The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 298

298. Look Over There (7)

There are guys like that sometimes. Guys who break the unwritten rules, the ones the developers [baseball term for coaches or team management] tell you not to break, using some kind of unorthodox method.

The Alex guy at the plate right now felt exactly like that.

He somehow managed to hit the breaking ball that I threw to get him out. No, he even hit it over? Was this what Livan Hernandez felt like when he gave up that famous changeup home run to Barry Bonds decades ago?

A huge red apple rose from below the center field scoreboard. It was the Big Apple, a famous attraction at Citi Field that appears when a Mets batter hits a home run. That damn apple. Seeing that after giving up a home run just makes me feel worse.

The score is now 2-1.

Okay, let’s say I got my home run back. If I don’t give up any more runs here, I’ll win the first inning.

[3rd batter, Jeremiah Wilde, enters the plate.]

A 32-year-old third baseman who signed an 8-year, $210 million contract with the Mets two years ago. The market valued him around the late $100 million range, so he remains another example of the Mets’ crazy spending spree.

However, unlike many players who didn’t live up to their huge contracts, Jeremiah Wilde was performing exactly as a $210 million player should. Of course, a player who signs a long-term contract and only performs well at the beginning has a high probability of becoming a bad contract in the long run, but if we only consider the present, that guy is an All-Star-level hitter.

First pitch.

Calmly throwing a curveball that hangs on the outside edge of the plate!

-Thwack!!!

I tried to throw it, but the ball slipped out of my hand a little too easily. The curveball, lacking spin, flattened out.

As expected of Jeremiah, an All-Star-level hitter, he didn’t miss that ball. The hit had a lot of power, but the direction wasn’t good.

[Right in front of the second baseman!! A hard-hit ball!!]

[Troy Johnson easily fields the hit and gets two outs.]

[That was a bad pitch, wasn’t it?]

[Yes, it seems that giving up a home run has affected him. From a pitcher’s point of view, it’s inevitable to be shaken when a confidently thrown ball goes over the fence like that. Moreover, he’s only a young player in his twenties. But still, a good defensive play like that is a great help for the pitcher to regain his composure.]

Yeah, if a ridiculous, strange ball goes over the fence, then a bad pitch should result in an out to be fair.

Against the following 4th batter, foul and ball. Strike, foul, ball.

And the 6th pitch.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

[Swinging strike!! Choi Su-won gets his first strikeout of the game and finishes the inning.]

[That was a very good curveball. Derek, what did you think?]

[That ball just now was in the same location where Alexander McDowell hit a home run earlier. He could have been intimidated, but his mentality is quite strong. I don’t know much about pitchers, but I vaguely remember something Mo [likely referring to Mariano Rivera] told me a long time ago. He said that if you can’t throw the same ball again after being hit hard, then you have no choice but to throw a ball you’re less confident in.]

[Did Mariano Rivera say that?]

[Hmm… Maybe it was Andy [likely referring to Andy Pettitte]’s words. Or was it Roger [likely referring to Roger Clemens] who said it?]

[Ah, yes. I understand.]

The game continued.

Leniel Diaz, who was shaken after giving up a home run to me in the top of the 1st inning, continued to pitch quite calmly against our lower batting order.

“Honestly, it wasn’t this intense in the World Championships, but now I kind of understand why people say Alex is an MVP contender even if he fails.”

“Huh?”

“No, that last ball that was hit for a home run. Honestly, it was a ball that I threw to tell him *not* to hit it. It was a ball that was completely out of the strike zone. I even completely fooled this guy, right? But he forcibly pulled it and eventually hit it over the fence? You know, when you watch old MLB videos, there’s a home run where Barry Bonds was fooled by a changeup and lost his timing, but he twisted his bat and hit it over the fence? It felt exactly like watching that.”

“Uh… I see.”

“What? What’s with that reaction? Why are you being so lukewarm?”

“No, it’s not that what you’re saying is wrong. It’s just that when you say that… Well… Wow, this guy has no conscience, does he? That’s the feeling.”

Anthony Volpe looked at me and continued.

“No, that’s not it. Honestly, the things you’re saying right now, other pitchers will probably say almost the same thing to you, right? You’ve also hit a few impossible ones over, haven’t you? It must have been even more so when you were in your country.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

Was that why? Alex, who had felt like an absurd monster in my head, suddenly came back to being human.

Yeah, when I think about it, I feel like if I saw that pitch that I gave up for a home run about 40 or 50 times, I could hit it over the fence once. So, if I give that guy a high rating and say he’s on par with me, then it’s like a 2% chance of luck that happened on the first at-bat.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

Leniel Diaz’s changeup fooled Troy Johnson’s bat.

Swinging strikeout.

Jose Trevino, who was in the on-deck circle [baseball term for the area where the next batter warms up], went up to the plate.

“I’ll be out there, so if possible, hit one more so I can walk slowly.”

“Why? Why don’t you hit it yourself?”

“I’m doing you a favor because Alexander McDowell seems to be feeling down after giving up a home run, so just accept it gratefully.”

Anthony Volpe walked out to the on-deck circle.

The sight of Jose, who was at the plate, talking to the opposing team’s catcher caught my eye.

