The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 280

280. The Dignity of a Starting Pitcher (3)

Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter was Evan Murphy.

Like many prospects from small-market teams, he was a center fielder called up in mid-July 2026 to avoid the Super Two clause [a rule that delays arbitration eligibility for some players]. In yesterday’s game, he had an impressive performance with 2 hits and 1 walk in 3 at-bats out of 4 plate appearances. His batting average was at its peak.

[Now, Choi Soo-won, who perfectly demonstrated his capabilities as a hitter in the last series against Boston! Today, it’s finally time to prove his capabilities as a pitcher.]

[This player recorded an ERA (Earned Run Average) of 5.03 with 8 earned runs in a total of 14.1 innings during the exhibition games, but it’s worth noting that he showed better pitching as it progressed.]

[That’s right. After all, players from Asia tend to have some trouble adapting to the official balls or the mound in the major leagues.]

[I wonder if this Yankees’ super rookie can show such a performance in pitching as well! Pitcher winds up!]

Choi Soo-won on the mound wound up greatly.

A smooth form that wasn’t particularly special.

However, the timing of the hand emerging from behind his head was a bit ambiguous, and for the left-handed hitter Evan Murphy, the time when Choi Soo-won’s right hand was hidden behind his head was slightly longer. But it was okay. Eventually, the arm had to extend, and due to the structure of the human body, a right-handed pitcher’s pitching was easier for a left-handed hitter to observe.

‘Huh?’

The arm suddenly popping out from behind the head.

That timing was so subtle. Was that why? He couldn’t properly catch the moment the ball was released from the hand.

But Choi Soo-won only used two types of pitches anyway.

Fastball and curveball.

The ball flying in quickly.

That trajectory, flying from the outside towards the body, was a slightly advantageous trajectory for the left-handed hitter Evan Murphy.

Yes, fundamentally, left-handed hitters are more advantageous against right-handed pitchers.

Although the timing was slightly off, Evan Murphy’s bat moved sharply.

-Thwack!!!

As a result, he hit the fastball coming into the high inside course.

‘Ah…’

But the timing was slightly late.

The ball came in much faster than expected.

The Yankees’ third baseman, Austin Battle, lightly caught the batted ball that flew slightly over the third base foul line.

“Out!!”

[First pitch!! Third base foul fly out!! A very clean start for Choi Soo-won!!]

[Wow, the speed of the first pitch thrown to the leadoff hitter in the first inning was 97 miles per hour. The ball is really fast.]

[There’s a reason why many scouts evaluated that his fastball alone would be enough to rank in the upper echelons of the major leagues. That player’s average season speed in the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) last year was almost 96 miles per hour. The highest speed recorded was 101 miles per hour.]

“His deception is a bit tricky. Usually, even if a right-handed pitcher’s deception is a bit tricky, they almost never miss the release point, but it’s difficult. And the ball feels a bit faster than what’s indicated.”

“Feels faster than what’s indicated? The ball was 97 miles per hour?”

“Yeah. I knew he was a fastball pitcher, so I swung the bat at a speed that matched that, but I was a bit late.”

While Evan Murphy, who had stepped down from the plate, was talking to the third batter, Josh Willcox, in the waiting batter’s box, the second batter, Wander Franco, came up to bat.

Wander Franco.

He was a switch hitter born in 2001, and in 2017, at the young age of 16, Tampa Bay poured a whopping $3.82 million in international prospect signing bonus to recruit him from the Dominican Republic.

After being called up to the big leagues on June 21, 2021, at the age of 20, he had an on-base streak of 43 consecutive games. He recorded an amazing performance of 0.288/0.347/0.463 with an OPS+ [On-Base Plus Slugging, adjusted for ballpark factors] of 127 and 3.4 based on bWAR [Baseball-Reference’s Wins Above Replacement], proving that his ceiling was real.

And as a result, Tampa Bay showed a bold move befitting a small market, offering a whopping 12-year, $223 million contract to a player who had only played for half a year.

