The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 355

355. G.O.A.T (3)

A close look at KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] history reveals some records that make you go, “Huh?”

For example, a ‘shortstop’ with a .393/.452/.581 slash line and 84 stolen bases, or a pitcher who started 22 out of 39 games, completed 19 of them, and pitched 262.2 innings with a 0.99 ERA. Records like that.

Especially when you look at pitching records, there are some unbelievably good stats that seem like they would only be possible in the MLB’s [Major League Baseball] dead-ball era. But surprisingly, that’s a record from just 42 years ago, in 1986. I mean, 262.2 innings is possible because it was before the specialization of pitchers, but a 0.99 ERA? And it’s not even like it was a time of extreme pitching dominance; the average ERA was 4.17, and he alone had an ERA+ [Earned Run Average Plus, a normalized ERA where 100 is league average] of 307.1. His competitor also pitched well, with a similar number of innings and an ERA of 1.55, but even then, his ERA+ didn’t exceed 200, so you could really say he was an outlier.

So, why am I bringing up this long-winded story at this point?

It’s not to praise how great that guy in the KBO was, of course. Back then, the league was such that a 30-year-old Korean-Japanese player who had been playing in the NPB’s [Nippon Professional Baseball] minor league came over and pitched 427.1 innings in 60 games, with an ERA of 2.34 and an ERA+ of 143.4.

Of course, once you get to this point, people start talking about how that guy who recorded a 0.99 ERA did in Japan later in his career, but that’s not really my point.

In the early days of the league, I’m explaining how significant the gap created by the difference in talent was when most players were somewhere between true professionals and amateurs. Because, in a way, the record of Babe Ruth that I’m trying to surpass right now is also in that kind of realm.

The history of Major League Baseball is long. The first professional league was created in 1870, and the current two-league system was established in 1903. So, 1921 would be around 1998 in KBO terms? You could say it was after the league had matured to some extent.

However, considering the difference between early starters and late starters, and the difference between the dead-ball era and the live-ball era, 1921 in Major League Baseball wasn’t much different from 1986 in the KBO.

WAR [Wins Above Replacement] 14.1.

So, this absurd record of a player contributing 14.1 wins to the team on his own is only possible in that kind of situation.

In fact, the best player of the time, who had already received several MVP awards, took drugs, and the best pitcher of the time, who had already received several Cy Young awards, also took drugs. Moreover, the effects of the drugs were so amazing that they far surpassed human limits. Even Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, who were praised for the best performances in history, had a WAR of around 12 as their limit. Also, even Pedro Martinez’s 1999 and 2000, which are praised as the best performances in history, did not reach 12.

Now, you can get a sense of how superhuman the 13.7 or 13.4 WAR that I’m currently recording is. And you can also get a sense of how absurd it is to surpass that in just one game and head towards a WAR of 14. It’s literally a ‘theoretical possibility.’

Yeah, so this was more like a media campaign. A kind of show for maximum hype in the last game of the season.

Probably no one in the media really expected me to break Ruth’s record.

-Whooosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

[Goodness!! Choi Su-won!! Sixth strikeout of the game!! Top of the 4th. Choi Su-won gets his sixth strikeout and shuts out the inning!!]

It had already been a long time since I passed the required innings for this season.

Six strikeouts out of a total of 12 outs.

“Nice pitching.”

My teammates, returning to the dugout, all gave me a thumbs up. And Gerrit Cole, sitting in the middle of the dugout, also gave me praise with an uncharacteristically bright smile.

So, if you ask if my pitching was really amazing today, well, not really. It wasn’t bad, but striking out Major League hitters 50% of the time? Especially against the hitters of a team competing for second place in the Western Division? Absolutely not.

So, this is entirely······.

-Thwack!!!!

[Ah!!! He hit it!! Mike Trout!! Center left!! A deep fly ball!! Mike Trout!! Past first base to second!! At second!!]

“Safe!!”

[Safe!! He’s safe!! Mike Trout’s leadoff double!! Wow, the Yankees’ lineup is really showing what it means to be on fire.]

[The New York Yankees, who already scored 13 runs in the top of the 1st, have added a total of 6 runs through the bottom of the 5th, bringing the current score to a whopping 19:0. Maybe they’ll break the American League’s all-time record of 30 runs today.]

[Actually, the National League record is also from the dead-ball era, so you could say they’re aiming for the highest score since the establishment of both leagues. What’s a bit ironic here is that the existing record for most runs scored was a 30-run game by the Texas Rangers, the Yankees’ current opponent, against the Baltimore Orioles on August 23, 2007.]

[If the Yankees break the record today, it would be a really cruel day for Texas fans. It would be frustrating enough to miss the postseason. But to lose the most lopsided defeat in history and even have a record taken away by the team, it’s like being hit with everything at once. No matter how much they say it’s better to get all the hits at once, this is a bit too much.]

Yeah, the power of the lineup.

Of course, as a professional, you should always do your best to win. But professional players are also human. When you feel like there’s no hope, it’s never easy to thoroughly rely on that professionalism.

Moreover, they started with the desire to make it to the postseason as the third-highest winning percentage team if they won the last game, but after giving up 13 points from the first inning, it’s only natural that their burning desire would fade away in an instant.

“Is it 11 points left?”

“That’s right.”