Two outs, no runners.

Honestly, the probability that Anthony would be out there as he said was lower than the probability that the inning would end without even getting a chance.

The reason was that Jose’s batting record so far this season was .196/.208/.217, which was so terrible that the expression “horrific” was appropriate. Of course, he was a good catcher. Three Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves prove how good he is when he wears a mask. But at this rate, it would be difficult no matter how good his defense was.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

Swinging strike on a ridiculously missed ball. Jose himself seems to be getting impatient, and his swing seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

Second.

And third.

-Thwack!!

Fortunately, there was still something left to fight off the 0-2 changeup. The count is now 1-2.

Leniel Diaz threw the ball.

It was a pitch that reeked of not wanting to waste pitches on a relatively easy hitter.

-Thwack!!!

But that shouldn’t have been the case.

Of course, Jose Trevino’s batting record right now was a terrible batting average close to that of a pitcher in the NL [National League] in the days when there was no designated hitter, but even so, he was a veteran who had survived in the big leagues for 13 years.

A hit that barely passed over the second baseman’s head.

Jose Trevino stood on first base. With this, it’s now .213/.224/.234. It’s still a terrible record, but he’s back to a 20% batting average.

Anthony Volpe went up to the plate.

[Top of the 2nd inning. 2 outs, runner on 1st base. Anthony Volpe, the 1st batter, is at the plate.]

[The batting order has already made a round in the top of the 2nd inning. Fortunately, the score is only 2 points so far.]

[The Mets will want to finish this inning here no matter what. If they allow Volpe to get on base here, they will have to face Choi Su-won with a runner in scoring position. This is quite scary.]

[Well. In that case, is there a need to face Choi Su-won? There’s one base open.]

[In that case, you’ll be facing Tyler Beede with the bases loaded. In that case, considering Choi Su-won’s fast feet, you could give up 3 points with one long hit.]

I swung the bat a few times in the on-deck circle.

I could feel the relay cameras catching me. Come to think of it, today’s game is a national broadcast. Moreover, it’s Sunday Night Baseball, so it’s a perfect national debut.

-Thwack!!!

Leniel Diaz has already thrown three pickoff throws [throws to first base to keep the runner close].

It was a situation where boos would have already come out if it was our home stadium. Jose Trevino dusted off his crotch. In fact, considering the stamina required to be a catcher and his age, there was no need to put a lot of effort into base running. He probably knows that well, but he seems to be quite impatient with his recent batting record.

-Thwack!!!

4th pitch.

Anthony Volpe properly pulled the ball on his body.

Jeremiah, the third baseman, jumped wonderfully, but the scene where I had my hit stolen in the last Toronto game didn’t happen. Such a scene only comes out once a year.

The 3rd base coach stopped Jose at 2nd base. It was because his speed was not enough to run to 3rd base. Well, it was natural since a thirty-five-year-old catcher couldn’t have normal knees.

My second at-bat came.

[Bottom of the 2nd inning. 2 outs. Runners on 1st and 2nd base. Choi Su-won is at the plate. Choi Su-won is coming up.]

[Choi Su-won has been on a 10-game hitting streak until today. His current batting average is over 50%. Of course, the number of at-bats is only 34, and the number of plate appearances is 29, which is a small sample size… Wow, this must be a real headache for the Mets.]

[I wonder what choice the Mets’ dugout will make…]

[I don’t think you should avoid it here. This game is not a postseason or anything like that. It’s just one of the many games in the season.]

[Ah, there’s no sign from the dugout. There is no automatic intentional walk.]

Leniel Diaz on the mound glanced at 1st base for no reason and threw a pickoff throw.

“Safe!!”

Of course, it’s safe. In the first place, there’s a runner on 2nd base, and Volpe isn’t stupid, so he didn’t take a big lead.

“What? Is he scared?”

“Nonsense.”

The Mets’ catcher dismissed my words.

But it’s true.

That guy is scared.

Honestly, even I, a veteran among veterans, felt a bit shaken after Alex hit that breaking ball over the fence. I was like, “Wow, what should I throw next?” But that guy is only 22 years old. Of course, he can’t help but be scared. Moreover, there was almost no time to alleviate the shock of giving up the home run. It was the previous inning that I gave up the home run.

Ah, of course, the difference between me and Alex is that Alex turned an absurd pitch into a home run, and I hit a home run by hitting a hittable pitch. But that’s covered by my crazy slash line of .517/.588/1.276 [batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage].

First pitch.

-Thwack!!

A ridiculously missed ball.

And the second and third.

[Leniel Diaz is suddenly showing signs of shaking. Manager Aaron is going up to the mound.]

The Mets’ dugout moved at the continuous ball calls [pitches outside the strike zone].

It feels like they’re telling him, “You can do it. The ball is good. Throw with confidence.” The manager patted Leniel Diaz on the shoulder several times.

And the fourth.

The guy who had mustered his courage bit his lower lip tightly.

Winding up.

I could tell without looking.

“Center.”

“Huh?”

The ball came flying.

A fastball right down the middle, the kind that pitchers who are afraid of a walk often throw while pretending to be confident.

The hit went over the fence.