The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 226

226. Championship (3)

Masan has been a baseball town for a long time.

Generally, the development of sports culture in a town with ample employment opportunities is almost inevitable. The reason baseball became the dominant sport can be traced back to the late Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese colonial era.

Masan was one of the cities with a significant Japanese population during that period. Baseball was incredibly popular in Japan and the United States, almost a national sport. Its spread was inevitable. Furthermore, for Koreans at the time, ‘defeating’ the Japanese in baseball, a sport they cherished, was akin to a form of ‘anti-Japanese resistance.’

Consequently, baseball games between Japanese students studying in Japan and Korean students in Masan, or between Japanese immigrants and Masan natives, were frequent in the 1920s. News of victories in these games was a major headline in newspapers.

Choi Kyung-ja was a female worker at Masan Hanil Synthetic Fiber in the 1970s, considered a key figure in Korea’s economic development. While Hanil Synthetic Fiber faded into history due to shifts in Korea’s primary industries and management missteps, many of the diligent female workers who saved their wages and excelled in financial management at Hanil Synthetic Fiber achieved considerable success, becoming local leaders. Choi Mi-kyung was one of them.

“Is this what they mean by ‘living long enough to see anything’? I can’t believe I’m seeing the Marines win the championship. If our old man, who died before me, knew, he’d jump out of his grave.”

“Sister, why are you saying that? Are you getting dementia? We won the championship in ’84 and ’92, remember?”

“Hey, how could I forget? I can never forget that you caused an accident because you were so happy then, and we had the memorial ceremony [a traditional Korean ceremony to honor deceased ancestors] two months later.”

“Sister, please, let’s not talk about that.”

“Anyway, those championships were Korean Series championships [the final playoff series in Korean professional baseball]. This is the regular season championship. It’s completely different. You know? Our old man’s lifelong wish was for the Marines to win the regular season.”

“I know. Brother-in-law used to sing about it all the time. Was that already 15 years ago? He saw us finishing second in the season and said that was enough. He said we would definitely win the championship next year and left with a smile, right?”

“That’s right. It was a good thing. If he had lived a few more years, he would have been frustrated and wouldn’t have been able to leave so peacefully.”

Hanil Synthetic Fiber disappeared. Masan’s population dwindled. Eventually, Masan merged with Changwon. After all that time, their hometown finally had the professional baseball team they had longed for. And those damn Marines, who used to complain about only coming to 5 or 6 games a year, now came to Masan every year to play 8 games.

Throughout these changes, many people switched their allegiance to the Blaze instead of the Marines, but Choi Kyung-ja couldn’t. After living like this for over 60 years, what could possibly make her switch teams?

Of course, she felt a twinge of regret when she saw the Blaze winning championships. But still, wasn’t it wonderful that such a great day finally arrived before she died?

“Oh, it’s our Suwon’s turn.”

“Dae-cheol must be worried, too. If he sends him out, his stamina will be a problem, and if he doesn’t, his past performance will haunt him.”

“But he needs some rest. He didn’t seem to have much energy today. The Marines have pushed players like that before.”

Top of the 6th inning.

Second batter Choi Su-won stepped up to the plate.

They were seasoned baseball fans who had watched high school and corporate baseball since the professional league’s inception in 1982, or even before. Over that long period, baseball had evolved so much that it was now filled with complex statistics, but they remained devoted fans.

They had witnessed the games of the legendary Iron Arm [a famous pitcher known for his endurance], and the bomber of Mt. Mudeung [another famous hitter known for his power], who dominated the league. They applauded the fighting spirit of Yeom Sla, who pushed his arm to its limits, and they resented the best baseball player in KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] history for dismantling the Marines.

But they could confidently say that there was no player like Choi Su-won. They might not have understood the intricate statistics, but they knew a good player when they saw one.

A player who could pitch well, hit well, and run well.

And Choi Su-won perfectly embodied that. By the middle of the season, even they, who were wary of biased praise, could confidently declare that Choi Su-won was the best baseball player in KBO history.

Choi Su-won’s signature routine, now famous, involved tapping his helmet twice with his left hand and tapping home plate once with his bat in his right hand.

About 2 seconds?

His pitching motion was equally concise. Choi Su-won’s brief routine, as if he were being chased, felt urgent to them, who remembered players who used to spend 10 or 20 seconds on their routines.

Lee Jin-myung on the mound wound up.

The disconnect between his dynamic form and the lackluster ball was a testament to the years he had endured.

-Clang!!!

A large foul ball landed in the left infield stands.

He prepared for the next pitch with an expressionless face. Of course, regardless of his expression, his feelings were complex.

‘Ah, honestly, this is too much. Why is he suddenly trying so hard against me? My performance score is already precarious. I’m already missing out on a bonus because I can’t make the postseason, and if my salary gets cut on top of that, my wife will be furious. Seriously, the team is like that, too. Shouldn’t Choi Su-won be excluded from performance evaluations? He’s practically a natural disaster. Shouldn’t they provide disaster relief funds?’

Second.

A fastball that drifted as far outside as possible.

-Bang!!

The umpire’s hand didn’t go up.

It’s okay. It’s a build-up in its own way.

