The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 244

244. Korean Series (9)

It was a familiar story.

He had played for a long time, but he received more criticism than praise.

Even when he worked hard, the team’s performance didn’t improve much, and naturally, praise didn’t follow good plays. Occasionally, articles about him would appear online, and the comments would be filled with remarks about his salary, saying he wasn’t worth the money. Even during his free agency, people criticized him for being too greedy, questioning how he could demand 5 billion [Korean won, roughly $3.7 million USD], acting like he didn’t know his place.

Yes, he knew.

Not everyone felt that way. Marines fans weren’t a unified entity but a collection of individuals with their own opinions, and those comments didn’t represent everyone. Some Marines fans must have genuinely supported and appreciated Kang Ho-chang.

However, good intentions were easily overlooked, and negative comments easily shook people’s hearts. After 12 years with the Marines, all that remained for Kang Ho-chang was the public perception that he was a player not even worth 3 billion [Korean won], and a front office that seemed to be saying, “Where else would you get 4 billion [Korean won] with an option for 1 billion [Korean won]?”

-Boo-oo-oo-oo

The stadium was filled with boos.

Yes, he admitted it was his fault for not holding back his disappointment and giving an aggressive interview during his final farewell. But was that really enough to warrant boos all year long?

He didn’t know.

─What about Kang Ho-chang? He’s about to win the championship as soon as he leaves the Marines. LOL.

─Maybe Kang Ho-chang himself was a championship suppressor.

He didn’t get angry at those who were booing. Getting angry at them wouldn’t do any good. It would only make them happier.

Calmly.

As if he couldn’t hear the boos, he remained composed.

As if to show that he didn’t regret his past choices.

What had changed in the Marines after Kang Ho-chang left?

Choi Soo-won stepped onto the pitcher’s mound.

The answer was clear.

Choi Soo-won.

The knight in shining armor who had appeared for the Marines. Yes, Choi Soo-won was practically a knight in shining armor. So, in Kang Ho-chang’s opinion, the Marines hadn’t changed at all. It was just that Choi Soo-won had arrived. That’s why Kang Ho-chang didn’t regret it.

The position that the knight in shining armor had risen to alone would eventually have to come down after he left.

“Strike!!”

A 159.9km/h [approximately 99.4 mph] fastball.

It was a pitch that broke far outside. But he was fooled. No, he couldn’t help but be fooled. Choi Soo-won’s pitches weren’t just fast. They were a little special. In the old days, they would have called it spirit. Choi Soo-won’s pitches had that.

Kang Ho-chang shook his head. Was it because he had received sighs and boos for making a rare great play in Sajik Stadium [a famous baseball stadium in Busan, South Korea] in the previous inning? He was feeling too sentimental today.

Second pitch.

Fastball.

He reacted a little faster.

With the timing of the fastball he had shown earlier.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

[Changeup!! Kang Ho-chang swings and misses at Choi Soo-won’s 144.9km/h [approximately 90 mph] changeup.]

[This is something… A 144.9km/h changeup. Back when I was playing, 145km/h was considered a hard fastball. You can really feel the development of Korean baseball.]

[Haha, commentator Park Dong-shik, you don’t have to feel that old. You know, Choi Soo-won is special.]

[Yes, I know. But recently, there have been a lot more high school players in our country throwing over 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph]. I think Choi Soo-won is a player who shows overwhelming genius, but what should I say? From the standpoint that even the most outstanding genius cannot completely overcome the influence of the environment, the development of Korean baseball that has fostered such talent…]

[Ah, Choi Soo-won is now preparing his third pitch.]

Overwhelming.

Kang Ho-chang was definitely a case of a very successful ordinary player. In fact, being an ordinary 4-year, 4.5 billion [Korean won] FA [Free Agent] professional player was a contradictory term, but anyway, Kang Ho-chang was close to the limit that someone in the ordinary category could reach with all their effort.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

[A clean strikeout with a sharply dropping curveball!!]

His firm determination to show the fans who were booing him from his former team a great performance was useless.

It is often said that the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] is a league where a very diverse spectrum of players, from rookies to some major league-level players, play.

And within that, there was an insurmountable wall between Kang Ho-chang, a 4-year, 4.5 billion [Korean won] FA player who consistently played in games with AA-level skills, and Choi Soo-won.

The name of that wall was talent.

He couldn’t distinguish any of Choi Soo-won’s fastball, changeup, or curveball. Kang Ho-chang gripped his bat and walked back to the dugout dejectedly.

“Ugh, that’s so refreshing.”

“I know, right? Thinking about the interviews Kang Ho-chang gave when he went to the Braves, it feels like a decade-old indigestion is going away.”

The game continued.

Despite the chilly November weather, Choi Soo-won’s body, after nearly three weeks of rest and the dedicated care of the William brothers, was in near-perfect condition.

Top of the 6th inning.

The third batter, Kim Nara, swung at the air.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

Three up, three down.

KKK [baseball term for three strikeouts in a row].

But what was even more surprising was the number written on the scoreboard.

162.1km/h [approximately 100.7 mph].

[Wow, 162.1km/h!! The speed on the scoreboard is 162.1km/h.]

[I was worried that he was pushing his body too hard at the beginning of the game, but it seems like those were unnecessary concerns.]

[Choi Soo-won. He’s at 81 pitches now, but he doesn’t look tired at all.]

[Now, the game is in the bottom of the 6th inning. Braves’ starting pitcher Jang Yao-xun is on the mound.]

Thirty-four years old.

Jang Yao-xun, a pitcher of small stature at 179cm [approximately 5’10”], took the mound once again.