“They’re really going to do it today?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“We only scored 17 points by the 7th inning back then. Today, it’s already the bottom of the 5th, and we already have 19 points. There are still 0 outs.”

“When you told me not to get ahead of myself back then, Anthony, it was 16 points in the 5th inning, so it was only a 3-point difference?”

“Yeah, we failed to score 30 points by just a 3-point difference.”

Mid-season.

I was slightly reminded of the game against the Colorado Rockies, where I hit 4 home runs. Back then, Anthony and I had a similar conversation to this.

The game continued even as our chatter continued.

“Oh? It looks like it’s going to be your turn?”

“Then it’s automatically your turn too.”

“I don’t know. It’s hard to guarantee that. Even if there are 2 outs left, it might not be my turn.”

“What, you punk?”

About 8 months since we first met in February.

We’ve been together, traveling all over the United States, averaging 27 times a month. And we’ll have to spend several years, or maybe even decades, like that in the future.

“Anthony.”

“Yeah?”

“No matter what, you’re the captain. What crazy team in the world would give the captain’s armband to a starting pitcher? Don’t you think?”

“······. I think when the story of the pitching captain comes up, you’re going to say, ‘What crazy team in the world would give the pitching captain to a designated hitter?’ Am I wrong?”

“Congratulations, Anthony. You’ve awakened to the superpower of seeing the future. Now, go out there and walk quietly to first base with that foresight, would you?”

“······.”

-Thwack!!!!

[He hit it!! Oswald Wells!! Between 2nd and 3rd base!! Shortstop!! The shortstop catches the ball and throws to 2nd!!]

“Out!!”

[From 2nd to 1st again!!]

“Out!!!!”

[Double out, change!! Ah, the Yankees. Bottom of the 5th. They only add 1 point, bringing the score to 17:0!! The game continues to the 6th, with Texas on the attack.]

[The game situations from other stadiums are also being shown on the scoreboard over there. As you can see, the Houston Astros have added 3 points and are leading the Seattle Mariners 7:3 in the top of the 7th. This will be even more discouraging for the Texas players.]

[That’s right. If both teams win, their winning percentage will be the same, but Houston’s postseason appearance is confirmed because they are ahead in the head-to-head record. In the end, Texas could only advance to the postseason if Houston lost and they won, but in reality, their chances of advancing to the postseason are almost gone.]

The wind was blowing so strongly behind my back that I wondered if it was okay.

I went up to the mound and adjusted my hat for a moment. And along with my hat, I also steeled my heart once more.

Even though they are discouraged opponents, they are still major leaguers. Any one of them could hit my ball over the fence.

I didn’t let my guard down.

-Thwack!!!!

And that was the same for our fielders. If you ask if it was a perfect pitching performance that completely blocked the opponent’s hits, that wasn’t the case. There were definitely runners on base.

-Bbooeong!!

[Ah, they’re not calling that a strike. Walk. It’s a walk.]

[It was a bit high, but if you look at the fifth ball earlier, it went in even higher than that. It’s a shame.]

I was trying to compete tough against a difficult hitter and ended up allowing a walk.

But I didn’t give up any runs.

That’s how I got through the 6th and even the 7th.

“······.”

“Manager.”

I had already thrown 27 pitches in the 7th, so my pitch count was already at 109.

Manager Jeff Clark sighed deeply.

As a famous manager known for understanding the condition of his players like a ghost, he probably already knew that I was a little tired. No, in fact, even someone who couldn’t grasp that like a ghost could easily guess it.

But at the same time, he was a player who had played in the big leagues for a whopping 11 seasons.

The fact that a player who played in the big leagues for 11 seasons can’t leave baseball even after retirement means only one thing.

Yeah, he loves baseball.

Even though he has enough money, he loves this damn life, where he has to wander around for more than 8 months out of the year, more than a cozy life with his family after retirement.

That’s why he has no choice but to worry.

Will he save the right chalk of a promising prospect?

Or will he nod to a great challenge that may never come again in history?

The other players in the dugout looked at Manager Jeff Clark.

And what their gazes meant was clear.

Manager Jeff Clark nodded.

On the premise that he could take me down at any time.

October.

The night was deep because the game was long. October in New York after sunset was chilly.

I got a flyout from the first batter.

And I allowed a walk to the second batter.

I could see Manager Jeff Clark flinching for a moment.

And I threw the ball to the next batter.

A fastball that digs low and deep inside.

As is always the case with baseball, the desired ball doesn’t go into the desired course at such an important moment.

A baseball that was concentrated in the middle.

The batter hit the ball with power.

-Thwack!!!!

Was it because I was losing strength?

The ball I threw sank more than I thought. The place where the batter’s bat hit was the top of the baseball, and naturally, the batted ball led to a ground ball.

Dennis Martinez, the $120 million second baseman for 5 years, did not miss this easy defense.

Anthony Volpe, the shortstop, also did not make a mistake in the movement he had practiced tens of thousands of times.

And Aaron Judge’s mitt was huge.

Double out.

I clenched my fist 멋지게 [meotjige – stylishly/coolly].

And the infielders ran towards me.

“Hey, hey. Wait a minute!! We still have 1 inning left!!!”

My voice was drowned out by the rush of the excited guys.

Damn bastards······.

That’s how we achieved a historic victory.

117 wins and 34 points in one game.

And somewhere between f and b of Babe Ruth’s in 1921.