Ah, of course, it was a fairly blatant contract with no restrictions on trades, and many predicted that Tampa Bay would put him up for sale around 2027, when his salary exceeded $20 million. But now, in 2028, Tampa Bay surprisingly chose to keep him, and as a result, their payroll was the highest since the team’s founding at $92 million, ranking as the 21st highest among the 30 major league teams.

Wander Franco, the man who alone accounts for 27% of the Tampa Bay Rays’ total payroll.

Choi Soo-won, of course, knew him well.

‘A historically foolish contract.’

In fact, the term ‘foolish contract’ was a rather ambiguous expression. The first foolish contract was the 12-year, 223M long-term contract he had signed. Here, the fool was Wander Franco, as he showed performance worth about 430M when converted to an average price over those 12 years. And the second foolish contract was the 8-year, 290M contract he signed with the New York Mets in 2034, from his 33rd to 41st seasons. Here, the fool was naturally the New York Mets, as he recorded a cumulative total of only 7 WAR during those 8 years.

Yes, Wander Franco after the age of 34 was definitely trash.

But Wander Franco until the age of 33 was an overwhelming hitter who could receive an average annual contract of $36.25 million even at the considerable age of 33 to 41.

Choi Soo-won, who entered the major leagues in 2034 before his regression, did not know that prime Wander Franco well. But Choi Soo-won, who spent his 34th season just before his regression, perfectly understood what it meant for a 33-year-old hitter to receive an 8-year, 290M contract.

Wander Franco naturally entered the left-handed batter’s box to face the right-handed pitcher Choi Soo-won.

First pitch.

A ball digging very deeply into the body.

It was the same as Evan Hansen before him.

Wander Franco failed to properly catch Choi Soo-won’s release point.

-Wham!!!

“Strike!!!”

First pitch, fastball inside, strike.

‘Hmm… Quite sharp, isn’t it?’

Mike Trout, the greatest hitter of the 21st century, once said this.

‘I try to see as many pitches as possible in the first at-bat. For the rest of the game.’

‘The strike zone is fluid, and understanding the zone in the first at-bat is very helpful.’

Of course, he also actively increased his swings on the first pitch as he went into the later part of his career. But that was only for sure pitches, and the cautious approach to the first pitch itself did not change.

Wander Franco also agreed with Trout’s approach.

‘Is it because he’s a right-hander? The strike call comes quite deep inside. Besides, the deception is a bit strange. Maybe it would be better to stand in the right-handed batter’s box?’

Second.

Choi Soo-won wound up greatly once again.

This time as well, a subtle release point that was difficult to grasp properly.

-Thwack!!!

But Wander Franco’s overwhelming batting sense ignored that subtle timing and hammered the fastball digging into the zone.

[A high fly ball!! It directly hits the deep infield stands on the third base side.]

[As expected, Wander Franco. His swing is quite fierce.]

[Well, but the count is 0-2, so it’s a very advantageous count for Choi Soo-won now.]

Choi Soo-won briefly bent down and tapped the rosin bag.

Perhaps it was thanks to getting a good night’s sleep until a bit late? Choi Soo-won felt that his body was really light today. And that was partly true.

Pitching is originally something that can have a big impact with just very subtle changes.

Debut match. Stretching power. And a subtle arm angle.

Originally, Choi Soo-won’s form could be seen as the safest and most ordinary form that thoroughly eliminated the risk of injury.

But now, Choi Soo-won’s elbow angle was about 0.7 degrees higher than before, and this subtle difference did not have a significant impact on the power or speed of the ball, but it was subtly affecting the viewing angle of the left-handed hitter. Also, the speed of swinging his arm was also very subtly different, to the extent that Choi Soo-won himself could not feel it, and this was also likely due to the tension of his pitching debut.

Third.

Wander Franco thought.

What is the probability that a ball that falls out of the zone will come in here? Or what is the probability that he will just come in to strike out with three pitches?

High course.

Wander Franco’s body began to move.

‘Slow?’

A curveball of 83.7 miles per hour.

At the timing when a 97-mile fastball was coming out just before, a curveball of only 83.7 miles per hour was enough to steal the timing of most hitters.

