The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 356

356. G.O.A.T (4)

The king of American sports is the NFL.

Or, considering that currency is the ‘unit of value’ that measures everything in modern society, perhaps the NFL is the king of world sports.

As of 2028, the estimated market size of the NFL is approximately $19 billion. When you consider that the combined market size of Europe’s Big Four leagues—the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A—and even France’s Ligue 1, only amounts to about $18 billion, you can grasp the NFL’s immense scale.

Even the number of games is impressive. The NFL has only 285 games compared to the 380 games in each of the major European soccer leagues (except for the Bundesliga). It truly deserves the title of king of sports.

MLB’s size is the second largest in the world after the NFL, and it’s one of only two single leagues (along with the NFL) that boasts a scale exceeding $10 billion. However, because baseball is a daily sport, the number of MLB games per year exceeds a whopping 2,430, resulting in lower revenue per game than the top four European leagues and even France’s Ligue 1.

October 6th.

The day of the last game between the Yankees and the Texas Rangers.

The NFL season, which had already started in September, was also in progress. Among the games was one that could be considered the biggest match of the regular season: the Dallas Cowboys versus the New England Patriots.

Currently, the most popular team in the NFL is undoubtedly the Dallas Cowboys, and their opponent, the New England Patriots, is also one of the top three in popularity. In MLB terms, it’s like a match between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

“Good heavens…”

Of course, it wasn’t the Super Bowl. No, it wasn’t even a playoff game. But that was also the case for the last game between the Yankees and the Texas Rangers. In fact, in the 21st century, it wasn’t uncommon for the final game of the World Series to be less popular than an NFL regular season game.

The sheer volume of articles pouring out.

The number of mentions on social media.

And the final viewership numbers tallied.

It wasn’t a matter of being ‘neck and neck, but slightly ahead.’

It was an overwhelming victory.

Yes, it was the moment when MLB won against the NFL for the first time in 50 years.

Of course, it was a special case. Although it was a regular season game, it was the final game, and there were so many records at stake for the most popular team in the major leagues.

But even with all sorts of reasons attached, a win is a win.

“Is this a global integrated indicator?”

“No. It’s a domestic indicator.”

Yes, it was even a domestic indicator.

Both the NFL and MLB are too domestic to be called global sports, but if you had to choose, MLB is slightly more global. After all, 35% of Major League players are of foreign nationality, aren’t they?

“The next page contains global indicators, including Asia.”

An absurd figure unfolded before Rob Manfred’s eyes. Rob Manfred, a lawyer who graduated from Cornell University and Harvard Law School, has always considered himself a very rational and reasonable person. In fact, anyone would see Rob Manfred as a very rational and reasonable person without much emotional fluctuation.

-Drip, drip.

Tears streamed down from Rob Manfred’s eyes.

Although it lags behind the NFL, the MLB Commissioner is still one of the most honorable positions a man can reach.

What can those who have already reached the top hope for?

Honor.

That’s why, since he first became the Commissioner of Major League Baseball 13 years ago, his goal has always been the revival of Major League Baseball. And the numbers in front of Rob Manfred’s eyes now were so overwhelming that he could dare to discuss the revival of Major League Baseball.

Of course, he knew it too.

You can’t dare to discuss the revival of a sport based on just one game created by a series of coincidences. But still, just for today, forgetting all that and being moved and happy with these numbers is a gift he can fully give himself, considering the past 13 years of hardship.

***

The United States, the most sports-loving country in the world, was turned upside down.

Of course, baseball is a local sport. But that local area was New York, and all the records achieved in New York in just one day are records etched in history books.

It wasn’t just internet traffic.

It wasn’t just the story on sports channels.

The biggest broadcasting stations in the United States, called the Big Four or Big Five [ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and sometimes The CW], all covered the story of Choi Soo-won one after another.

“What? You couldn’t get an appointment?”

“Yes, the postseason is starting soon…”

“You idiot!!! Does that mean they don’t eat or drink when the postseason starts? Time is something you can squeeze out if you want to. You didn’t request a studio appearance, did you?”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

“You stupid bastard? Get out of here right now. What are you doing? Get out right now? Go back and get another appointment. I don’t care what conditions you have to meet, get that appointment. Got it?”

“Yes, yes!! I understand.”

The producers (PDs) of the most popular shows were doing their best to get an appointment with Choi Soo-won. In fact, that wasn’t the only movement from the broadcasting stations.

“I heard there’s a documentary about Choi Soo-won. A documentary from his KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] days and a documentary filmed recently up to the All-Star Game.”

“Ah, yes. But those are all documentaries contracted with Netflix…”

“Damn it. Those guys again? Those non-broadcasting companies are so greedy for content… Contact them.”

“Do you think they’ll agree?”

“I’ll talk to the drama side. They wanted something from us too. Let’s negotiate with that. Oh, and put in an offer to the agency. Honestly, we’re the best at documentaries. Aren’t we?”

“That’s right.”

“Let’s take charge of this postseason documentary and make it amazing.”

Appearances on various broadcasts and commercials, as well as the rights to broadcast Choi Soo-won’s past appearances in the United States… Choi Soo-won was already treated as the best star in baseball, but now he had gone one step further.

