The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 348

348. End of the Season (5)

‘He’s definitely got a strong mentality.’

Yankees manager Jeff Clark was a renowned figure who had secured four rings with three different teams over the past 20 years. As a manager, his specialty was identifying a player’s condition and providing appropriate care, a role often referred to as a ‘babysitter.’ Had it been the 20th century, he might not have been hailed as such a great manager.

However, in modern baseball, where Ivy League graduates sit at desks devising strategies, the most crucial ability for a manager is precisely this ‘babysitting’ skill.

And from his perspective, Choi Su-won was an incredibly impressive guy, almost unbelievable for someone just twenty years old. It wasn’t just about his skills. Of course, watching his batting prowess, it was clear that his monstrous talent was matched by a level of experience that seemed impossible for a twenty-year-old. But even more daunting was his mentality. A mere twenty-year-old carrying the weight of a century’s worth of records on his shoulders, continuing the season without faltering? Compared to that, a player going wild for a game or two, or even a month or two, was nothing more than a cute display.

Of course, he wasn’t without his flaws.

Compared to his monstrous batting ability, his pitching was definitely lacking. While his batting seemed to transcend time with its monstrous capabilities, his pitching was more akin to that of a promising prospect who might one day become an ace.

Yet, Choi Su-won had achieved a ‘perfect’ game. Many attributed it to ‘luck,’ but Jeff Clark knew that even such luck ultimately required underlying ‘skill’ to be drawn upon.

And the unwavering mindset Choi Su-won was displaying on the mound was precisely that ‘skill’ that allowed a mere ‘seed of a future ace’ to achieve a perfect game.

A rookie who reassures his fielders after their errors, instead of getting annoyed or angry. It wasn’t just about preventing further mistakes from the fielders. The pitcher himself remained truly unshaken.

Even when he had declared that he would give Choi Su-won more rest days, the reaction was telling.

Even if he was a rookie, any player performing as well as Choi Su-won would have protested more vehemently, logic aside, and might even have posted an unhappy message on social media. But Choi Su-won listened to his explanation and accepted it.

Jeff Clark suspected that Choi Su-won himself might have been aware of his own fatigue. It was a difficult thing for a young, adrenaline-fueled player to recognize, but the thought that ‘maybe Choi Su-won would’ came to mind precisely because he was a player who defied his age.

-Clack!!!

Victor Cruz, the catcher the Boston Red Sox had acquired during Washington’s fire sale, pulled Choi Su-won’s dropping curveball.

But the hit was weak and off-center. Mike Trout chased after the ball.

A slightly early read.

It was the ‘ball drop prediction’ ability that Mike Trout, once criticized for being a center fielder whose actual stats didn’t match his flashy plays, had acquired through relentless effort. And it was also the ability he needed to correct most urgently.

It was fine in his younger days.

Because if it hit the mark, it allowed him to catch balls that seemed impossible to catch. And even if it was slightly off, he would still catch the balls he was supposed to catch, and the ones he couldn’t catch were always out of reach anyway. But now that Mike Trout was 37 and his physical abilities had declined, that ability had become one that made him miss balls he should have caught, while still not being able to catch the impossible ones.

But this time, it wasn’t bad. No, in fact, it was good 7 or 8 times out of 10. Accurate prediction. Mike Trout caught the ball with ease.

Out.

Top of the 4th. Runner on first.

The inning ended without incident.

***

Sigh…

Was it because the Yankees’ defense felt a bit too much like the Marlins today? Mike Trout, holding down the center, was just too awesome.

“Nice play.”

“Nice play, my foot… This is just what you’re supposed to do when you’re wearing a glove and standing on the field.”

He’s just a beacon of light. A beacon.

Still, considering how my heart used to pound whenever a ball went towards Lee Joo-hyuk last year, today’s game is a breeze.

As soon as I came down from the mound, I grabbed my batting gear, picked up my bat, and headed to first base, no, the batter’s box.

[Top of the 4th. No outs, no runners. The batter is Choi Su-won. It’s Choi Su-won.]

[In the top of the 1st, the Boston Red Sox chose an intentional walk. Ah, but this inning, they’re preparing to compete.]

[Considering Chris Sale’s performance in the previous innings, and with no runners in scoring position, it wouldn’t be good to walk Choi Su-won even in this situation.]

39 years old this year.

Well, just saying that much is enough to explain how great the pitcher on the mound is. Because playing as a starter in the big leagues until the age of 39 means something.

In his younger days, he was a pitcher who could be discussed for the Hall of Fame, and even after aging, he had consistently played as a key part of the starting rotation.

Moreover, he seemed to have eaten something wrong this year, showing skills comparable to what he had displayed in 2024 before his FA [Free Agency] renegotiation. Some Boston fanatics were even burning the hope circuit, saying that if Sale could show a season like this two or three more times, he might even be able to enter the Hall of Fame after retirement. Of course, personally, it seemed like an impossible delusion.

Anyway, the important thing is that Chris Sale’s performance this year was great enough to make them have such ‘delusions.’

