The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 284

284. The Victory Fairy (1)

“Hey, the Korean internet is going crazy right now.”

“About what? Oh, my debut win? All I did was pitch 5.1 innings and give up 4 runs. Of course, it wasn’t bad for a major league debut, but it’s not like it’s such an amazing performance that it would cause a huge uproar, right?”

“No, not that. That Anthony Volpe guy? The shortstop who missed the ball. It was recorded as a hit instead of an error, so your earned runs went up. They need to correct that.”

It was a call from Jjou after a long time.

“Oh, that? Yeah, there’s been a lot of talk about it here in New York too. I think it’ll probably be corrected.”

Honestly, if I were just a regular rookie pitcher with a 5.1 inning, 4-run debut, this would never be corrected.

Errors are based on regulations, but the judgment itself is made by the scorer. And the regulations are a bit ambiguous. If the shortstop dives but is too heavy to catch the ball, or if the ball spins in the glove and he’s a little late getting it out, should that really be considered an error? Or should it be considered a normal play?

But I’m currently a super rookie getting attention from the entire major league, and more than anything, I’m Asian, a minority. Oh, what does race have to do with baseball?

Of course, it matters. Just like how in the past, they would naturally pick the better-looking player if their skills were similar in the draft, in modern American society where obsessive PC [politically correct] culture has become the mainstream, if black people are first-class citizens, then Asians are at least second-class citizens. Anyway, it’s unacceptable for them that an Asian, a minority in the major league, should suffer because of the inadequate play of Anthony Volpe, a white male from New Jersey who is part of the power structure.

“But even with that, the MVP voting is still…”

“Those people with voting rights are real experts who have been watching baseball for over 30 years. More importantly, how are the Marines doing these days?”

“Us? We’re doing great. We beat the Jaguars in Jamsil [a neighborhood in Seoul known for its sports complex] yesterday and are still in first place.”

“End of the world.”

“What, you little punk?”

“No, it’s just… the Marines, Elitz, and Phoenix are in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the league. Isn’t this like the last tearful service right before a strike? Is the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] closing down next year?”

“Why? Are you a little sad that we’re doing well without you? Did you think we’d be in last place once you left?”

“No, it’s not really that. And it’s only April right now anyway. The Marines always do well in the spring…”

“MA!!!”

‘Ma!’ I couldn’t help but chuckle at Jjou’s boisterous shout. It felt strangely comforting. I guess my year with the Marines wasn’t so bad after all.

“Alright, alright. In that sense, keep doing well in the future. And Jjou.”

“Huh?”

“Team performance is important, but take care of your own stats too. How can your batting average be .190 as a catcher? It’s a miracle the Marines are still in first place.”

“It’s .198, okay? I’m definitely going to .210 after today’s game.”

“Yeah, please do. Anyway, I need to sleep now, so play well in the game later. And give Hamin my support for a good game today.”

In my past life, I played in the KBO for 7 years before advancing to the big leagues. My fame wasn’t that much less than it is now. It was a 7-year, 130 million contract, and even though I was ruled ineligible as a first baseman, I still won the batting triple crown in my debut season with home runs, RBIs [Runs Batted In], and batting average. But how many people did I have back then that I could comfortably talk to like this? Even my conversations with my ex-wife, who came to America with me after we got married, didn’t feel this easy.

Ah, come to think of it, she must be studying hard for her college entrance exams right now? Just like how my life got twisted because of a bowl of sea squirt bibimbap [a Korean rice dish], her life was twisted by that sea squirt bibimbap as well, so wouldn’t her life be better this time around without it?

***

[New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays, game 3 of the series. We’re here at Tropicana Field.]

[In the first two games, the two teams each took a win!! Can the Yankees take the victory today? Tampa Bay’s ace, Shawn Carpenter, is on the mound.]

[Shawn Carpenter, who unfortunately had his season cut short last September due to an oblique strain. But his performance up until then was truly amazing, wasn’t it?]

[26 games, 14 wins, 5 losses. 163.1 innings, an ERA [Earned Run Average] of 2.76, practically untouchable. So much so that he finished third in the Cy Young voting despite being out for the season at the end of September.]

[Of course, our Yankees’ ace, Domingo Rodriguez, is no pushover either. In fact, when Domingo was with Tampa Bay, Shawn Carpenter never surpassed him.]

The Tampa Bay Rays are famous for developing starting pitchers in the major league. This is a really old tradition. Scott Kazmir, James Shields, David Price, Jake Odorizzi, Blake Snell, Shane McClanahan, and Domingo Rodriguez. And now Shawn Carpenter, who’s on the mound. Besides the players I’ve listed, there are many other ace-level pitchers who came from Tampa Bay.

Since the 21st century, they’ve consistently produced a starting pitcher with a cumulative salary of $100 million every 2-3 years, so they have a unique culture. Like the ‘tip-sharing culture’ that arose among Braves infielders as they consistently advanced to the major leagues, there’s something similar among Tampa Bay pitchers.

No, it’s actually more than that. America is all about autonomous training, but they do it a bit like a Korean high school style. I heard that camp starts at 9 AM, but if you show up at 8:30 AM, the senior pitcher ‘scolds’ the prospect.

“The right mentality is the most important thing. Everything starts with your mindset. So you have to have the right mindset.”

