The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 262

262. The Ace’s Next Seat (3)

Among the stories gossiped about by fans, there’s a concept called a Hall of Fame guarantee.

For home run hitters, it’s often around 500 home runs. For contact hitters, it’s about 3,000 hits.

Of course, reaching these numbers doesn’t automatically guarantee a spot in the Hall of Fame, and not reaching them doesn’t mean you’re excluded. It’s just that typically, if you accumulate those kinds of stats, other impressive numbers tend to follow.

If a player hits 500 home runs but only bats .200, can he get into the Hall of Fame? It’s a long-standing debate, but the catch is that a player with a career batting average in the low .200s usually can’t stay in the major leagues long enough to reach his late 30s. So, naturally, his home run total usually stops around 400.

Anyway, among the stats considered a Hall of Fame guarantee for starting pitchers, the famous benchmark is 3000K-250W [3,000 strikeouts and 250 wins]. The idea is that any starting pitcher who achieves 3,000 strikeouts and 250 wins is a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer. Originally, it was 300 wins, but the win requirement has been lowered a bit due to the increasing specialization of pitchers.

“So, this is where the bad blood between Gerrit Cole and Domingo Rodriguez started.”

“Bad blood?”

At my question, Josh Clinton picked up where Donald Harrison left off.

“Domingo Rodriguez won the Cy Young Award [award given annually to the best pitchers in each league] last season.”

“And?”

“Gerrit Cole was second in the Cy Young voting.”

“Ah…”

“Gerrit Cole is one of the best pitchers of the last 10 years, but he hasn’t won many awards.”

I know.

He was a runner-up for the Cy Young four times. Not as much as me, but he was definitely in the same boat. But…

“No, it’s not like he didn’t win *any* awards. He did win a Cy Young once.”

Josh Clinton and Donald Harrison chimed in together.

“Come on, it’s a bit weak for a pitcher with 2,900 strikeouts and 197 wins to only have one Cy Young. All the guys who retired recently have three Cy Youngs each.”

“And because his award record is lacking, it’s going to be tough for him to get in on the first ballot. Even if he does get in on the first ballot, it won’t be with 85% of the vote like other players, but maybe around 70%.”

Certainly, looking at the dominant pitchers of the 21st century, there were quite a few who had won three Cy Young Awards. Plus, with 2,900 strikeouts and 197 wins over a 15-year career, and considering that Gerrit Cole could still pitch for another year or two, it’s definitely not a Hall of Fame-worthy record that would guarantee a first-ballot induction, but it’s also not a career that would exclude him.

“No, but those guys were special. And he lost out on the award because he wasn’t good enough. Are they really fighting over something like that?”

“Of course, that’s not the only reason. After he came to the Yankees, Gerrit Cole started acting a bit cocky, and Domingo decided to take him down a peg.”

No matter where you go, ‘hierarchy’ is bound to exist. Regardless of gender or race. No, even beyond the human race, if you look at other animals, there’s a ‘hierarchy’ within the group.

Even in the world of young children, there’s a constant effort to establish dominance and subtly check one’s position within the group. The major leagues are not much different.

Career, form, popularity, and other factors all have their own values. In that sense, Gerrit Cole and Domingo Rodriguez shouldn’t even be fighting. Domingo Rodriguez may be at his peak right now, but Gerrit Cole showed just as much skill in his prime. Even now, he still maintains the ability to be classified as a dominant pitcher.

“Gerrit Cole doesn’t command much respect in the team, does he?”

“Well, not compared to his skills. It’s partly his personality, but there have been a few incidents, like the pine tar…”

Ah…

I might have to revise my earlier thoughts. Gerrit Cole. Maybe he won’t get into the Hall of Fame with those stats.

The pine tar incident.

Along with the sign-stealing scandal, wasn’t that the most famous controversy in baseball recently?

In fact, in Major League Baseball, using pine tar discreetly and skillfully was a kind of accepted practice. It’s a complicated issue. Basically, the official ball in Major League Baseball is very slippery. They try to fix it by applying mud on top, but it’s still slippery.

But let’s think about it. When the ball is slippery and difficult to control, who is really in danger? The pitcher who throws a few more balls? Or the batter who gets hit in the head with a 100 mph fastball? For this reason, pine tar was a custom that everyone turned a blind eye to.

But the pine tar incident that started with Gerrit Cole went a step further.

Similarly, the sign-stealing incident that became a hot topic.

People who don’t know baseball well tend to focus on the unethical aspect of stealing signs, but in baseball, the team that gets their signs stolen is usually treated like they are foolish. But the problem with the Houston Astros’ trash cans was that they were stealing signs using modern, high-tech methods.

Similarly, Gerrit Cole’s pine tar usage was the same. He wasn’t using simple pine tar. He started using new substances like spider tack, which some pitchers were secretly using to get a better grip.

Eventually, the league office cracked down, and the performance of some of the suspected players plummeted. And Gerrit Cole, who was first targeted on social media, was among them.

“Well, if it was just pine tar, you could say he was unlucky, but Gerrit Cole is just…”

“A bit much.”

“I admit he’s good…”

“But the way he talks and acts, it’s like he thinks he’s Derek Jeter [iconic Yankees shortstop].”

