The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 282

The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well – Episode 282 (282/404)

282. The Dignity of a Starter (5)

Bottom of the 3rd inning.

Before heading to the mound, a thought flickered through my mind.

‘Hak-pok’s right, I guess. That bastard might be a lost cause as a person, but he was solid enough to be a No. 3 starter in the Big Leagues. A pitcher ultimately throws with confidence. Maybe I’ve been too intimidated by the Major League stage?’

Right, today my fastball was averaging 96 mph.

A fearsome speed. Honestly, with this kind of speed, I can be confident and throw a bit more aggressively….

-Crack!!!

“Ah….”

No way.

It was a bit of a mistake, but a pitch that would have resulted in a weak swing, an infield pop-up, or a ground ball in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] was mercilessly hammered.

And it wasn’t even by a cleanup hitter, but by the No. 8 hitter… No, Jackson Chourio might still have peach fuzz on his face, but he’s a talent on the level of an MVP contender. Just because he’s still got peach fuzz doesn’t mean I can dismiss him as a simple kid.

[To deep center field!! Jackson Chourio with a well-hit ball!! Tyler Wade is chasing after it quickly, but in the meantime, Jackson Chourio reaches second base!! Tampa Bay!! No outs in the bottom of the 3rd. Tampa Bay puts a runner in scoring position for the first time today.]

[It was a bit of a mistake, but still not a bad pitch, and Jackson Chourio hit it well. Now, we’ll have to watch how Choi Su-won responds with a runner in scoring position. Younger players often get shaken up in these kinds of crisis situations.]

[At the plate is the No. 9 hitter, Jake Bauers.]

Jake Bauers wasn’t a particularly impressive hitter.

He’d been DFA’d [Designated for Assignment, removed from the 40-man roster] three times and showed some decent performance with Pittsburgh last year, but he was pushed out by promising prospects and failed to re-sign. This year, he signed a 2-year, $2.4 million contract with Tampa Bay, ready to compete for a spot.

He doesn’t show the same fantastic defense as our team’s Jose Trevino, but he’s still pretty solid, and his hitting is slightly better than Jose Trevino’s.

So, something like a .240 batting average with a .7 OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging, a sabermetric baseball statistic] ?

I gave up a double to the disaster that is Jackson Chourio, but I still don’t think Hak-pok Jo Dong-hyuk’s teachings were wrong. If I throw a 96 mph fastball properly!!

-Crack!!

Ah, damn it….

[A hard-hit ball between first and second base!!]

Anthony Volpe is similar to Derek Jeter in many ways.

He’s a shortstop with good offensive capabilities.

He was born in New Jersey.

He’s handsome.

And from a sabermetric perspective, his defense is a minus.

[Ah!! Anthony Volpe!! He dives, but misses it!! Jackson Chourio!! Runs to third base!!]

Jackson Chourio, who naturally thought Anthony would catch the ball, started a bit late. The only saving grace was that the left fielder, Angel Cabrera, is a very reliable left fielder.

Quick coverage.

-Thwack!!

The batter-runner couldn’t advance to second base.

Thus, bottom of the 3rd, no outs, runners on first and third. It was really good until the 2nd inning, but after throwing two pitches, two batters are standing on first and third.

[Ah, Choi Su-won gives up consecutive hits to the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters with no outs in the bottom of the 3rd. What’s even worse is that the batting order is now starting again from the top. This is a crisis. By the way, Sterling, that last pitch looked like a mistake, right? It was too much in the middle.]

[Yes, it was a mistake right down the middle. And this is the part of Choi Su-won’s pitching that I was a little worried about.]

[A mistake?]

