The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 322

322. Maybe a Fluke? (3)

Tanner Houck knew what his greatest strength was.

‘Understanding your place.’

Those monsters like Juan Montero, who threw blazing fastballs right out of the gate in the big leagues, or Choi Su-won, who was setting records that would go down in history, would never understand.

The heart of a ‘normal person’ like himself.

Ah, of course, calling the talent to throw up to 98 miles per hour with a sidearm-like three-quarter delivery ‘normal’ was a bit of a stretch, but after three years in the minors, and using all three of his minor league options even after being called up to the big leagues, he realized.

Ah, I’m not a genius.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the current Tanner Houck started from that point.

He happened to overhear Juan Montero lamenting about yesterday’s game.

‘I couldn’t see where to throw.’

Seriously, does that even make sense?

It’s normal not to see where to throw against a batter whose hitting is on fire. Besides, isn’t that guy a madman who hits home runs no matter where you throw it, whether it’s outside, inside, or even outside the strike zone?

In the end, what’s needed is mental fortitude.

The will to commit to a strictly bait-ball-oriented approach.

A strong mind that won’t break that will, even if it results in a walk.

And the ‘courage’ to endure being criticized for breaking the record in a cowardly way.

Fifth.

Another two-seam fastball digging into the batter’s body.

– Bang!!!!

The umpire’s hand didn’t go up.

2-3.

Full count.

Tanner Houck boldly threw a slider that broke outside the strike zone.

The courage to risk a walk in front of a 57-game hitting streak.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

Choi Su-won’s bat spun in vain.

***

[Ah!! A swing and a miss!! Choi Su-won!! First at-bat!! The bat is fooled by a slider that breaks far outside.]

[Today’s starting pitcher, Tanner Houck. If you’re a fan who watches the major leagues, you’ll be a little familiar with the name. This player has a very good track record against right-handed batters. Especially that slider that just turned Choi Su-won around. That’s a slider that’s considered one of the best in both leagues.]

[Certainly, the speed is 89 miles per hour, and the movement is very good. He’s a great pitcher.]

[Yes, and he’s definitely got guts, especially considering our Choi Su-won is challenging a 57-game hitting streak, as everyone knows. This is a huge topic even in the United States. It’s being broadcast nationwide right now. So, from the pitcher’s point of view, he’s bound to be under a lot of pressure, but he still throws a bait ball on a full count? You can’t do that without a considerable amount of confidence in your pitch.]

[I see. Anyway, in the top of the first inning, Choi Su-won failed his first attempt at a 57-game hitting streak. But that’s okay. He’ll have at least three more chances to attack. And our Choi Su-won has a batting average of over .420, doesn’t he? I have no doubt that Choi Su-won will achieve a record renewal with the wishes of our 51 million South Korean citizens on his back.]

He wasn’t just wildly swinging because he was excited to see it break.

That slider was just a pitch that the guy could hit.

“It’s difficult, isn’t it?”

“You too?”

“Yeah.”

Normally, if the speed is fast, the angle becomes a bit smaller, and if the angle is large, the speed slows down. But the angle of a breaking ball that’s almost 90 miles per hour is like that, and even the tunneling [the illusion of a pitch coming straight before breaking] section is very long. This is really close to a magic ball.

But that doesn’t mean that Tanner Houck is untouchable today.

– Clang!!

[He hit it!! A pulled hit!! Between 1st and 2nd base!! Trevor Story!! Ah!! He missed it!! A hit that gets through between 1st and 2nd base!! Tyler Vett is safely on 1st base.]

Tyler Vett, a left-handed batter, easily pulled Tanner Houck’s pitch.

Certainly, that crazy slider is a magic ball that completely fools right-handed batters, but it’s hard to exert that much power against left-handed batters.

– Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

Aaron Judge, a right-handed batter, swung his bat coolly in vain.

“This is a bit difficult, isn’t it?”

“Right?”

“It doesn’t seem like it was usually this much. It feels like the ball is bending later today.”

“I think it’s because the speed is about 1 or 2 miles faster than usual. His slider was originally about 87 miles? 88 miles?”

“Is that so?”

Anthony and Aaron picked up their gloves and mitts, talking about Tanner Houck’s slider today. Normally, I would probably join in and share stories with them. But unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury to do that today.

[Bottom of the 1st inning. The score is 0:0. Our Choi Su-won is on the mound.]

[He’s appeared in 16 games so far, pitching 82.1 innings. His ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] is 3.94!! Choi Su-won is showing a fairly good performance. Of course, locally, Choi Su-won’s batting performance is so overwhelming that some say it would be better to focus on hitting. That a hitter who will go down in history is wasting time throwing the ball. But in fact, many fans who watched the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] last year will know. There were often such stories in the KBO at the beginning of the season.]

[Yes, that’s right. But in the end, when the season was over, Choi Su-won recorded a great record of 159.2 innings and 2.93. His ERA+ [ERA adjusted for the ballpark and league average] was 139, which is among the top ten in the league.]

[I think our Choi Su-won can definitely show that kind of performance in the major leagues as well. Actually, if you look at it recently, his performance is getting better little by little.]

I shift my mental gears. Well, people can’t really change modes like machines, but it definitely has some effect. Image training isn’t there for nothing, and mindset isn’t important for nothing.

[Alex Verdugo, the leadoff hitter for Boston, is at the plate!! He’s 32 years old this year. He’s a player who’s a bit familiar to Korean fans, right? Yes, he’s the Alex Verdugo who was the number one prospect in the Dodgers 10 years ago.]

[He’s a hitter with a considerable advantage in contact, and his career batting average is 0.296. He’s a player to be careful of.]

