The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 248

248. Korean Series (13)

-Bang!!

“Good ball!! Nice pitch!! One more slider like that!!”

If you were to ask Choi Min-hyuk whether he had any special affection for the Marines, the answer would be no. He only played for them for a year, spent another year recovering from an injury, and then played for a few more months after returning. How much attachment or affection could he possibly have for a team like that?

But even so, he sometimes thought about the Marines.

“Well, the team atmosphere is just so different. The fans’ vibe is also a bit different.”

“Do you ever think about the Marines, senior?”

“I was there much longer than you. Eight years is almost a third of my life. How could I not think about it?”

Choi Jin-woong, who had been traded to the Braves with him, continued with a bitter expression.

“But what can you do? We have to adapt here now that we’ve come. Honestly, the fans here feel a bit like cold Seoulites, and the team atmosphere doesn’t have the same cohesiveness as the Marines, but we have to adapt.”

“But the Marines fans are much more boisterous, and the team atmosphere is much more free here. The training is also more systematic. Honestly, if you only consider the skill aspect, this place is much better for both of us, senior.”

“Well, the training part is definitely… But I still liked the Marines better no matter what.”

“Then you can just go back to the Marines as a free agent later. You’ll get your FA qualification if you play three more full years, senior.”

“No, it’s four years… I’m short a few days.”

“Hey, you can just play for the national team once. That should do it.”

“Hey!! Do you think everyone is like you? Is playing for the national team easy?”

“Well, they always pick two or three catchers no matter what. Wouldn’t it be possible enough for you, senior?”

Was it because of the connection that they came to the Braves together from the Marines? Or maybe it was because they had consistently worked together as a battery [a pitcher and catcher pairing]. Choi Jin-woong and Choi Min-hyuk became much closer than they could have ever imagined when they were playing for the Marines.

“Do you really think it’s possible?”

“Yes, Byung-cheol might be a bit difficult, but the rest… You can beat Jjou Yu easily enough, senior.”

“Of course!!”

Korean Series Game 4.

[It’s a very strange connection. Actually, trades aren’t that common in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], are they?]

[Yes, that’s right. In leagues like Major League Baseball or Japan, the league itself is divided into two leagues. Especially in Major League Baseball, the divisions are also divided into regions, so the risk of trades is relatively low, and even win-win situations are possible. On the other hand, in the KBO, even if it’s a trade that scratches each other’s itches, the winner and loser are clearly divided by who was more itchy or who scratched more effectively. So, it’s quite difficult for general managers to make aggressive trades like in Major League Baseball.]

[But that difficult scenario has come to pass in the Korean Series!! The Choi Min-hyuk and Choi Jin-woong battery, who moved to the Braves through a trade at the beginning of the season, are starting in today’s game!! Park Jae-hyuk, Go Seol-min, and Tae Ji-wan, who took their places in the Marines, have all shown good performances in the previous three games, contributing greatly to the team’s victory. It’s a very exciting moment to see how this young battery will perform.]

[Well… Actually, that trade was a trade where the Braves sold the present to buy the future, so I don’t think we can look at it that simply…]

[Ah, Kang Ra-on is now at bat.]

There is something that all KBO fans are curious about.

Are the Marines and Phoenix unable to ‘draft’ good rookies? Or are they unable to ‘develop’ them?

Choi Min-hyuk, the 1.05 billion won prospect, threw the ball.

-Bang!!!

“Strike!!”

153.9km/h.

Considering it was the first pitch of the top of the first inning on a chilly November day, it was a very fast ball. In fact, Choi Min-hyuk’s ball became slightly faster after coming to the Braves. Rather than his top speed increasing significantly, his low point rose and he became more solid.

According to his profile, he is 197cm tall and weighs 110kg.

He is a player with a different physique from the start.

“Well, if you come to the pros, your speed and stamina should naturally increase. Nineteen is also an age where growth is not yet complete. It would be stranger if your speed decreased after coming to the pros, where you can receive training with the most advanced system, wouldn’t it?”

An interview with a Braves physical coach in the past once became a hot topic. It’s a true story. But in fact, the Braves coach himself was half bragging when he said that.

There could be many reasons.

But Choi Min-hyuk thought of the Braves’ strange atmosphere as the reason among them.

Of course, it is important to get results right away. Everyone has the same desire to win the game, and if you are a player who has reached the pros, that competitive spirit is bound to be extraordinary.

But the Braves valued their ‘growth’ as much as their competitive spirit. At first glance, you might think that the two go hand in hand. But it’s a little different. For a pitcher to get good results right away, it is more effective to study how to grip the ball and how to distribute the force on your fingers, rather than doing core exercises and exhausting yourself.

‘So, this is just a place to pass through, right?’

Jo Chang-hyuk’s words were very shocking.

Look at it in the long term. Your career doesn’t end here. The Braves cannot be a goal for a true elite player. This was the mindset of those who play in a selling club, rather than the mindset of a team aiming for the league championship. But at the same time, it was also an effective mindset for fostering promising players.

He wasn’t particularly stronger.

His body couldn’t suddenly get bigger during the season. But Choi Min-hyuk was originally a pitcher with the potential of an ace. His average speed of 153km/h, although his breaking ball was a bit lacking, was enough to tie up the Marines’ table setters [the first few batters in a lineup, whose job is to get on base].

