The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 329

329. All-Star Break (2)

There were several reasons why I declined to participate in the Home Run Derby, but the biggest reason was my batting form.

-Clang!!!

“Good!! It’s getting better now.”

“Really? Already? Then should I have participated in the Home Run Derby?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Cristian Sanchez, my recently hired hitting instructor, shook his head.

“I know you’re incredibly talented. But you’ve experienced it for the past few weeks. Once it’s messed up, you suffer like crazy.”

Personally, I was really confident in my hitting.

And this confidence was something I absolutely had to have. As I’ve said several times before, I was already a Hall of Fame-bound home run hitter destined for first-ballot induction before I went back in time. Before my regression, I was confident that I was one of the top ten experts in the world when it came to hitting theory.

Even now, the information I have is future information that has lapped the league’s trends twice over. Maybe right now, I’m the best hitting expert in the world?

Moreover, for the two years before my regression, I adjusted my hitting only during the off-season, hardly touching it during the season. So, I didn’t bother to find an expert or put in the effort to adjust my batting form. I just got physical adjustments from Jack Washington and corrected errors in my batting form myself. Also, some of the information I had didn’t match the current mainstream theories, and I didn’t want to bother explaining it while getting training.

It was a stupid thought.

Even the world’s best singers take lessons once or twice a month. It’s a natural thing. An outsider’s perspective is always much more objective than the person involved. After the last game against Boston, I felt like my batted balls weren’t rising as much, and that feeling wasn’t a delusion.

The 9 home runs at Coors Field [known for its hitter-friendly environment] had a much stronger impact on me than I thought. Of course, I was aware of it, and I even added two more home runs in Boston afterward. But ridiculously, that was even more of a problem. I tried to adjust from -1 back to 0, but it slightly deviated and became +0.2.

Adjusting that while playing season games every day was quite a tough schedule. Fortunately, there were no pitching appearances until the All-Star break. If there had been pitching appearances, my consecutive hit record might have been interrupted.

“Have a good All-Star game. And keep getting your batting form checked at least once every two weeks. Swan, don’t forget you’re still growing.”

“Okay.”

193.2cm.

This number didn’t just mean I grew taller.

Yes, I grew ‘more’ than before my regression.

Before my regression, my height was 193.1cm.

Of course, there might be a margin of error of about 0.1cm, but considering I’m only 20 years old now and still have room to grow for at least 3 or 4 more years, it’s a foregone conclusion that my height will be much taller than before my regression.

All that’s left is to eat well and gain weight.

Oh, and my hitting these days.

So, from April to June, 3 months.

1. 462
2. 200
3. 534

These are my monthly OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging] records.

In the last month of June, only Babe Ruth had a higher record than me in the history of the league, and in April, only Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Barry Bonds had higher records.

Isn’t it a bit strange?

Of course, I was a Hall of Fame-bound home run hitter. Putting aside humility, if you only consider pure hitting ability, even if it’s hard to count on fingers, if you use your toes, my name would be in there. But if the comparison is with Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, and Barry Bonds, this is too high.

So, I thought, wasn’t this a bit of a fluke?

Even if my hitting skills are the same as before my regression, my body’s completion is lacking.

But that wasn’t it.

My physical completion was much less than in my 34-year-old days. But my brain functions, such as reflexes and dynamic visual acuity, were quick enough to cover that. Thanks to that, when looking at the physical aspect, I was just a bit different from my prime. In terms of total performance, it was okay to say that my performance hadn’t decreased significantly.

Of course, even so, the overwhelmingly superior hitting performance compared to before my regression cannot be explained by that alone. After all, if the body’s performance is similar, the results should be similar as well.

Surprisingly, the answer was simple.

My hitting technique at this point is more refined than it was at 34 before my regression.

At 34, I thought I couldn’t improve technically anymore, but that wasn’t it. That was just the limit for that body.

Ah, of course, all of these thoughts are just my ‘guesses.’ I can’t go anywhere and start a consultation by saying, ‘I actually went back in time.’ Maybe it’s really a fluke, and my performance will drop starting next month. But it’s better for my mental health to come up with even this kind of nonsense theory than to think that my current performance is a fluke and will drop anytime.

Two days until the All-Star game.

My body and mind have been refreshed.

***

“Then, please take care of it.”

“What do you mean by ‘please’? This is what an agency is supposed to do. But are you really okay with that? Even if you arrive together, we can bring them separately.”

“No, we’re bound to run into each other anyway. Since we’re arriving together, it’s good to see each other’s faces in advance.”

There are a total of three acquaintances coming from Korea to watch this All-Star game.

My father, my father’s friend Daebak Galbi’s [a famous Korean BBQ restaurant] Uncle Kang-doo, and Eun-jin.

At first, I thought about giving Eun-jin a plane ticket too.