Korea?

Korea is originally a country sensitive to external evaluations. And the biggest part of that external evaluation is the United States.

“Hey, isn’t Choi Soo-won going to have a biography soon?”

“Choi Soo-won’s biography? I guarantee there’s already a publishing company that has started filming. No, if you look closely, it might already be out.”

“No, you idiot. Not in our country. In America. America.”

“Choi Soo-won’s biography is coming out in America? No way, that’s too much.”

“Too much? Think about it. Did you see Babe Ruth’s biography when you were a kid?”

“Well, I did, but that’s because our country just churns out biographies of anyone. America might be a little different, right?”

“What’s different? They also have biographies of Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, huh?”

“Well, a biography and a ‘weeinjeon’ [a biography for children, often focusing on overcoming adversity] are a little different.”

“No, a biography for children *is* a ‘weeinjeon’. Besides, Choi Soo-won is already in the G.O.A.T [Greatest Of All Time] debate in baseball locally, so isn’t this 100%?”

“Is that so?”

If the Choi Soo-won craze in the United States was a sneeze, the Choi Soo-won craze in Korea was like a storm. And at the root of that storm was always the phrase ‘How is it in the United States?’ ‘What did a famous American say?’ ‘What is the local American opinion?’ These stories surprisingly gave Koreans a great sense of pride.

“No, well, honestly, if you only look at batting average, there isn’t a big difference between him and Yoshida.”

“You’re talking nonsense. No matter how much your arm bends inward [a Korean idiom for being biased], does it make sense to compare Masataka Yoshida to Choi Soo-won? Even if the OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging] is only 0.1 different, they are different class players, and their OPS is 0.381 different.”

“No, if you take out the 30 worst games Yoshida played, there isn’t that much of a difference. Choi Soo-won got those results because he was strictly managed.”

“You’re full of it. Why? Why don’t you say the same thing to Ohtani?”

“No, that’s… Hey, Mizukawa. You’re Japanese, so you should be cheering for Japanese players. Why are you taking the side of Koreans so much?”

“Same Japanese? If you look at it that way, Choi Soo-won is the same Asian. There’s no reason not to take his side. Besides, why does nationality matter when it comes to playing baseball well or not? What’s good is good. What’s bad is bad.”

On the other hand, the situation in neighboring Japan was a bit subtle.

The second largest professional baseball league in the world is NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball]. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that Japan boasts the largest scale in the world when it comes to amateur baseball. Japan is truly serious about baseball.

To them, Choi Soo-won was a truly shocking existence. A genius who further developed Shohei Ohtani’s pitching and hitting at the age of just twenty, which they had been touting as something that would not happen again for the next 100 years. Thanks to this, the Japanese public was divided exactly in half between those who denigrated Choi Soo-won and those who praised him.

But one thing is certain: Choi Soo-won’s name has become the hottest topic in Japan, which boasts the third largest market in the world.

“CHOI’s sales are skyrocketing.”

“See!! What did I say? I said it was right to beg to get him, didn’t I?”

“As expected, you have great insight, President.”

“That’s right.”

“But President, according to the contract, the royalty is 25% of sales, not profit. Is there something wrong with the translation?”

“…”

It wasn’t just Korea, the United States, and Japan.

Even in countries with less interest in baseball, the news of a record-breaking achievement in 107 years and the Yankees’ most wins in history was news worth covering, even in brief.

Yes, at least on October 6, 2028.

The name most talked about in the world was Choi Soo-won.

***

“Rice? Or bread?”

“Can I have both? What do you usually eat?”

“Rice on pitching days. Bread otherwise.”

“Then I’ll have bread too. Coffee?”

“I have to go out and buy it. Should I go?”

“No way. If you go out now, you won’t be able to come back home without being mobbed. Wait. I’ll buy it. Do you need anything else? You don’t drink coffee, of course, right?”

“Oh, I have my own drink. Oh, right. I’m out of condoms.”

“Hey!!! No. Not that kind of thing… I’m an idol.”

“I’m kidding. Just kidding. Hurry back. You’re going to eat bacon and scrambled eggs too, right?”

“Yeah.”

The last game of the season on October 6th was over.

There was a day off on the 7th, and on the 8th, 9th, and 10th, there would be a best-of-three wild card series between the division-winning team with the lowest winning percentage and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place wild card teams.

And from the 12th, the divisional series will begin in earnest.

In other words, our Yankees, who advanced to the postseason with the best overall record, are guaranteed a six-day break. Of course, it’s not like they’re just giving us a vacation, and we have to go out and do some training to loosen up, but considering that the purpose of the training itself is to maintain our condition, it’s almost a complete rest.

And luckily, Eun-jin came to the United States at this timing. Of course, she said she booked a hotel somewhere… Anyway, that’s how it happened.

She suspected a little whether I had my first experience because I was too skilled, but I was a pure virgin without any shame before the heavens. At least in this life. Anyway, the six days of giving both mental and physical rest passed really quickly.

Divisional Series Game 1.

Domingo went to the mound.