Not long ago, when I was coming to Boston through Domingo Rodriguez, I requested another meeting with Pedro Martinez.

“He said he’d see us if he has time after the series?”

“After the series?”

“Yeah. We’ll probably have time after the series anyway, right? We have the first game right away without a day off, the second game is your start, and the third game is my start.”

That was true.

But for some reason, it sounded to my ears like he was going to watch my start and then decide whether to meet me or not. If I didn’t properly digest what he had taught me before, he wouldn’t bother meeting me. Something like that?

First pitch.

Outside high course.

– Bang!!!

“Strike!!!”

The umpire’s hand went up.

The experience from the previous at-bat was correct. The umpire is definitely being very generous with the outside course today.

Alex Verdugo took his stance again.

Second.

It was a similar course curve.

Verdugo’s eyes scanned my ball.

The guy’s bat, which had been flinching, stopped once again.

– Bang!!!

“Strike!!!”

A curve with a slight change in the axis of rotation with finger tricks. It was a ball that dug into the body based on the left-handed batter Verdugo, so it could have been a hanging ball if I made a mistake. But I thought he wouldn’t recklessly attack the outside curve on a 0-1 count, and that thought was correct.

Ball count 0-2.

Alex Verdugo waited for the third ball.

Again, the same course.

Ah, but this time it was a bit more towards the center.

And the guy swung his bat greatly at that ball without hesitation.

– Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

A curve that drops sharply.

It was a ball that fell much deeper than the curve that showed lateral movement earlier.

[A swing and a miss!! Choi Su-won struck out the leadoff hitter with three pitches!!]

[Wow, as I said before, Alex Verdugo is a hitter with very good eye contact and very good contact ability. But our Choi Su-won almost made such a player look foolish. It’s a very good start.]

[As I said before, Choi Su-won’s pitching developed at a very fast pace when he was playing in the KBO, and that’s the same in the United States now. A starting pitcher who is now twenty years old has an ERA of 3.94? That’s actually amazing.]

[That’s right. Of course, even I would feel a little frustrated if a hitter who hits .423/.472/.934 with a 56-game hitting streak has games where he doesn’t play because he’s a starting pitcher in the late 3s, but in the end, isn’t that Choi Su-won’s choice? It’s not like one side is completely underperforming either.]

[Now, Trevor Story, the second batter, is at the plate. He’s 35 years old this year. When I think of him as a shortstop who once dominated the league, I feel that time is ruthless, but he’s still showing a high level of power, recording a record of 0.261/0.334/0.441.]

On the 4th pitch.

Story, who touched a curve that slightly went outside, was dismissed with a ground ball to the infield.

Two outs.

Rafael Devers at the plate.

Boston’s strong hitter, who can be expected to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases every year, and especially recorded 40-30 last year, is at the plate. What should I say? He’s a guy who strangely feels likable without giving anything.

Of course, just because I feel likable doesn’t mean I have any intention of giving him a good ball.

A fastball of 99.4 miles per hour on the inside high course.

– Bang!!!

The umpire’s hand didn’t go up.

Ball count 1-0.

The guy calmly waits for my second ball.

Same course on the inside. A curve that drops sharply.

– Clang!!!!

Crazy?

The guy’s bat perfectly hammered my curve.

The right field fence.

A shot that stretches out.

My finger pointed at the shot.

And following that finger.

No, maybe a little ahead of my finger, Tyler Vett ran.

Damn it.

If he was a right-handed batter, the Green Monster [the nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park] would have firmly blocked the pulled shot. This guy is uselessly a left-handed batter. Fenway Park has a strangely shaped stadium, so there was a pole called Pesky’s Pole on the right fence, and the distance is only 90 meters [295 feet]. Of course, the distance to the fence is about 116 meters [381 feet] because the fence is around it, but if you’re lucky, you can hit a home run with a distance of 90 meters.

I cheered for Vett’s good defense with a desperate heart.

He’s been gaining and losing weight as the season goes on, but now that I see him, his belly seems to be slightly bulging, which makes me feel uneasy.

If he misses the shot, it’s all because of that belly…

[He caught it!! Tyler Vett!! A great sliding catch!!]

“Good!!!”

I gave him a thumbs up, filled with the feeling that I never doubted your defense would succeed from the beginning.

End of inning.

I shut down Boston’s lineup without giving up a run.

***

A composition that is not much different from yesterday.

The only thing that has changed is the time.

Yesterday’s game was a day game in Boston, so it was a complete dawn time in Korea, but today’s game was at 7 pm, so it was 8 am Korean time, which was not a bad time to watch the game.

“Nice!!!!”

“Wow, what can’t Su-won do? Huh? He’s not only good at hitting, but he’s also good at pitching like this. My son came home drunk again yesterday. No, I should have somehow attached him to Su-won when he said he was going to play baseball back then.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve been bragging about your son going to K University until your mouth is worn out, and what baseball.”

“Well, that’s… Anyway, there are no hits until the 2nd inning, so is that perfect? Is that right?”

“Mr. Park!! Cancel it quickly!! Spit, spit!! Do it quickly.”

“Ah, why?”

“If you say that rashly, it’s a failure flag. It’s a famous jinx.”

“Ah, really? Then cancel it. Cancel it!!”

Is it because I’ve filmed it once before?

The expressions and conversations of the people caught on camera are more natural.

“Anyway, it’s the top of the 3rd inning now, so it’s his second at-bat, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Sigh… He needs to hit one to watch the game comfortably.”

Top of the 3rd inning, 0:0, one out, no runners.