“Exactly. To be honest, maybe Andy Pettitte [longtime Yankees pitcher], but definitely not that far.”

“Right. Even the scandals are just like Andy Pettitte.”

Was it because I heard that I had to clear out my locker earlier today?

Both Josh and Donald were quite negative about Gerrit Cole.

“Anyway, everyone knows that the reason he was so *sensitive* to put you next to him today wasn’t just because of you, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“That’s right. It’s not like they haven’t been fighting before.”

In the end, the situation in the Yankees’ pitching staff is that the veteran player, who should be in a superior position, has flaws for various reasons, and the young ace has no intention of backing down to him.

“Do they usually fight this often?”

“No, not really. A lot of reporters come to the locker room. Usually, they just don’t talk to each other.”

“That’s right. Their lockers are on opposite sides anyway. And they usually pitch on consecutive days, so there’s not much chance of them running into each other. I don’t think it’s even rumored in other teams.”

“But how do they know all this?”

“Well, we’ve been to spring training here for three years already. Donald was even called up to the big leagues last year.”

“It was only for two weeks. And Josh, your performance has been better than his since then.”

Come to think of it, these two also have lockers right next to the veteran pitcher with the most impressive career in the team, and they share a locker between the two of them, so they’re not players who are far from the big leagues.

“Okay. I understand the situation now. Thanks.”

“No problem. You’re buying dinner here.”

“That’s right. I haven’t had such delicious meat lately. We’re more grateful. Can we order another steak?”

“Order two more.”

$35 per plate, 7 plates. About $245 in total?

That was the amount needed to inspire genuine gratitude and respect in the eyes of 23- and 24-year-old young men on the verge of a major league call-up.

***

“Haha, this is interesting. Even in America, even in Major League Baseball, things like that happen.”

“Well, it’s all people living here. How are you doing, senior [Korean term for older colleague or upperclassman]?”

“Me? I’m getting ready to leave the country. If I had known you were going to the New York Yankees in advance, I would have looked into that area.”

“Hey, LA is better for you than New York, senior.”

“LA is better for me? Why?”

“Well, the weather and… Oh, right. Korean food. LA has much better Korean food. There are a lot of fusion restaurants here [in New York], so it won’t suit your taste.”

Right after experiencing team infighting, something I thought I would only experience in the Marines.

Surprisingly, I got a call from Senior Gyu-man. He said he heard about me from Jjo Yu-rang and Lee Jeong-hoon and was asking how I was doing.

“You don’t want to run into an old senior often, is that it?”

“Hey, I’m always happy to see you, senior. I’m just saying that purely for your sake.”

“Anyway, it’s good to see that you’re doing well.”

“Doing well? I experienced such a shitty thing today.”

Lee Gyu-man laughed.

“You call that shitty? You’re being dramatic. You’ve overcome worse things in the Marines.”

“Hey, there was nothing like this in the Marines. You were in charge of the Marines from the start, senior.”

“In charge… Before you came, the team was…”

“Was?”

“No, never mind. Don’t worry about useless things and just do what you do best.”

“You’re telling me to just focus on baseball in a very pleasant way?”

Was even this trivial joke so funny? Lee Gyu-man laughed heartily.

“Su-won. I want you to do well. I mean it.”

What does he mean?

He couldn’t challenge the major leagues himself. Does he want to vicariously satisfy himself by seeing me, who dominated Korean baseball, dominate the major leagues as well? Or maybe he’s just purely cheering me on.

I didn’t bother to ask the meaning of his sincerity.

I just nodded, acknowledging it, and gave him an equally great compliment.

“Yes, I hope you come back to the Marines as manager soon, senior.”

“…”

It was a compliment.

***

I started adapting to the official Major League Baseball ball last November.

It was right after the end of the Korean Series. From the beginning, the training with the Washington brothers was based on the Major League ball.

-Boom!!

“Good!! Very good.”

Hose Trevino gave a thumbs up with a really good feeling.

I couldn’t know the exact speed, but it was around 96 miles per hour. So, wouldn’t it be around 154.5 km/h? The speed will go up a lot more since it’s still in the stage of building up the body. In fact, my shoulder didn’t feel completely loose yet.

“Swan, I heard you’ve been selected as the second pitcher for the intrasquad game the day after tomorrow.”

“Oh, but am I going to share the training schedule with the position players tomorrow?”

“I don’t know…”

“Jose, are you getting a physical tomorrow?”

“No, I got it on the day I entered. You don’t need to get it again, do you? Oh, wait, maybe you need other tests even if your body size is okay?”

Only three days.

It wasn’t a long time, but I became quite close to the starting catcher, Jose Trevino. This wasn’t because my sociability shined, but because Jose Trevino tried to get closer to me more actively.

Personally, I guessed that it was because he was sure that I would be in charge of one of the starting positions this season.

“No, there’s no need. Well, you can participate if you want, but I recommend focusing more on pitching in the intrasquad game the day after tomorrow.”

The battery coach told me that I didn’t need to participate in the position players’ training tomorrow.

And two days.

Everyone except a few players was called to spring training, and finally, the team’s first intrasquad game was held.