Third.

A pitch slightly more inside than the last.

He threw the ball in a way that suggested he was trying to get it inside the zone, since the umpire hadn’t called the second ball.

‘Good!!!’

It was good.

He caught it perfectly.

The ball went exactly where he wanted it to.

Lee Jin-myung was reminded of a documentary his son had been watching recently. It was about African male lions, and it explained that a male lion past his prime wasn’t necessarily ousted. Sometimes, the older, more experienced, and cunning lion could dominate a larger pride than when he was at his physical peak, which resonated with him.

Choi Su-won’s bat moved.

The corners of his mouth, which he was trying to keep expressionless, twitched slightly.

That’s it.

He had completely fooled him.

The ball, which seemed to be heading inside the zone, dropped fantastically and drifted slightly outside. It was a changeup [a slow pitch designed to deceive the batter] with an 8 km/h difference from the fastball.

-Clang!!!

‘Huh?’

The sound of the hit was unusual.

Besides, it lingered for quite a while.

In other words, Choi Su-won at the plate stared at the ball flying far away for so long that Lee Jin-myung on the mound felt it was close to eternity.

And the next episode of the lion documentary that Lee Jin-myung didn’t see contained this: the male lion in his prime, possessing experience and cunning beyond his years, chased out the older, more experienced, and cunning male lion.

[A pushed hit!! To the right fence!! To the right fence!!! It’s over!!! No. 64!! No. 64!!! It’s a home run!! Choi Su-won hits his second home run of the game and records his 64th home run of the season!!]

[It’s his second home run of the game today. Wow, it’s going over again.]

[It was quite close, right?]

[Yes, Choi Su-won is usually a strong hitter with considerable home run distance, but today’s home runs are a little close. I think it’s because he pitched yesterday and played in the game right away.]

2:0.

Lee Jin-myung’s pitching today was actually good.

He had only given up four hits so far. There was only one walk. Of course, two of those four hits were home runs, but that had to be considered in the context of facing the incredible Choi Su-won.

‘The problem is that the personnel evaluation doesn’t take that into account.’

For no reason, anger surged at the incompetent fielders who couldn’t score even 1 point in 5 innings. But Lee Jin-myung, like an experienced pitcher, appropriately suppressed that feeling.

There were many pitchers who threw better when they pitched with anger, and Lee Jin-myung in his younger days was one of them, but he knew very well that this was no longer the case.

He calmly threw a changeup.

-Clang!!!

Kang Ra-on attacked the changeup.

A fast hit pierced the infield defense.

[Center left!! A clean hit!! Kang Ra-on reaches first base.]

Noh Hyung-wook stepped up to the plate.

His presence felt heavy.

If Choi Su-won evoked a feeling of hopelessness, Noh Hyung-wook carried the weight of a top-class hitter in his prime.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!!”

First pitch strike.

Noh Hyung-wook didn’t react.

And the second.

-Bang!!

He wasn’t fooled by the slightly off-target changeup.

Third.

-Clang!!

The hit barely crossed the 3rd base foul line.

Ball count 1-2.

Finally, the fourth.

-Clang!!!!

Noh Hyung-wook’s deeply scooped hit soared over the outfield.

A cool two-run shot. The Marines took a commanding 4-point lead and sent today’s starting pitcher back to the dugout.

It was the moment when Lee Jin-myung’s poker face crumbled.

***

“I’m back.”

Ji Yong-hyuk’s heart pounded. No wonder, today was his debut game. A debut game. Could there be a more exciting moment?

“Yeah, just throw fastballs. That’s what they want from you up there. You know? Senior Kyu-man can’t hit fastballs anymore. It’s enough if your ball just goes into the zone. Got it? So today, think of your opponent as yourself. Okay?”

“Yes!!”

The coach’s words in the bullpen didn’t fully register with Ji Yong-hyuk. But he still answered cheerfully as usual.

The view from the first team’s mound was different. Moreover, there were no empty seats in the audience today. It was immense pressure.

Meanwhile, Lee Kyu-man was at the plate. The KBO’s legendary hitter, whose reputation preceded Ji Yong-hyuk’s birth, was up.

The pounding in his heart subsided a little.

Yeah, if the opponent was Choi Su-won, or Noh Hyung-wook or Kang Ra-on, I might have been more nervous.

But it’s Lee Kyu-man.

A decrepit old lion, so old that even his claws had fallen out. All that remained was the meaningless reputation of someone who once dominated this arena.

-Hoo.

A deep breath.

He put more strength into the hand holding the ball.

He threw a ball in the early 150s [kilometers per hour] in high school, but was pushed back to 8th in the first round with the assessment that his control was terrible. Since then, he had complied with the coaches’ numerous attempts to improve his control, but his ball speed had dropped instead. If it hadn’t been for the connections he made in Sangmu [the military sports team], he would never have been able to stand on the first team stage.

Rather than trying to do what you can’t, it’s better to focus on what you can do and do better – that’s the secret to surviving as a pro.

-Bang!!!

The powerfully thrown ball zipped through the home plate.

“Strike!!!!”

158.9 km/h.

Lee Kyu-man’s bat couldn’t react.