But I felt like our relationship wasn’t exactly established yet, and it didn’t feel right for me to give her a plane ticket as a gift. I was hesitating when she said she had already made a reservation, so I thought, ‘Great, that worked out well.’

But who knew that she would make a mistake in booking the ticket and end up taking the next flight. The effort I put into booking my father and Uncle Kang-doo on the flight after Eun-jin’s was wasted.

What should I do? Should I ask Ted to pick up only my father? Or should I just spend time with my father and send Eun-jin back after just watching the game? I seriously thought about it, but at some point, I realized it wasn’t even a problem to worry about. ‘Yes, now that it’s come to this, let’s just go with the flow.’

Yes, of course, it will be a bit awkward.

Before my regression, my father strongly opposed my marriage, and even if Eun-jin has feelings for me, there’s no way she can communicate with my patriarchal father.

Yes, it definitely should have been like that.

“Oh, Father. Really? Su-won did that when he was young?”

“Of course. His face and eyes turned red. He said he got hit by three home runs today.”

“I thought Su-won would be chic even if something like that happened. He was different when he was young?”

“No, he still gets upset inside. He just learned how to manage his expression.”

Park Eun-jin and my father, who came into the hotel suite, were strangely warm in their conversation. And why is my father’s face so affectionate? Was my father someone who could even make that kind of expression?

“Oh my, our Choi player. I’m having a great time in my old age thanks to Choi player. A Major League All-Star game. And in the best seats, they say?”

“No, I’m just glad I can repay Uncle even a little bit.”

“Tsk!! Repay!! This Unc.le. is very disappointed to hear that. Oh, right. And this. It’s braised short ribs [Galbi Jjim, a popular Korean dish]. I told her there’s much better stuff in America, but my wife insisted on packing this for Choi player when she heard he was coming to see you.”

“No, I’ve been thinking about braised short ribs when I pitch. Thank you.”

While Uncle Kang-doo, who came with my father, was making a bit of a fuss, Eun-jin and my father were having a pretty good conversation.

“Should we have dinner? I already made a restaurant reservation…”

“No, no. Your dad and I have a favorite restaurant in LA, so we finished talking about eating there on the way here.”

“Oh, then let’s go there together.”

“Tsk!! A public figure can’t!! You have an important game coming up the day after tomorrow. It’s not good for people to see you walking around in such public places. Just order room service here. I heard Eun-jin is an idol too. It’ll be just as hard for her to walk around, so you two can eat here together.”

“Yes? No, you don’t have to go that far…”

“No. It’s been a while since I came abroad with a friend for something other than work, and I want you two to spend some time together. I’ll go out to eat with Kang-doo. Let these two have dinner here together.”

What is this situation?

***

“Kyung-shik, you must be happy?”

“What about?”

“No, it’s like, your son is doing so well in America. And the girl who will be your daughter-in-law is so kind and considerate these days.”

“Daughter-in-law, my foot. They’re just dating and breaking up at that age.”

“Oh my. Don’t say things you don’t mean. Besides, don’t you know that Su-won deliberately arranged this meeting?”

Park Kang-doo knew his old friend well.

He looks blunt, but when he’s in a good mood, his nostrils get slightly bigger, and he casually blurts out things he doesn’t mean.

Yes, just like now.

“Still, she seems to have a good personality, so I like that one thing about her.”

“What do you mean just her personality? She’s also a very beautiful woman with clear features, so she suits Su-won perfectly.”

“Well, that’s true. But her job is a bit…”

“Why? What’s wrong with being an idol?”

“No, she worked so hard to get there. Would she quit that and come to America to marry Su-won?”

“They must have already thought about that on their own. And these days, those stars are only in Korea for a short time when they’re active. And they can appear on TV more often with parenting shows and stuff. And the internet broadcasting is so good these days, it’s different from our time.”

He had always been concerned about not giving his son the love of a mother because he divorced when he was young. So, he didn’t want to let him be independent. Unlike others, he wanted to give him as much love as possible for as long as possible. He was afraid he would fly away if he blew on him, and he would break if he held him too tight. He was truly a child in his arms.

Then his son had already achieved something greater than what he had achieved in his entire life. How did he grow up so much? He’s only twenty-one years old. No, in today’s terms, he’s only twenty years old.

If a woman comes all the way to America, which takes more than 12 hours by plane.

And if a woman is brought all the way here to be introduced to his father, there is no doubt about their feelings for each other.

“Is that so? Well, she’s definitely a beauty, so her grandchildren will be pretty later on.”

“What? You were pretending not to think anything, but you’ve already seen your grandchildren?”

“Ahem… Ah, stop talking nonsense and show me the restaurant.”

“Restaurant? What restaurant?”

“No, you said you knew a good restaurant.”

“Where would I know that? The only time I’ve been to America was 10 years ago when I came to Hawaii. Of course, I just said that to give you two some space. Hurry up and open your smartphone.”

***

All-Star Game.

Mr. Baseball is on the mound.