Chris Sale threw the first pitch.

A 93.3 mph fastball.

The fastball from the left-hander, coming from a height of nearly 2 meters and arms to match, was definitely fierce. My father once said that it resembled that of Randy Johnson, one of the most romanticized pitchers of his era, and there was definitely something to that.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!!”

My timing was late.

I tilted my head, feeling like the ball was faster than I thought. Then, I waited for the second pitch in the batter’s box.

[Ah, the fastest pitch of the game so far!! Choi Su-won’s bat was slightly late.]

[Choi Su-won is a player who hits even 100 mph pitches very well. This is probably evidence that Chris Sale’s pitch is much faster than the speed displayed.]

[Yes, with a height of nearly 2 meters, long arms, and being a left-hander, the distance the pitcher moves the ball in his hand from 18.44 meters becomes longer, so the speed at which the ball arrives is naturally shorter than the displayed speed. Moreover, the time a batter usually judges the ball is from the moment the pitcher releases it, so the longer the distance the ball travels in the pitcher’s hand, the shorter that time becomes.]

The second pitch.

A fastball that slightly drifted outside.

-Bang!!!

Victor Cruz subtly moved his mitt. Of course, it didn’t work.

“You’re letting that go by? You think I’m going to throw you a slider, even though you’re a right-handed hitter? Or what? Are you waiting for a changeup?”

“Huh? Whose voice is that? Sounds familiar. Have we met before?”

“Victor. Victor Cruz. We met in Washington before.”

“Ah!! That catcher from back then. The guy who made Stan throw a fastball down the middle, gifting me a double? Wow, nice to see you. You moved teams too? Then how about another gift this time? Something bigger than a double.”

“……”

He shut his mouth.

The third pitch.

Another fastball.

‘Gotcha.’

I only showed a slight practice swing, and rejected one ambiguous fastball, but he seemed to really think I was aiming for a breaking ball. Well, maybe his fastball is just really good today.

Anyway, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.

The important thing is that I was aiming for the fastball.

-Crack!!!

I pulled the bat perfectly.

Chris Sale’s 93 mph fastball definitely felt as fast as another pitcher’s 98 mph fastball, or even faster. In other words, it was the perfect ball for me to hit.

The ball soared and went cleanly over the fence.

[Home run!! It’s a home run!! Choi Su-won’s 44th home run of the season!! Choi Su-won hits a solo home run that shakes up the tight 0-0 game!!]

[Chris Sale is smiling wryly. Well, that was 93.6 mph, his second-fastest pitch of the season. And the course was really exquisite. Even when I did everything I could in my active days, if I got hit like that, I would laugh out of frustration rather than anger.]

[With this, his home run count is only 3 behind Wander Franco, the league’s home run king. And 5 behind Alexander McDowell, the leading home run hitter in both leagues.]

[He’s really an amazing player. He probably has 30 fewer games and almost 100 fewer at-bats, but even if the rate stats are like that, he’s catching up this much.]

Chris Sale faltered a bit.

Or maybe it’s just the second time through the lineup, and our hitters are slowly adapting to Chris Sale.

Hits, hits, a walk, an outfield fly.

An attack that felt like it would create a big inning continued.

The score was 2-0.

One out, runners on 1st and 2nd.

Austin Battle, the 7th batter, struck out swinging, and Jose, the 8th batter, cleanly finished the inning with an outfield fly.

It’s not a new thing for Jose to pour cold water on the plate [end a rally], but today it particularly bothered me. Was it because he barely reacted to that foul fly today, even though he had been almost flawless behind the mask until now? Well, it’s almost September, so it’s time to get tired.

-Bang!!

“Strike!!”

Still, he receives the ball well.

Considering that my curve is quite difficult to receive, the fact that he doesn’t drop it at all… No, wait a minute. I was a bit confused because I was pitching in a very Marlins-like environment today. This is the big leagues. A catcher who hits below .200 should be great at defense. Especially for a team like ours that’s running at a record-breaking pace.

The pitching continued.

A moderate desire for strikeouts and appropriate compromise.

One strikeout and one ground ball.

I was a little sweaty after covering first base.

And Trevor Story, the 2nd batter, came up to bat again.

Carefully, I threw the ball.

Strike, ball, ball, foul.

And the fifth.

The next batter is Rafael Devers.

The most difficult batter in today’s game. I put all my heart into throwing my best ball today, hoping to face him in a clean situation with no runners on base, and after a good rest in the next inning.

A dropping curveball thrown with the determination to get a swinging strikeout.

It was truly a waterfall.

-Whoosh!!!

Of course, the batter’s bat couldn’t touch the ball.

Good.

Up to here…

The accident happened after that.

[Ah!! It’s passed!!]

Jose dropped my ball for the first time this season.

Thus, with two outs in the top of the 5th and a runner on 1st.

Rafael Devers, the 3rd batter for the Boston Red Sox, with an 11-year, $331 million contract and two MVP runner-up finishes, came up to bat.

It was his third at-bat of the game.