[Jang Yao-xun has also been doing a great job of holding back the Marines so far.]

[8 hits, two intentional walks, and two walks in 5 innings. And two strikeouts. To be honest, it’s a bit ambiguous to say that his pitching content is excellent. But the score is still 0:0.]

[Jang Yao-xun has a very low fly ball rate among all batted balls. At first glance, his pitching content seems a bit poor, but he has already recorded three double plays. Jang Yao-xun is showing exactly the kind of pitching that the Braves expected when they brought him in today.]

[Now, as we speak, the 7th batter, Seo Kyung-joon, is at the plate.]

Huge cheers and applause were showered on Seo Kyung-joon, the 34-year-old right fielder. Considering what he had shown this season, it was a bit of an excessive reception. The performance he had shown at the plate this season was worse than Lee Gyu-man, who had declared his retirement next year.

But at least to the Marines fans, he was a batter who deserved this much treatment.

Three years ago.

In a situation similar to Kang Ho-chang’s at the beginning of this year, he made the exact opposite choice of Kang Ho-chang.

“But honestly, Seo Kyung-joon didn’t really live up to his 3-year, 2.7 billion [Korean won] contract, did he?”

“Hey, you have to think about how little he was paid before that. Besides, it’s a bit ambiguous now, but at the time, the market was starting at 4 years, 3 billion [Korean won]. Imagine if Seo Kyung-joon wasn’t here this year. If Saul Lopez had been a fixed outfielder, our infield would have definitely exploded.”

It was impossible to say which was the right choice. Seo Kyung-joon was a true Marines player, and unlike Kang Ho-chang, his connections after retirement were also a consideration.

Of course, the fans cheering in the stadium didn’t care about such circumstances. What was important to them was that Kang Ho-chang was a traitor, and Seo Kyung-joon was a player who was loyal to the team.

Several pitches went back and forth.

The count was 1-2.

-Clack!!

A swing that was half a beat late for a fairly tricky pitch.

But it was hit pretty well considering. The ground ball rolled quickly along the first base foul line.

Jang Yao-xun, who threw the ball, moved towards first base very quickly. It was a tiring moment, but there was no excess in the movements he had engraved with long experience.

First baseman Myung Jin-soo, who ran out slowly, caught the ball and threw it to Jang Yao-xun. Unlike his slow running, his throwing motion was quite smooth and fast.

Seo Kyung-joon wasn’t a slow hitter, but he wasn’t an exceptionally fast hitter like Lee Joo-hyuk either.

“Out!!”

The 8th batter, Lee Joo-hyuk, went to the plate.

Choi Soo-won in the dugout frowned. Was it because of Seo Kyung-joon’s out? Or was it because he sensed the upcoming three up, three down? Maybe it was both.

‘Lee Joo-hyuk and Jo Yoo-jin… Even if one of them gets on base, it’s Kang Ra-on and Lee Jung-hoon… It looks like it’s going to be hard to swing the bat today.’

Ball.

And foul.

Third pitch.

Jang Yao-xun threw a 143.7km/h [approximately 89.3 mph] sinker.

[Huh? Lee Joo-hyuk’s surprise bunt!!]

It wasn’t skill.

Even Lee Joo-hyuk himself couldn’t call it skill.

Luck.

Yes, it was luck.

A very weak hit that rolled very subtly along third base. By the time the third baseman ran to catch the ball, Lee Joo-hyuk’s feet, which were much faster, were already on first base.

One out, runner on first.

Jo Yoo-jin went to the plate.

That unique, bizarre posture with his upper body leaning forward.

When he first saw it, it was just a funny posture, but Jang Yao-xun didn’t let his guard down. No, he couldn’t let his guard down.

Lee Joo-hyuk and Jo Yoo-jin.

In fact, excluding the monster Choi Soo-won, who was out of the ordinary, this was the combination he found most difficult in the Marines.

‘A ground ball that becomes a hit is something a pitcher can’t do anything about.’

Like a famous pitcher said, Jang Yao-xun was a pitcher who induced ground balls, and whether that would be a hit or an out was beyond his ability. What determined that was the skill of the infielder. And the runner’s ‘feet’.

That’s why the Lee Joo-hyuk and Jo Yoo-jin combination was so threatening.

‘I’d rather strike him out…’

Rather than inducing a ground ball, he’d rather strike him out.

Fortunately, Jo Yoo-jin was a .210 hitter. He had struck him out in the previous at-bat as well. So this at-bat too…

-Thud.

[No!! Bunt!! Jo Yoo-jin bunts again here!!]

Choi Soo-won stood up from his seat without realizing it.

‘Crazy?’

Two consecutive surprise bunts.

Even a surprise bunt in a runner on first situation.

It was a scene that would be difficult to see in modern baseball, where the danger and productivity of bunts are shown in numbers. Especially since the Marines’ manager was Kim Dae-cheol, who had experienced American baseball to some extent.

Lee Joo-hyuk was already running.

Faster than anyone else.

Jo Yoo-jin, whose head was already turning to first base before the ball even made proper contact with the bat, was the same. The direction of the hit was first base. Jo Yoo-jin was running faster than the rolling ball.

Bottom of the 6th, 0:0.

One out, runners on 1st and 2nd.

And the third at-bat starting from the 1st batter. The unexpected performance of the Lee Joo-hyuk and Jo Yoo-jin combo, which should have ended with a clean series of outs, heated up the stadium.

“What should we do?”

The Braves’ dugout was in 고민 [Korean word meaning “deep thought” or “worry”].