The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 300

No, of course, it wasn’t *exactly* a 165 km/h fastball, since the speed was measured at 102.3 mph. But still, how could he pull a 164.7 km/h inside fastball and just slam it into the left field upper deck?.

Is he even human?

The damn red apple below the Citi Field outfield scoreboard reared its ugly head again. It felt like the entire stadium was mocking me, which made me extremely uncomfortable.

[Alexander McDowell hits his ninth multi-homer game of his career! His 10th home run of the season! Wow, April. Just 14 games into the season and he already has 10 home runs. Isn’t this a new record?]

[It’s not a new record, but it ties the 2001 record of Luis Gonzalez and the 2006 record of Albert Pujols, who also had 10 home runs in 14 games.]

[Amazing. Alexander McDowell! In his second year since his debut, this player, who is only 20 years old, is accumulating home runs at the fastest pace in history!]

[Moreover, his opponent is a player who is breaking consecutive game hit records in real-time since his debut.]

Alex stepped on home plate.

And following him, a stoic-faced figure entered the batter’s box.

[Bottom of the 3rd inning. The score is 6-3. Two outs, no runners on base. Jeremiah Wilde, who was retired with a routine ground ball to the second baseman in his first at-bat, comes to the plate.]

With a hint of rising annoyance, I threw a fastball that drifted outside.

-Whoosh!!!

It drifted out too much.

And the second pitch.

-Whoosh!!!

[Two consecutive pitches way outside! The pitcher seems a bit shaken. They might need to call a timeout from the dugout.]

[Ah, the Yankees’ bench is moving. Manager Jeff Clark is coming to the mound himself.]

I didn’t *think* I was particularly agitated, but perhaps because I threw two consecutive pitches that missed the mark, Jeff Clark came to the mound himself.

“Hey, Soo-won. You okay? Let’s take a deep breath first.”

“I’m fine. I just put a little too much power into it.”

“Yeah, you look fine to me. Actually, the pitch you threw to McDowell was pretty good too. But he also hit a pretty good pitch and sent it over that fence. So, strictly speaking, it’s a wash. Don’t you think?”

“Do you think so?”

“Yeah, anyway, the score is 6-3. It’s the same as two home runs, but your home run got 4 RBIs [Runs Batted In, a statistic in baseball] and McDowell only got 3. Besides, not every batter is like you or McDowell. So, let’s stay calm. Okay?”

“Okay.”

But as we talked, I started to feel like I was getting worked up. I felt a bit more relaxed and my head felt clearer.

Lastly, Jose added a word.

“If things get tough, just trust the fielders and throw it. The guys look like they’re in good shape today.”

“Got it.”

The count was 2-0.

Jeremiah Wilde in the batter’s box took his stance.

Center?

Ah, of course, I don’t mean I’m going to throw it down the middle.

I just remembered that I had expected the pitcher to throw the ball down the middle after the dugout visit at 3-0.

The third pitch.

A well-placed curveball right down the middle.

Jeremiah Wilde swung his bat.

-Whoosh!!!!

“Strike!!!”

The thrill of getting the exact pitch I wanted and drawing the swing I was aiming for.

The fourth pitch.

Again, a curveball.

But this time, I put as much power as possible into the hand holding the ball, with the intention of slamming it into the ground.

87.1 mph.

Jeremiah Wilde’s bat once again flailed through the air.

[Swing and a miss! Choi Soo-won gets Jeremiah Wilde to swing at a big curveball that bounces. Two curveballs in a row! The count is now 2-2.]

And the fifth pitch.

High and outside.

The fastest fastball.

Even though I’m prepared to hit anyone who gets too close to the plate with an inside high pitch, there’s still some subconscious braking that I can’t help. In that sense, a high outside pitch has no risk of hitting the batter, and I can really put my full power into it without worry.

Jeremiah Wilde’s bat came out.

-Whoosh!!!

