has one ground ball and only two swing strikeouts, make fun of a hitter who has hit two home runs? I’m just trying to say that I also have two swing strikeouts, but it wasn’t a three-pitch strikeout.”

In addition, Jo Yu-jin is joining in without any sense.

“Gwang-hyeong’s ball must be really good today. Su-won, how many strikeouts do you have this season? I don’t think you’ve had a three-pitch strikeout among them?”

“I tried to guess hit, but I got caught. I was trying to keep having fun because the results were good, but I was a little greedy.”

“So, hitting is better to do instinctively like me. That’s what it is.”

“Hey!!! Jjo Yu!! How dare you, who has 0 hits in 2 at-bats, argue with someone who has 2 home runs in 3 at-bats.”

“Senior. Are you really going to do this? Why are you suddenly going into historical drama tone?”

Fortunately, the teasing didn’t last long.

Change of defense.

It’s our turn to defend again.

The score is still 1:2

Go Seol-min played multiple innings today as well.

-Bang!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

Fortunately, Go Seol-min, the bullpen pitcher who has played the second most innings in the league, hasn’t run out of steam yet.

His fastballs, which are quite different from Gwak Jae-yeong, turn the hitters around.

The game continued.

A fairly tight game of 1:2 continued.

However, as we passed the 7th inning, Im Gwang-hyeong was clearly exhausted. He was a thirty-six-year-old pitcher. No matter how much he had played in the brutal major league schedule, he somehow kept the rotation in the summer of 2027. In the hottest summer in Korean history.

Of course, he had no choice but to be physically exhausted.

Eventually, Im Gwang-hyeong left the mound at the end of the 7th inning.

Even in the situation of 1:2, Phoenix mobilized the winning team. That means that every win is so precious to them right now.

But there was no comeback.

It was a bit uneasy, but Tae Ji-wan, our primary setup man, hadn’t run out of steam yet. He allowed a hit, but he didn’t allow a run.

Thus, when the game ended, the score on the scoreboard was 1:4.

It was a moment when a red light turned on for Phoenix, who lost using the ace and the winning team.

[Choi Su-won Home Run!! Home Run!! Another Home Run!!!]

[Extreme 몰아치기 [Molachigi – 몰아치기 is a Korean term that refers to a concentrated, overwhelming attack or rush]!! Choi Su-won adds 3 home runs with 25 games left!!]

[Choi Su-won with 50 home runs this season!! Only 7 home runs left until the new record!!]