[No, well, anyone can make a mistake. In fact, there are many pitchers who throw 2 or 3 pitches right down the middle out of every 10. The part I was worried about is… Choi Su-won’s average speed in the KBO was around 90 mph, right? Anyway, there’s almost a 4 mph difference from the Big Leagues. So, a 98 mph fastball would feel like 102 or 103 mph, so even if a mistake pitch comes right down the middle, it wouldn’t necessarily get hammered. But here, there’s a very high probability that such a pitch will get hammered. The problem isn’t just getting hammered, but it can psychologically intimidate the pitcher quite a bit. The question is how he overcomes this. In Choi Su-won’s case, he’s given up consecutive hits to the bottom of the order and is now facing the top of the order. It’s a pretty difficult moment, I think.]

[Sterling?]

[Yes?]

[You sounded like a real former pitcher just now. Very good. But I believe that our Choi Su-won is tough enough to overcome these difficulties. I’m sure of my ability to recognize people. Besides, the fact that a player who played superstar in his home league for 5 years chose to come to the Big Leagues for the minimum salary 5 years earlier instead of receiving $200 million is proof that he’s a tough guy, isn’t it? Ah, at the plate is the No. 1 hitter, Evan Longoria. He was retired with a foul fly out on the first pitch in his previous at-bat. I wonder if he’ll be able to completely shut him down this time as well.]

Positive thinking, positive thinking.

No outs, runners on first and third. The batting order starts with the No. 1 hitter. But still, the score is 8-0. Even if those two both come home, it’s still 8-2. Even if they hit a three-run homer, it’s 8-3. And considering our team’s hitting today, there’s a high probability that we’ll score more points.

Volpe gave me a signal that he was sorry.

Honestly, he should be sorry. But why is this being recorded as a hit instead of an error? Are the record keepers all crazy? Racism? These bastards. In 2028, when Disney princesses are now being yellow-washed beyond black-washing, they dare to disguise the error of a white shortstop from New Jersey as a hit against an Asian pitcher? Do they think they’ll come to their senses only after being thoroughly scolded by Walt Disney, who has returned from hell?

I calmed my mind with a moment of random thoughts.

Right, it’s not a big deal.

Anyway, didn’t I cleanly retire the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 1st with three up, three down? I just have to do that one more time.

Well, even if I don’t, it’s okay to let the runner on third score and get a double play or something. Anyway, it’s okay.

First pitch.

A fastball digging into the batter’s box at shin height.

-Thwack!!!

Too low.

Ball count 1-0.

Second.

Another low pitch inside.

-Thwack!!!

This time, the umpire didn’t raise his hand.

Too deep.

[Ah, two consecutive balls. Choi Su-won seems to be losing control suddenly… The Yankees dugout is moving!! Coach Harold is heading to the mound.]

[Seems like a very appropriate timing.]

“Su-won, are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Good, let’s grab a beer after the game. I know a place around here with killer wings, you know?”

Jose chimed in at the coach’s sudden story.

“Coach?”

“Don’t worry, Jose, I’ll include you too.”

“No, that’s not it, Swan is twenty years old.”

“Ah… Then lemonade?”

“Wouldn’t Coke be better? It’s wings, after all?”

No outs, runners on first and third. No. 1 hitter at the plate. With a ball count of 2-0, the head coach, catcher, and pitcher gathered on the mound to talk about late-night snacks to eat after the game.

“Yeah, let’s go with Coke. Anyway, Su-won can eat some liquid fructose, right? Isn’t that right?”

“Even if it’s a body that can gain weight no matter what, liquid fructose with fried food is a bit much, don’t you think? Let’s just go with diet Coke.”

Harold’s visit to the mound ended with the decision to drink diet Coke at a place with killer wings for a late-night snack.

Ah, he did add one last word.

“Su-won, good luck.”

Hey, if you came from the dugout, you should give some advice.

I was so dumbfounded that I chuckled.

The situation hadn’t changed at all.

No outs, runners on first and third.

Ball count is 2-0.

I rotated my shoulder lightly.

