The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 304

304. Look Over There (13)

$324 million over 9 years.

That was the contract Gerrit Cole signed with the Yankees back in 2020.

First overall pick in the 2011 draft.

Debuted in 2013.

And over 7 years with two teams, 1195 innings pitched, ERA 3.22.
The scouting report on the 28-year-old pitcher, who had three All-Star selections and finished 2nd, 4th, and 5th in Cy Young voting, was that impressive.

And now, in 2028.

Over the past 8 years, 1437.1 innings pitched, ERA 3.30.
What kind of report card will be given to the 37-year-old pitcher, who has five All-Star selections and finished 2nd twice, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th in Cy Young voting?

Of course, Gerrit Cole knew the answer.

‘Depends on how I do this year.’

It’s a common saying for all free agents, but it’s even more important for an aging player whose current form might not last.

Maybe 2 or 3 years.

If possible, he wanted to finish his career with the New York Yankees, where he had already established himself. And if he could be a little more ambitious, he wanted to have his number 45, which was currently on his back, retired forever.

It sounded simple, but it was by no means an easy task. In the Yankees’ 120-year history, only 25 players and managers have had their numbers retired.

Gerrit Cole’s pitches put pressure on the Boston hitters.

The Red Sox’s leadoff hitter was Alex Verdugo, and the second hitter was Trevor Story. Both players were considered to be underperforming relative to their perceived value and salary due to declining skills, but that was only in comparison to their ‘name value’ and ‘salary.’ Clearly, the leadoff combination of Alex Verdugo and Trevor Story for the Boston Red Sox was still a force to be reckoned with.

-Clack!!!

Ground ball out to the infield.

And –Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

Swinging strikeout.

And the third hitter, Rafael Devers. An MVP-caliber hitter who has finished 2nd in MVP voting twice.

Gerrit Cole’s pitches, which had been overpowering the first two hitters with fastballs, became a bit more cautious. He knew very well that if he wasn’t careful, the ball could easily clear the right field fence.

-Clack!!!!

Rafael Devers swung at a circle changeup that was slightly outside. The result was a fly ball out to center field.

[End of the 1st inning. Gerrit Cole shuts down Boston’s offense with a three-up, three-down inning. He looks to be in great shape today.]

***

The game moved quickly.

Is it because they’re facing the second starters for teams like Boston and the Yankees? Or maybe it’s because our team’s batting lineup is in a slump right now. Either way, we couldn’t get any additional runs.

Thanks to that, the tempo of the game was quite fast, which wasn’t always welcome when I was starting. I had to go out there without fail, even when I wanted to take a break. But on days like today, when I’m playing as a designated hitter, it wasn’t bad. No, it’s very good.

I’ve said it a few times before, but when I went from playing first base to designated hitter before my regression… (omitted)… So, in the end, when the tempo speeds up like today, it helps me maintain my feel for the game.

[Top of the 3rd inning. Two outs, no runners on base!! Choi Su-won steps up to the plate.]

[Choi Su-won, who recorded his first triple in the previous at-bat!! It will be interesting to see what he can do this time.]

Tanner Houck’s pitching was quite precise.

He used to be a pitcher whose command, no, control itself was a weakness, but surprisingly, he succeeded in correcting it. People often think that velocity is talent and control is effort. But that’s not true. The feel for control is also ultimately a matter of talent. Of course, effort is also important.

But that’s like a guy who was born with the talent to throw 100 mph still having to work hard to throw 100 mph. Control also means that you have to be born with that talent to be able to achieve it.

Just as it’s nearly impossible for a guy who threw 90 mph when he debuted to consistently improve and bulk up to throw 100 mph, it’s nearly impossible for a guy whose control was all over the place to gain command beyond just control.

So, the pitching that Tanner Houck is showing right now is similar to a guy who originally threw 90 mph in the draft and, after spending a few years in the minors, suddenly throws 100 mph.

-Clack!!!

[Count 2-2. Choi Su-won hits a ball that comes in on the edge of the strike zone. Foul!!]

[Wow, it’s not easy. Tanner Houck’s pitches are too good. They’re coming in right on the edge.]

[Okay, seventh pitch!!]

The ball comes flying in.

I stepped forward strongly with my left foot. But something felt off. The count was 2-2. The right thing to do here is to just swing at anything that looks close. Korean baseball fans tend to think that a swinging strikeout is the biggest humiliation, but the real humiliation is a called strikeout.

But the world doesn’t always work with just the right answers.

-Thwack!!!

The bat stopped.

And an 89 mph slider that broke sharply outside.

The umpire’s hand didn’t go up.

[The catcher asks the umpire if he swung. Check swing ruling. Now the count is 3-2. Full count. Tanner Houck prepares his eighth pitch with one out remaining.]

[That was a great display of patience to hold back on that one. Tanner Houck’s slider is really good today.]

Luck?

No, not at all. I call this feeling ‘skill’.

Eighth pitch.

The guy wound up.

In fact, this kind of situation was bound to come sooner or later. I’ve been swinging the bat like crazy, so it’s only natural that they’re trying not to give me a good pitch, even if it means walking me.

Almost the same location as before.