I don’t know what the correlation is between mindset and arriving early, but the spring training assembly time for Tampa Bay aces is before sunrise.

And Shawn Carpenter, who’s on the mound now, is the one who inherits the current generation of that Tampa Bay ace lineage, and Domingo Rodriguez, our team’s ace, is the one who received the spirit of the Tampa Bay ace from him.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!!!”

The velocity is around 95 mph. But the bizarre movement coming from the left-handed sidearm is more threatening than the velocity. And that changeup.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

The timing is surprising, but that changeup that comes in when you’re hesitating between a two-seamer [a type of fastball] and a four-seamer [another type of fastball] has a very dirty trajectory. How dirty?

-Clang!!!

[High fly ball!! But it doesn’t leave the infield.]

“Out!!!”

[Infield fly out. Aaron Judge is out on an infield fly.]

Yeah, it’s so dirty that even Aaron Judge’s ridiculous power can’t produce a decent hit. When I debuted in ’34, he was a bit washed up after getting injured, but seeing him at his peak, he’s definitely worth the 10-year, $280 million offer.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

[4th pitch!! Tyler Wade!! Swinging strikeout!! Shawn Carpenter shuts down the Yankees’ offense in the top of the 1st with a three-up, three-down inning.]

[Shawn Carpenter. He had a great performance in the opening game against Baltimore as well, with 7 innings and 1 run allowed. He’s definitely tricky.]

[Ah, I see Choi Suwon near the fence. He showed a slightly disappointing performance in the 6th inning of yesterday’s game, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing 4 runs, but he once again swung his bat like a firecracker with 2 hits and 1 home run in 3 at-bats, proving that he’s one of the best hitters in the league. But unfortunately, he’s not playing today.]

[It’s a shame to see this. If you think about immediate results, Choi Suwon should just be a full-time hitter. Of course, he’s an amazing talent as a pitcher who can throw 101 mph, but as a hitter, he’s showing MVP-level performance right now. It’s a shame that he’s missing games like this.]

[Haha, Sterling. I did a little research on that. Choi Suwon received similar evaluations in the early days of his KBO career.]

[Oh, so the evaluations changed a bit towards the end of the season?]

[No. He was told to stop pitching and focus on hitting even then because of his challenge for the home run record.]

[Ah…]

[But it’s also true that Choi Suwon, who started the season as the team’s 4th or 5th starter, had grown to the point where he was competing for the 1st or 2nd spot by the end of the season. It was like a sponge absorbing water.]

[I see. Then I can only hope that he can achieve that ‘sponge-like growth’ in the Yankees as well. Now, the bottom of the 1st, Tampa Bay’s offense. Domingo Rodriguez is on the mound.]

I couldn’t play in today’s game because I pitched yesterday, but I still needed to watch Shawn Carpenter’s pitching closely. Tampa Bay is in the same division as us, and we have to play them 10 more times after this series. There was a chance I’d face him in at least one game, maybe even three.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!!! Out!!”

A different kind of exhilaration than Shawn Carpenter.

It was pitching worthy of a man who was evaluated as the opposite side of Pedro Martinez [a famous baseball player]. He’s a left-hander who can throw up to 99 mph, with a seasonal average speed of 95 mph, and the speed is still being recorded at around 94 mph on the scoreboard.

Above all, that changeup he learned directly from Pedro Martinez last winter is amazing.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

The Tampa Bay hitters couldn’t even touch it properly and helplessly swung their bats. His skills are great, but you can also see his strong desire to show a better side to his hometown juniors.

-Clang!!!

[Fast hit!! But Anthony Volpe gets it and throws it lightly to 1st. At 1st!!]

“Out!!”

[Clean three-up, three-down!! Domingo Rodriguez easily shuts down Tampa Bay’s offense, and the game continues to the top of the 2nd, Yankees’ turn.]

But perhaps the junior left in his hometown also wanted to show a better side? Shawn Carpenter also shut down the Yankees’ offense with almost perfect pitching that didn’t allow an inch of leeway.

A game like a tight seesaw.

Thus, a pitching battle ensued, quite different from the previous 1st and 2nd games. So much so that it was already the top of the 8th, barely an hour and a half later. The score was still 0:0.

Domingo Rodriguez went to the mound again.

The lead batter was the 2nd batter, Wander Franco.

He took a big breath at the plate, having received a rather poor report card with 0 hits and 2 strikeouts in 3 at-bats in the previous three at-bats of today’s game.

Domingo Rodriguez on the mound threw the ball with the momentum to end today’s game with a shutout.

And on the 3rd pitch.

-Clang!!!!

OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging] over 1.0 against left-handers in the right-handed batting position.

He properly hit Domingo Rodriguez’s ball, who was starting to get a little tired in the top of the 8th.

His second home run of the season.

It was the game-winning hit of today’s game.

[Yankees lose the 3rd game 0:1!! A disappointing defeat!!]

[Domingo Rodriguez. 8 innings, 1 run allowed, loss!! What were the Yankees hitters doing?]

[Overwhelming skill? Or amazing coincidence? Yankees win every game Choi Suwon plays in!! Lose every game he doesn’t!!]

[Isn’t what we need right now an overwhelming hitter with an OPS of 2.0, not a starter with 5.1 innings and 4 runs allowed?]