Infield ground ball out followed by outfield fly out.

‘Ah, but sorry, you’re a bit…’

And a natural intentional walk. The jeers of the people filled the stadium.

‘No, but this is our home.’

Choi Soo-won walked to first base in a familiar posture.

Following him was the 4th batter, Noh Hyung-wook.

If you were to ask whether Noh Hyung-wook’s batting sense was particularly bad in the 2nd and 3rd games, the answer would be no. But the results were not very good. Well-hit balls were caught, and the umpire’s judgment was not very good. Yes, it’s the realm of luck. But baseball is so subtle that just as good luck can lead to a good batting sense, bad luck can sometimes lead to a decline in batting sense. Today, Noh Hyung-wook was like that.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

[A big slider that goes out!! Runner left on first. The Marines’ attack in the top of the first inning ends like this.]

Of course, Choi Soo-won was sent out with an automatic intentional walk, but honestly, it’s a bit much to count him, and you can consider this a similar three-up, three-down [when a team gets three outs in an inning without allowing any runners to reach base]. Choi Min-hyuk walked towards the dugout with a confident stride.

‘Wow… But what is this? Is this really Seoul?’

Clearly, the stadium was Gocheok, which was becoming more and more familiar.

But the contents were a bit different. Everywhere, here and there, were only Marines uniforms.

“I heard that seat is a million won right now.”

“I heard you can’t buy a ticket for tomorrow’s game even if you give a million won?”

A championship challenge after a whopping 35 years.

It was a long time since the person who saw the Marines win the championship when he was a new employee had retired.

Braves fans also loved the Korean Series, but the outfield seats cost 200,000 won and the table seats cost 1 million won. It was too much money to refuse.

Choi Min-hyuk thought it was a little unfortunate. Baek Ha-min, who joined the Marines one year later than him, went up to the mound where he had gone down. Just a hair’s breadth difference. If the story between the general managers had been a little different at the time of the trade, the positions of the two people might have been the opposite now.

Baek Ha-min stepped on the dirt on the mound several times.

It seemed that he didn’t like the soil hardness of the Gocheok mound, which was slightly different from other stadiums.

After stepping on the mound several times, he adjusted his hat. Fortunately, the wind that blew when he took off his hat for a moment slightly ruffled his hair.

“Wow, is that beauty real?”

This wasn’t an idol concert hall, but the large-caliber cameras that hadn’t been visible when Choi Min-hyuk was throwing the ball a little while ago appeared all over the stadium.

“That bastard, no matter how I look at it, seems to be doing that on purpose.”

“Why? Are you jealous?”

“No, why would I be jealous? Rather, Ha-min should be jealous of me. Huh? A pitcher has to be big and solid like me. Originally, pitchers are all about size.”

And Baek Ha-min on the mound showed a pitch that seemed to deny Choi Min-hyuk’s words with his whole body. A speed ranging from 148 to 151. Even the slider, which had become more complete during the season. However, the Braves’ lineup, which had beaten Diego Rodriguez just yesterday, was fierce.

-Clang!!

Baek Ha-min’s ball was not easy, but that was all.

Strikeout, hit, advancement hit.

Two outs and a runner on second base.

Ian Sanchez, the Braves’ fourth batter, hit a home run.

In an instant, 0:2.

Baek Ha-min glanced at the Gocheok fence once and then stood straight on the mound again.

The posture was so calm that it didn’t seem like a pitcher who had just been hit by a home run, and there was no sign of shaking.

Many people are curious.

Are the Marines really unable to ‘draft’ or ‘develop’ promising players properly?

Choi Min-hyuk, the highest-paid pitching prospect who left the Marines, showed an even more solid pitch. Perhaps he would hone that solid body even more strongly and eventually move beyond this ‘process’ called the Braves to reach a real ‘goal’.

Baek Ha-min, another pitching prospect who remained in the Marines, also became more solid. However, that solidity was a little different from Choi Min-hyuk’s. If Choi Min-hyuk’s was the solidity of the body, Baek Ha-min’s should be seen as the solidity of the mind.

Someone answered people’s questions like this.

“Phoenix and the Marines can’t draft or develop pitching prospects well. But this is a bit strange. Sometimes a pitcher breaks through that. Ah, of course, it’s really difficult. It’s so difficult that you have to have *역대급* [yeokdaegeup – legendary, all-time great] talent to make it possible. But you get beaten up in that harsh environment and still break through it? I don’t know about anything else, but their mentality is almost at the level of an enlightened Buddha.”

Series Game 4.

Baek Ha-min did his part by blocking 6 innings with 2 runs despite giving up a two-run home run in the first inning.

“As expected, General Manager Gong!! I believed in General Manager Gong’s eye for players!!”

But it was not enough.

Today, Choi Min-hyuk showed an absurd pitch, giving up only 1 point in 7.1 innings.

[The Korean Series is getting more and more fierce!! The game is back to square one!! Series score 2:2!!]

[“Is this baseball?” Choi Soo-won Korean Series 4 games 19 at-bats 1 hit 1 home run 18 walks!!]

So that night, Baek Ha-min’s pillowcase was wet again.

[Series Game 5, Marines 7:6 narrow victory!! Now the result is back to Busan!!]

[Marines coach Kim Dae-cheol “We will definitely give the fans the championship after 35 years.”]

Korean Series score 3:2.

And the stage is back in Busan.