But Wander Franco was by no means ‘most’ hitters. In the 2028 season before the regression that Choi Soo-won did not remember and did not intervene in, Wander Franco was a hitter who won the American League MVP [Most Valuable Player] with a whopping 9.9 WAR.

His bat stopped perfectly.

-Wham!!!

And a moment of silence.

“Strike!!! Out!!!”

The umpire’s firm strike call.

[Amazing! Choi Soo-won’s 83-mile curveball targeting the bottom of the strike zone!! He perfectly stole Wander Franco’s timing.]

[Usually, they might take out about one ball here, but Choi Soo-won is taking strikeouts very aggressively. I personally like it very much. A pitcher must have such a bold spirit.]

[Haha, commentator Sterling seems to be in love with Choi Soo-won. Now, when Choi Soo-won comes out, it seems like he has nothing but praise to say?]

[I don’t think Michael, who praises more enthusiastically than me when the microphone is turned off, has anything to say. Anyway, already two outs with just four pitches. Our Yankees’ super rookie is having a really fantastic pitching debut. Now, third batter Josh Willcox comes to the plate.]

Choi Soo-won let out a light sigh of relief.

He was lucky.

Is it because I’m stretching a bit? I was originally going to take one out with a ball that would bounce, but the speed of swinging my arm was a bit better than usual, so the spin on the ball didn’t work perfectly.

But just as not all perfectly thrown balls become strikes, not all mistakes are hit. Baseball is originally such a sport.

A large figure with red hair came to the plate.

Josh Willcox. This guy, who clearly has strong Irish blood, was a hitter with a .270 batting average and the potential for 20-20 [20 home runs and 20 stolen bases] every year. And he was also the first right-handed hitter Choi Soo-won was facing in today’s game.

Based on the advice he had heard from Evan Murphy earlier, Josh Willcox watched Choi Soo-won’s pitches against Wander Franco from the waiting batter’s box. But it wasn’t enough. It was only three balls at most. As a result, the only lesson he could learn from Wander Franco’s at-bat was that the umpire was a bit generous with inside pitches today.

‘That guy is very aggressive, just like his three-pitch strikeout earlier.’

I’m going to swing at any ball that comes into the zone.

Choi Soo-won on the mound threw the first ball.

High course!!

It’s a ball he likes.

Josh Willcox swung his bat with all his might.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!”

The 82.9-mile curveball that dropped sharply drew his swing and miss.

He missed the timing and the course.

I thought he was just an aggressive pitcher, but he took out the first pitch.

Josh Willcox’s mind became a bit complicated.

‘As expected, I need to put this much power to make the ball drop properly today.’

Choi Soo-won, who reorganized the feeling of the curveball that had not dropped properly earlier without any particular thought, prepared the second ball.

As befitting modern baseball, the ball distribution was left to the dugout’s judgment.

Of course, just as the third ball he threw to Wander Franco went into the zone instead of bouncing as they had requested, there was no guarantee that the ball would go in as they requested.

Second.

Fastball inside going to knee height.

The fastball of a whopping 97.8 miles per hour was sucked into the place where Soo-won wanted it to go accurately.

-Thwack!!!

And Josh Willcox pulled that ball very properly.

The ball stretched out straight.

The Yankees’ left fielder, Angel Cabrera, quickly retreated. He was a corner outfielder in the major leagues, but he wasn’t as fast as Lee Joo-hyuk of the Marlins. But his accurate judgment of the batted ball and his agility, which was embarrassing to compare to him, were much more useful than his unnecessarily fast running ability.

[Angel Cabrera’s clean defense!! The Tampa Bay Rays’ attack in the bottom of the first inning ends like this. Three up, three down!! Choi Soo-won perfectly shuts down the Rays’ attack with just six pitches. Commentator Sterling, what did you think?]

[I can only say that it was a really perfect first inning of his debut match. Oh, and the Yankees must keep the ball that Choi Soo-won struck out Wander Franco with. In my opinion, that ball will definitely be displayed in the Yankees Museum at the stadium later.]

And in the top of the second inning.

It was Choi Soo-won’s turn to hold the bat instead of the glove.