The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 314

314. Record-Breaking Machine (8)

Sometimes, a Major League road trip can feel unbelievably long. You get stretches of 14, 15, or even 18 consecutive road games. But honestly, those can be better. Because you’re grinding through all those road games at once, you get to stay at home for a good, long stretch afterward.

Road 6 games, Home 3 games, Road 3 games, then Home again for 3 games. And then Road for 6 games.

Doesn’t that schedule make you dizzy just hearing about it?

Especially when the road trip gets all twisted, like playing 3 games in the Midwest, then going to the West Coast, then back to the East Coast for a home game, then back to the West Coast, then home again, then the West Coast again, and finally back to the East Coast. That kind of schedule is truly hell.

Yes, truly hell.

“How’s your body feeling?”

“Oh, I feel a little better after a day of rest.”

To be honest, it wasn’t a full day of proper rest.

When you play a game on the West Coast and return to the East Coast, you lose three hours due to the time difference. After the game, it takes about six hours by plane to get back to New York, and with that time difference, it’s already 10 AM. If there’s no travel day attached to that, you practically just change clothes at home and have to leave again.

Of course, even with the harsh Major League schedule, there are ‘almost’ no cases where you don’t get a travel day after a night game on the West Coast when returning to the East Coast. So, if you arrive at the airport at 10 AM and get home around 12 PM, it’s like a half-day of rest.

“Still, after these 3 home games, and the Rockies and Boston games, the schedule will be a bit more relaxed for a while.”

“Yeah, after that, the schedule isn’t too bad until the All-Star break.”

“Right. Besides, it’s better to have the tough part early when you have more stamina. If it’s easy at the beginning and tough at the end, that’s also a pain.”

Anthony was talking to me about this and that, probably because he was worried that I was so tired I even asked to borrow his bat. This guy really has a wide circle of acquaintances. He must have a lot on his mind these days because of his own performance.

Ah, of course, it’s not like his performance is terrible. His performance is actually quite good, to the point where he’s one of the top five shortstops in the American League. Let me say again, this guy has a cumulative WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a comprehensive baseball statistic] of over 40 based on my pre-regression standards.

“Oh, right. Soo-won. Congratulations in advance.”

“Huh?”

“All-Star voting. There’s nothing left to see in the remaining period, right?”

June is the last month of the first half of the season, and it’s the month when All-Star voting takes place. The first round of voting, which started at the beginning of the month, continues until the 23rd. Basically, the two players with the most votes per position advance to the final vote.

However, the exception here is that for outfielders, six players advance regardless of whether they are left fielders, center fielders, or right fielders, and three are selected. And the player with the most votes across all positions goes straight to the All-Star game without going through the second round of voting.

“Anthony, you’re also in first place in the shortstop category right now.”

“Well, yes, but… thinking about last year, it feels a bit precarious.”

The Yankees are a popular team.

Basically, their ability to mobilize votes is considerable. Moreover, our current performance this year is also very good. Even if individual performance is a bit lacking, it’s enough to go to the All-Star game.

“You know, those Boston guys. They’ll vote like crazy against us in the final vote.”

The problem is the final vote.

Those Boston guys. They’re always full of inferiority complexes, so they not only support their own team but also unconditionally support anyone who opposes us. Especially this year, when it looks like they won’t be able to send many players to the All-Star game, they’re doing their best to screw us over.

“It’ll be fine. You went to the All-Star game last year even though this happened.”

“Well, last year my performance was a bit better than this year. And the Boston guys’ antics weren’t as serious as they are now.”

“Ah… I’m sorry about that.”

“No, it’s not your fault. You’re breaking a 100-year-old record. It’s just weird that the Boston guys are freaking out about it. Oh, this isn’t Boston hate. For the record, I used to hate the Yankees fans when I watched the movie 61* [a film about Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1961].”

It seems that the news about my batting average of .400 is having some impact on the Boston guys, who are a bit more worked up these days. Besides, Boston’s performance hasn’t been great lately.

“Anyway, well, I have to do well. There are still a few days left in the voting period. If things continue like this, I’ll be able to go to the final round. There’s still a chance until the series after next.”

“Yeah, hit a multi-homer today.”

“Then your RBIs [Runs Batted In] will be a bit short. Are you okay with that?”

“I’ve already received enough to be full, so I’ll give you those RBIs today.”

“Okay.”

***

“What did I say!! A superstar is, huh? A gift from the heavens!”

“You’re amazing as always.”

“How’s the special on Sunday going? Is it well prepared?”

“Yes, Derek Jeter and Posada are confirmed to appear in the studio, and we’ve agreed to send camera crews to Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte respectively.”

Sunday Night Baseball.

There has been a lot of criticism that the broadcast is biased towards popular teams rather than the importance of the game, but it is still the biggest baseball program broadcast nationwide.

And the game they love the most is, of course, the Yankees vs. Boston game. This year, they are scheduled to broadcast the Yankees vs. Boston game twice before the All-Star break alone.

“But we’ve prepared so much, what if…”

“Shhh!! Go knock on wood right now. Don’t say such unlucky things!!”

Failing on that day is, yes, a disaster, but it can happen.

But to have prepared so much and not even make it to that day? That’s something I don’t even want to imagine.

“Damn it.”

He knocked on his desk, recalling that terrible thought in his head.

-Tap!!!!

And at that exact moment.

The batter with the number 0 on his back swung his bat and lifted an 87.1 mph curveball that dropped sharply.