Exaggerating a bit, the 102.1 mph fastball went in almost half a ball’s width above the bat.

Wait a minute?

102.1 mph?

I threw 102.7 mph inside to leadoff hitter Juan Romero, but the maximum speed I threw outside with peace of mind was 102.1 mph? Even the inside high pitch I threw to Alex with the mindset that I couldn’t help it if it hit him was 102.3 mph?

“Strike!! Out!!!”

The umpire clenched his fist.

Setting aside my subconscious issue of not braking on inside pitches, anyway, strikeout. The bottom of the 3rd inning, which felt terribly long, was over.

[Choi Soo-won’s fourth strikeout of the game! It was a pitch that was way outside, but Jeremiah’s bat came out.]

[Looking at the heat map alone, you might wonder why he swung at such a high pitch, but from the batter’s perspective, it’s understandable.]

[Jeter, do you see it that way?]

[Yes, the pitch had great power. Usually, when a batter swings, they swing based on their experience of where the pitch will drop. They anticipate the trajectory of the ball on average. But a ball with good spin comes in much higher. Moreover, he had just seen two consecutive curveballs from Choi Soo-won. The count was also 2-2, so he had to swing. That’s how you have to see it.]

[I see.]

***

-Whoosh!!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

[Choi Soo-won. Strikeout with a swing and a miss! Raul Jimenez strikes out Choi Soo-won.]

[Ah, our Choi Soo-won, who hit back-to-back home runs in the previous at-bat. What a disappointing strikeout.]

[It’s a bit of a shame that the second pitch was a foul.]

[By the way, Raul Jimenez showed a pretty good performance in NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level of baseball in Japan], but no one expected him to show this kind of performance again in the big leagues. He’s having a great day today.]

[That’s right. He came on in the 2nd inning with 2 outs and has been scoreless for 2.1 innings. He’s struck out six batters. It seems the Yankees’ hitters are a bit thrown off by the unfamiliar forkball.]

[There are definitely a lot of pitchers from Japan who use the forkball as their main weapon, right?]

[Yes, if KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] is the slider, then NPB is the forkball. However, these days, more and more pitchers in NPB are switching to the splitter due to injuries. Raul Jimenez seems to have a really good feel for the forkball.]

Damn it.

Was it Raul Jimenez? Anyway, his main pitch is definitely a forkball, not a splitter. But the problem is, he throws a splitter too.

The falling balls come in with differences in height and speed, and the data I received in advance wasn’t very helpful, so it’s quite tricky. Considering he didn’t start the season as a starter, there must be some weakness…

Bottom of the 4th inning.

Is it because it’s my second time through the batting order? The Mets’ hitters were starting to get their bats on my pitches. But there was only one solid hit. Again, I finished the inning with one strikeout and one hit without any additional runs.

The score of 6-3 didn’t break easily.

Top of the 5th inning, no score.

Bottom of the 5th inning, a clean three up, three down.

And the top of the 6th inning.

-Clang!!!

One out.

Our second baseman, Troy Johnson, the 8th hitter, hit Raul Jimenez’s pitch.

[The ball is soaring! It hits the right field wall directly!]

[Right fielder James Stone! Quickly chases after the ball! Ah, the ball deflected off the right field wall of Citi Field! As you can see, the shape of the right field wall at Citi Field is quite bizarre. It’s not easy.]

[In the meantime, Troy Johnson passes first base and heads to second! He’s fast! Very fast!]

Troy Johnson didn’t stop.

Past second base to third.

“Safe!!!”

An unexpected triple.

Troy Johnson got up and dusted off his butt.

“That ball must be really light?”

“I guess so.”

Of course, Troy is a fast runner and the right field wall of Citi Field is a bit bizarre, but we have to consider that Troy is a hitter with almost no power. The fact that the ball even flew to the wall in the first place might be Raul Jimenez’s weakness.

-Clang!!!

Jose Trevino’s sacrifice fly for 1 RBI.

