The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 220

220. A Great Record Beyond (3)

At first, Manager Kim Dae-cheol couldn’t understand Su-won’s insistence on playing without rest days.

‘What? What is he even talking about? I just told him to play all ten games. Why did he suddenly change his mind after saying he wouldn’t?’

It wasn’t just a problem with his comprehension. It meant that Choi Su-won’s words were so absurd and illogical.

“Wait a minute. Are you saying you’ll pitch and play without any rest days?”

“Yes.”

Even now, it was obvious that he was struggling more and more due to fatigue.

Of course, even if Su-won were to collapse here, winning the regular season would still be very possible. With 10 games left, the magic number [the number of wins needed to clinch a championship] was 3. This meant that even if the Dolphins, who were in second place in the league, won all 11 of their remaining games, the Marines would win the championship if they won 3 of their remaining 10 games. In fact, the front office was subtly hoping to erase that magic number completely in a home game, showing how much leeway they had.

But even so, Manager Kim Dae-cheol couldn’t nod his head easily.

This wasn’t an era where ‘Dong-won, what can we do? We’ve come this far’ worked [referencing a past situation where a player was pushed too hard]. No, it was even beyond that. Even when he thought he was using him within a reasonable range, the media and fans were making a fuss about overworking him.

More than anything, Choi Su-won. He was a great talent, hard to find in Korea, or perhaps even the world. Let’s say that aging curve hits him in his mid-thirties, about 15 years from now. Some people might just think it’s the age when his skills decline, but some will definitely say it’s because he played too hard when he was 19 and still needed protection.

“Su-won, yeah. I understand how you feel. When I was young, I wanted to do that too. I really did. But we have 10 games left, and the championship is practically confirmed. Let’s just focus on hitting. Huh? We need to manage our condition for the Korean Series [championship series]. Are we just going to win the regular season and stop there? No, we’re not.”

“Manager, I can do it.”

Choi Su-won’s eyes sparkled. Looking into those eyes, Kim Dae-cheol muttered to himself.

‘Yeah, I know. You probably can. But I can’t allow it.’

They say kids these days think being passionate is so old-fashioned. But he’s definitely different, being such a promising talent.

“Yeah, I know. But people don’t always do everything they can. Honestly, there’s no special reason why you have to pitch too. You’ve already thrown 153 innings this year, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I’ve thrown 153.1 innings.”

“Yeah, that’s enough for a first-year player.”

Manager Kim Dae-cheol’s gaze flicked towards the camera.

Was it a documentary? A camera had been following Su-won around lately. The cameraman gestured as if to say, ‘Don’t mind me.’

‘Damn it… How can I not mind it? Honestly, if the camera wasn’t here…’

He couldn’t bring himself to say that the grand slam he gave up in the 4th inning recently was because he was tired. Honestly, if he kept playing like this, his ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] might get worse, so how great would it be to stop now while his stats are still pretty at 2 points something.

Of course, Su-won’s thoughts were a little different.

He didn’t want to run away. But you can’t move someone with such unconvincing stories.

“I’ve been running with a routine of pitching and hitting all season. If I stop one now, it might cause problems with my senses. You know how many hitters who have only played as fielders suddenly see their batting average drop when they’re made designated hitters.”

“……”

“Watch me, and if you think I’m too physically exhausted, then you can take me down without a word. Please give me a chance, Manager.”

Manager Kim Dae-cheol groaned inwardly.

‘Ah… Damn it.’

This was a checkmate. If this goes wrong and affects his home run record, he’s sure to be the scapegoat. He glanced at the camera again without realizing it.

Which one is less risky?

The deliberation was short. People tend to avoid immediate losses. Aging curve or whatever, that’s a distant future. And breaking the home run record is a near future that will come soon.

Manager Kim nodded.

With the expression of a great commander full of worries.

***

Now the stage is set.

Winning the regular season is a given. Winning the Korean Series too? Of course, we have to do that too. Breaking the Asian home run record? That too, of course. With 10 games left, how can he not hit one more home run? Breaking the non-drug hitter home run record? That’s enough too.

But the real thing is separate.

If meeting expectations is a star, then exceeding those expectations is a superstar. There is something that everyone dares not mention at this point.

63, 64, 65, 66.

And 70 and 73.

Those numbers were definitely great, but just great. There was no greatness in them.

That’s because these numbers are stained with forbidden drugs. Drugs don’t just increase muscle size. Rather, what’s more important in baseball, an everyday sport, is that they give you inhuman recovery.

Any baseball player, even Lou Gehrig or Cal Ripken Jr., who are famous for being iron men, will inevitably get tired at the end of the season. And in that sense, you can see how great a role drugs play in baseball just by looking at the records.

Roger Maris, who hit 61 home runs, hit 10 in the last 30 games of the season. Aaron Judge, who hit 62 home runs, only hit 11 in 30 games after September. So how were the drug users? Sammy Sosa hit 14, Mark McGwire hit 16, and Barry Bonds hit a whopping 17.