[He hit it!! Center-left!! Well-hit ball!! Owen Button!! Runs quickly, but it’s too late!! Hit!! It’s a hit!! Bottom of the 3rd inning!! Second at-bat!! Choi Soo-won continues his consecutive hit record!! 53 consecutive games!! Amazing!! Choi Soo-won!!]

[In the third game against the Athletics, and in the first and second games the day before yesterday, Choi Soo-won made the fans anxious by adding one hit each in the later half of the game. Today, he recorded a hit from the beginning of the game, allowing the fans who support him to watch the game with peace of mind.]

He seemed to be in quite poor condition for the past few days, but seeing him swing his bat today, it seems like there’s no need to worry. Usually, when you’re not in good condition, or when the team atmosphere isn’t good, grinding through is what determines the win or loss. In that sense, Choi Soo-won has almost overcome all the obstacles for the record.

Above all, the Yankees’ next three-game series is against the Colorado Rockies.

Yes, that Coors Field, famous for being a batting paradise.

There, number 54 and 55.

And finally, at Fenway Park, the home stadium of Boston, number 56 and 57. Maybe even beyond that, number 58.

A rosy future unfolded in the head of Haley Tucker, the responsible PD [Production Director] of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.

***

The three-game home series against Texas was tough. Especially in the first game, there was a risk of the consecutive hit record being broken. Was it Zack Duncan? The angle at which the four-seam fastball cut in was really sharp. If his stamina and concentration had been a little better and he had continued to throw the same level of ball in the 7th inning, it would have been really dangerous.

Of course, all of that danger was because my condition was still not fully recovered at the time of the first game.

The second game was a little easier than that.

I didn’t have luck, but I eventually made a hit.

And the third game.

In the game I started, I recorded 2 runs and 2 hits in 6 innings, and finally succeeded in raising my condition again.

Especially that batted ball that was caught on the warning track in front of the left fence in the last at-bat yesterday. When I felt that it would have gone over if I had used my bat instead of borrowing Volpe’s bat, I felt that my condition was slowly returning.

“Coors Field can be a bit confusing when you play there for the first time. But you’re the type of player that will be fine. You won’t have any pitching games anyway. If you hit the ball high, it will fly much farther than you thought.”

Moreover, in addition to the improved condition, I also had good luck.

If the game had been delayed even once, the starting pitch would have been at Coors Field, which is a truly hellish stadium for pitchers that anyone who has heard of baseball knows.

The altitude is so high that the batted ball flies far, but the drag on the ball also changes greatly. This means that the movement of breaking balls is reduced. It’s hard to express this simply as the power of breaking balls being reduced, because the change in the trajectory of the ball also significantly affects command. It’s bound to be difficult.

Of course, the ‘speed’ of fastballs increases as the air resistance is lower due to the low pressure. So, you might think that my 103 mph fastball will go up to 104 mph, so wouldn’t that be okay?

However, the four-seam fastball is not a straight ball, but a ball that shows ‘less’ falling movement. Even if you only count the number of rotations, it is one of the balls with the most rotations. So, to put it simply, the command of the four-seam fastball becomes a real mess. The expression ‘hell for pitchers’ is just right.

So, avoiding such hell for pitchers and playing only two games as a hitter is truly a blessing from the heavens.

“Okay, everyone, take good care of your stamina. Don’t overdo it here. If anything feels strange, tell me right away. Oxygen respirators are available here, so be sure to use them if anything feels strange.”

Coach Harold gave a few nagging words to the players. But they were necessary stories. Basically, those who have a lot of experience at Coors Field will do well on their own, but those who are playing here for the first time are likely to dismiss mild altitude sickness symptoms as just feeling a little unwell.

Altitude of 1610 meters [approximately 5,282 feet].

For reference, Daechungbong Peak on Seoraksan Mountain, the third highest mountain in Korea, is 1708 meters above sea level, and Hyangjeokbong Peak on Deogyusan Mountain, the fourth highest, is 1614 meters. It’s almost like being on top of a mountain. If you repeat sprinting, running, and throwing at full power in such a place, your body will inevitably be strained.

Domingo Rodriguez started in the first game of the series.

-Tap!!!!

Domingo Rodriguez’s face turned blue.

It wasn’t because of altitude sickness.

[Big hit!! Over the fence!! Bottom of the 4th inning. The Rockies’ third home run of the game!! The Rockies are taking a big lead with a score of 3:7!!]

5.1 innings, 8 runs, 6 earned runs.

Domingo recorded his worst start of the season.

And the next day.

[The second game of the series between the Colorado Rockies and the New York Yankees!!]

[In yesterday’s game, the Yankees’ pitching staff collapsed, and the Yankees lost by a large margin of 6 points. But today is different.]

[Yes, that’s right. At least in terms of offense, the league’s best hitter is playing in today’s game. Our Choi Soo-won is challenging for 54 consecutive hits today!! I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do here at Coors Field.]

For the record, when I was hitting well before my regression, I had three consecutive home runs and four home runs in one game, and that was right here.

-Tap!!!

[He hit it!! Choi Soo-won!! Big hit!! It went over!! A huge home run that directly hits the upper part of the left-center field!! It’s his 23rd home run of the season.]

[Wow, this is… It’s such a huge home run that you can immediately guess that it went over as soon as it was hit.]

A clean two-run homer.

His 23rd home run of the season.

The game was still in the top of the 1st inning.