Troy Johnson came home.

The score is now 7-3.

“That one barely dropped, right?”

“Yeah.”

The ball wasn’t light.

His inning-eating ability is just falling apart.

“But didn’t he pitch as a starter in Japan?”

“I think so? About 170 innings? 180 innings? I think I saw something like that.”

“But why is he already tired?”

Anthony Volpe tilted his head.

“Well. Maybe that splitter or forkball uses a lot of grip strength? He only used it as a finisher in Japan, so he pitched for a while. But here, he’s pitching mainly with that, so it’s hard to pitch for long.”

“Ah…”

It’s not a common case, but it’s not very rare either.

Originally, maintaining performance when coming from a lower league to a higher league is that difficult. It’s almost impossible unless you give up something and focus on something. In this case, his inning-eating ability has dropped significantly as he reduces the proportion of his non-competitive fastball.

[The Mets’ dugout is moving. It’s a pitching change.]

[Two outs, no runners on base. They could have let him finish this inning. The Mets are moving quite quickly.]

[A 4-point difference in the 6th inning. There is quite a score difference, but the Mets’ lineup is also a strong lineup. And Choi Soo-won is doing a great job today, but the leadoff hitter in the next inning is Alexander McDowell, who has already hit two home runs. They want to win this game no matter what. I think that’s what they’re thinking.]

“Ah, it just happens to be my turn again.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Go out there quickly.”

Five pitches.

The count is 2-2.

Volpe, who had watched the changed pitcher’s pitches to some extent, swung wildly at the sixth pitch.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

Change of offense and defense.

Bottom of the 6th inning.

“Hoo…”

I needlessly adjusted my hat on the mound.

The third meeting.

In a battle between a pitcher and a batter, a hit or a ground ball is originally a decision win or a decision loss. What can be seen as a real K.O. is a home run or a strikeout. If you count it that way, I’ve already been knocked out twice by that guy today.

But originally, baseball is said to be three times the charm.

Of course, this is originally a hopeful message for the batter that it’s a good *day* if the batter gets a hit only once out of three times, but I think it applies to some extent to me against that crazy hitter today.

[Bottom of the 6th inning. Alexander McDowell is at the plate as the leadoff hitter. He has hit home runs in both of his previous at-bats.]

[Choi Soo-won’s pitching today is also quite excellent. Ha… It’s not easy.]

[He is last year’s National League Rookie of the Year and the fastest home run pace in Major League history. He is also famous in Korea as Choi Soo-won’s rival. He didn’t even go to high school and went straight to junior college with a GED [General Educational Development test, a high school equivalency diploma in the US], so he was drafted two years earlier than others. There was a saying that he was an MVP [Most Valuable Player] contender even if he failed in his amateur days, and he is now clearly showing that the evaluation is not false.]

Alex stood close to the plate.

Tightly closed lips.

Firm will.

Yeah, you’re not going to be satisfied with just two home runs, are you?

[Pitcher winds up.]

I had enough power.

With a heinous mindset that I would hit even my grandmother if she stood close enough.

My fastball pierced deeply into the high inside course.

-Boom!!!!

Yeah, this makes it clear.

It seems I don’t have any instinctive psychological brakes when throwing inside pitches.

103.1 mph.

That’s 165.9 km/h.

Slightly exaggerating, 166 km/h.

The fastest ball I’ve ever thrown grazed the spot where Alex’s shoulder was just a moment ago.

Of course, the call was a ball.

[Goodness! Choi Soo-won! 103 mph in the 6th inning! That’s a speed of 166 km/h! His new record! No, is this player not getting tired at all?]

[Wow, but Alexander McDowell dodged it well, but it could have been really dangerous. If it’s a 166 km/h ball, it wouldn’t be strange if something broke.]

Alex stood back at the plate without changing his expression.

It was the exact same spot, right next to home plate, where he had stood a moment ago.

‘This bastard?’