Come to think of it, I forgot that my body felt really good today. Honestly, even though the mistake pitch was connected for a hit, that’s only because a stupid record keeper made a racist ruling that Walt Disney, who returned from hell, would catch, and it’s originally an error. So, even if a mistake pitch comes out moderately, I’m invincible.

With the heart of Hak-pok Jo Dong-hyuk.

With a little more confidence.

Deep inside, low course.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!!!”

[Exquisite course!! No swing.]

[That’s right!! This is it. If a 97 mph ball comes in like that, it’s usually difficult to swing.]

[Now, the ball count is now 1-2. Fourth. Pitcher winds up.]

Runners on first and third.

Well, if the runner on first runs and succeeds in stealing, there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s more of a loss if I step on the slide step and get hammered.

Outside high course.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

Evan Longoria’s bat spun in vain.

Ball count 2-2.

Now, it’s one of two things here.

Throw an inside curve.

Or take one out [throw a pitch outside the strike zone to try and bait the batter into swinging].

‘Good luck.’

The damn dugout doesn’t seem to have any intention of asking me for anything in particular. Well, in fact, it’s not like if they tell me to put something in with a two-pitch, it’ll definitely go in, and it’s not like it’ll definitely come out if they tell me to take it out.

Fifth.

Maybe the hitter is somewhat expecting a curve to come in here. But I’ve shown four fastballs in a row, so instead of throwing a fastball here that reverses expectations….

‘Not bad?’

Surprisingly, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to just throw another fastball here.

Bottom of the 3rd inning.

My body is properly warmed up. The feeling is good. I feel like I can throw a 100 mph fastball with all my might.

Okay, here I go.

[Choi Su-won!! Big windup!!]

A fiery 101 mph fastball inside!!

My fifth ball flew.

-Crack!!!

[Evan Longoria!! He hit it!! A hard-hit ball between first and second base!! Diving catch by second baseman Troy Glaus!!]

A very normal and fantastic defense that comes to mind when you think of the Major League.

Instead of pulling the ball that came into his glove with his right hand, Troy Glaus tossed it to Anthony Volpe as is, using only the wrist snap of his left hand.

“Out!!!”

Jake Bauers, the runner on first base, tried to interfere with Anthony Volpe with a somewhat rough bent-leg slide, but it was useless. Anthony Volpe, who caught Troy Glaus’s ball in a slightly collapsed posture, quickly threw the ball toward first base in that posture.

A throw that was as off as the collapsed posture.

But Aaron Judge at first base was a man big enough to receive that ball.

“Out!!!”

Double out as is.

The somewhat disappointing thing here is that Jackson Chourio, the runner on third base, went home. If I had struck out one here and induced a double play, I could have finished the inning without giving up a run.

[Wow, a very excellent double play. The Yankees quickly accumulate two outs.]

[Anthony Volpe makes up for his previous mistake so wonderfully. The score in the bottom of the 3rd is 8:1. Now there is one out left.]

[By the way, the speed just now was 100.1 mph. It was a bit in the middle, but it was a very fast ball. Is this the first time Choi Su-won has thrown a ball that exceeds 100 mph since entering the Major League?]

[Yes, he was originally a pitcher who threw up to 101 mph in his home league, but it’s still surprising that it’s already a 100.1 mph fastball in April.]

[Now, two outs, no runners. He was retired with a strikeout in his previous at-bat, right? Wander Franco is coming up to the plate.]

Huh?

A left-handed hitter is advantageous against a right-handed pitcher.

Well, personally, I don’t feel like a right-handed hitter is particularly advantageous against a left-handed pitcher, but anyway, a right-handed hitter is said to be somewhat advantageous against a left-handed pitcher.

A switch hitter is therefore a switch hitter.

Right-handed batting stance against left-handers.

Left-handed batting stance against right-handers.

And Wander Franco is a switch hitter.

I’m a right-handed pitcher.

But why?

[What is this? Wander Franco. He’s now entering the right-handed batting stance.]