Yeah, damn it.

Those are the records I looked up because I was annoyed that I kept getting caught in front of the fence when I swung like usual at the end of the season. For reference, I only hit 9 in the last 30 games of the season when I hit 61 home runs.

Anyway, that’s how I knew.

What my body condition is like now. Of course, my preparation didn’t just stop there.

“Wow, it’s much better than I thought. Even though I was a little worried because it’s your first full season as a pro, it seems like it’s because you’ve been strictly adhering to the 6-day week schedule with a 5-day rest rotation. And your balance is pretty good too. You’re still a little short on body fat, though.”

“Haha, I’m really eating well, but it just doesn’t stick. Anyway, thanks for coming.”

End of the season.

The Washington brothers, who run a pitching lab called NBM in New York, responded to my invitation.

“Thank you? You’re paying for round-trip plane tickets and accommodation. At this point, it’s almost a vacation. Isn’t it?”

“Vacation my foot. I thought I was going to die sitting cramped in that narrow economy seat for 13 hours. Swan. I’ll tell you in advance, if you’re going to call me to Korea next time, it has to be at least business class. Okay? You’re going to be a major leaguer soon and make a lot of money. Don’t skimp on things like this, okay?”

Economy class?

I knew because I had crammed myself into an economy seat once. How hard it is for guys close to 190cm tall to ride in economy class. Besides, they were valuable people, so I invited them politely, but what is this all about?

“What? You came in economy class?”

Younger brother Jack Washington desperately waved his arms at me from behind William.

“Wait a minute… Hey Jack. Don’t tell me?”

“Yeah!! I asked for economy class!! I’ve only been getting half my salary for three months now. My brother can live alone doing photosynthesis since he doesn’t have a family anyway. But I have a family to support.”

Apparently, his financial situation still didn’t seem very good.

“Okay, okay, don’t fight. I’ll get a decent bonus if we win this time. That money will be enough to upgrade those economy seats to business class. So please help me properly.”

Of course, even if two people came from the United States, they couldn’t show a huge miracle out of thin air. Also, although the younger brother Jack’s massage was very excellent, it was obviously not to get a massage that I called people from the United States.

“Yeah, well, that’s not difficult. But is it really okay for us to use this equipment like this?”

“Yes, I got permission in advance. Is the facility okay?”

“Oh, I heard about it in advance, but it’s much better than I thought. The types are a little different, but it’s almost as well-equipped as our center, isn’t it?”

“Is it that good?”

“Yeah, there are a lot of new machines too. Pro teams are definitely pro teams.”

Marines’ general manager Jeon Sang-ik believed that the most efficient way for a team that was always in the lower ranks to move up was to properly nurture the good talent they acquired.

“Now these equipment are cheaper than signing an expensive FA [Free Agent, a player eligible to sign with any team]. If we can properly nurture promising players with that, it’s definitely a worthwhile investment.”

However, the problem with that idea was that it was usually not easy to operate such expensive equipment. In that sense, persuading General Manager Jeon Sang-ik was very easy.

“Instead, please teach me how to operate that and that roughly. It’ll be enough if you just do what I do with me, even if you don’t teach me anything special.”

10 games left in the series.

And a maximum of 7 games in the Korean Series.

My body was more than ready to run at full power in all the remaining games.

***

Beyond September, into October.

The weather was no longer cool, but rather chilly. Usually around this time, the stadium would be deserted on days when there was a home game for teams that had no chance of advancing to the fall baseball season, befitting the weather.

But this season, Changwon Blaze Park was a little different.

The stadium was literally full of people.

Of course, Changwon was very close to Busan, so it was a perfect stadium for Marines fans to flock to. Even the Busan and Gyeongnam areas were originally the Marines’ turf, and there were still quite a few fans in Changwon and Masan who still supported the Marines.

However, it was difficult to see the fans who filled Changwon Blaze Park today as simply Marines’ away fans. More than half of them were clearly wearing Blaze players’ uniforms.

“Is he going to break the Asian record today?”

“Well… he hasn’t hit a home run on the days he starts lately. I guess he’ll break it tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? He’s starting today, so tomorrow is his day off.”

“Ah, then it’ll be the day after tomorrow.”

The Blaze’s advancement to the fall baseball season was already out of the question.

But even so, they came to the stadium to witness the historic moment of the 61st home run.

And it wasn’t just the Blaze fans who came to the stadium wearing Blaze players’ uniforms.

“Ah… Of all days, it’s Su-won’s pitching day.”

179cm.

He wasn’t very tall for a professional baseball player, but he was huge. Despite weighing 107kg, his body fat was less than 18%.

A promising Blaze player who was drafted in the 4th round last year.

Jo Gyu-hyeok, Su-won’s high school senior, was called up from the minor leagues as an expanded entry.