The ball was released from the exact same motion.

But this feels like a fastball…

-Clack!!!!

[Choi Su-won hits it!!]

[A pushed hit!! Between 1st and 2nd base!! Trevor Story!!]

[Ah, it gets through!! Choi Su-won is on 1st base!!]

“Safe!!”

[Choi Su-won. He forces a hit by pushing a slider that was breaking away.]

[Actually, the ball was a bit outside the zone. If he had put his hitting point a little further back, he would never have been able to hit that ball. But if you look at it, the moment he realizes that he’s late in stopping his bat, he turns his bat even harder and brings his hitting point as far forward as possible. But you can’t train for something like that. Choi Su-won is really something else. I can only say that he has an incredible natural sense.]

Wow, that was close.

No, I really thought it was a fastball, but it was a slider. If the ball had broken a little further outside, I would never have been able to hit it.

I got lucky.

[Ah, I’m a little disappointed with Trevor Story’s defense at this point. When you think about how he used to be a shortstop who dominated the league…]

[Trevor Story is thirty-five years old now, right?]

[Yes, his defensive stats, which were poor last year, have improved a lot. Thanks to that, Boston exercised their team option for ’28. But still… It’s been disappointing in many ways this year.]

“Lucky, huh?”

“It’s skill.”

Triston Casas, who was playing first base, spoke to me.

“Have you been in touch with Baek Gang-ho?”

“Yeah, I contacted him a while ago, but he hasn’t been responding much lately, probably because his team’s performance isn’t good either.”

“Oh, really?”

While we were having a light chat, the third hitter, Tyler Beede, persistently battled Tanner Houck. That guy is a pretty good hitter. Usually, a hitter’s feel goes up and down, but the secret to maintaining your season stats is to somehow hang in there and pick up anything you can when your feel is not good.

-Whoosh!!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

Ah, of course, that doesn’t always work.

[Swinging strikeout!! End of the top of the 3rd inning with a runner left on 1st base. The Yankees’ offense ends. The score is still 1:0. The Yankees are leading by 1 point.]

***

“Ugh!!! Seriously!!! This is pissing me off!!”

“What? Su-won got a hit and Boston didn’t score, so isn’t that the best situation you wanted?”

“Yeah, but still!! If he’s going to give up a hit and strike out anyway, why waste so many pitches? He threw almost 20 pitches to just Su-won and Tyler Beede.”

Lee Ji-eun, an international student who started following baseball last year with her friend, couldn’t understand her friend Park Joo-hee’s anger.

“Joo-hee, I’ve been thinking about it, but you get angry when we lose badly, you get angry when we lose closely, you get angry when we win narrowly because we could have won easily, and even when we win easily, you get angry saying, ‘Why did we score so many unnecessary points? We should have split them up with yesterday’s game!!’”

“Yeah. Isn’t that right? All of those situations are frustrating.”

“No… Then when are you ever happy watching baseball?”

“Happy? Ji-eun, baseball isn’t something you watch to be happy. A batter fails 7 out of 10 times, right? So, we’re basically frustrated 7 out of 10 times. On top of that, you get frustrated when the pitcher throws balls [bad pitches], you get frustrated when they get a hit, and you get even more frustrated when they hit a home run. Baseball is just something you watch to get frustrated.”

“……”

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

“That, that Yoshida, that Jap bastard is so bad. If you’re going to swing your bat like that, just go back to your country!!”

“Joo-hee!!”

Bottom of the 3rd inning.

Boston’s offense ended.

***

“So, you’re saying we should invoke [summon] Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams at the same time?”

“Yes.”

Jennifer Kang nodded very lightly.

“If Ohtani [Shohei Ohtani, a famous baseball player known for both pitching and hitting] is going to be as impactful as Ruth [Babe Ruth, an iconic baseball player], we need to bring out names of that caliber.”

Babe Ruth was the man who changed the paradigm of baseball.

In 1920, only two teams hit more home runs than him: his own New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. His 54 home runs became a benchmark that divided the sport of baseball into the dead-ball era and the live-ball era.

So, what about Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams?

In that era.

The names that burned the brightest and longest in baseball, which was most deserving of the name National Sports.

Joe DiMaggio, the New York Yankees superstar who everyone loved.

Ted Williams, the Boston Red Sox player who everyone loved to hate.

And both players held immortal records comparable to Ruth that have not been broken.

56-game hitting streak.

The last .400 hitter [batting average of .400 or higher in a single season].

Coincidentally, both records were recorded in 1941, and these records have shown no signs of being broken even after 87 years.

“The Red Sox fans will go crazy.”

“Isn’t that even better?”

“What are Choi Su-won’s current stats?”

“With the hit he just added, he’s at 39 plate appearances, 34 at-bats, 18 hits, .529/.590/1.324 [Batting Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging Percentage].”

“Wouldn’t they laugh at us for summoning Joe DiMaggio with just an 11-game hitting streak?”

“It’s just as ridiculous to summon Ted Williams only 16 games into the season. But you know, that kind of noise eventually turns into popularity if you’re good enough.”

“……”

The deliberation didn’t last long.

“Okay, let’s proceed.”