The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 359

Division Series (3)

Watching Choi Su-won’s steal, the longtime fans of the Yankees and Red Sox couldn’t help but think of one thing.

‘The Steal.’

This refers to the steal that Dave Roberts, now a famous manager, executed against the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series as a pinch runner.

It’s a significant event when a play earns the definite article ‘The’.

‘The Steal’ was a remarkable play where Roberts expertly widened his lead, prompting three pick-off attempts from the pitcher. He then broke through Jorge Posada’s throw and successfully stole second base. Adding to the moment, the pitcher on the mound was Mariano Rivera, a pitcher with a near-unanimous Hall of Fame voting rate, making it even more memorable.

However, objectively assessing the play, it’s debatable whether it was as impressive as other plays dubbed ‘The’. The reason this steal earned the title is that it ignited the Red Sox’s drive to break the 84-year-old Curse of the Bambino [a superstition that the Red Sox were cursed after selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees].

And now.

Choi Su-won’s steal, considered purely as a play, didn’t seem as spectacular as Dave Roberts’ ‘The Steal’. Even in terms of importance, Choi Su-won’s steal—a runner trying to close a one-point gap in the top of the 4th inning with the score 2-0—was less critical than Dave Roberts’ steal, which represented the tying run in the bottom of the 9th with the score 4-3.

But it was enough to stir up memories.

Even the subsequent steal to 3rd base following the steal to 2nd base.

Most Yankees fans watching in New York, and a brave minority who traveled to Boston, cheered.

And in the Yankees dugout:

“He’s really doing this.”

“I know.”

“Volpe, are you seeing this too?”

“No way. It’s crazy that even worked in the first place. What? Chris Sale is a little more amped up than usual today, so his pitching motion feels like a jumbled mess instead of smooth? And you’re saying you can time the steal by running between the hitches in his delivery? That doesn’t even make sense!”

“Well… hearing you explain it, I can almost understand how Choi Su-won hits so well.”

No outs, runner on 3rd.

Tyler Vett gripped his bat lightly.

The score is 2-0.

He noticed the pitcher glancing at 3rd base twice. Looking at 3rd, where there’s no real threat of a steal, suggests his focus is wavering.

Of course, it’s still a challenge.

Chris Sale was once a dominant pitcher, holding left-handed hitters to a season OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging, a common baseball statistic] of 0.360. Not just slugging percentage. His slash line [batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage] was 0.133/0.205/0.155. His OPS against was 0.360.

However, the man on the mound now is a shadow of that Chris Sale. No matter how much better he is today than he has been recently, he can’t overcome the effects of 15 years of wear and tear.

He focused.

Third pitch.

The ball comes.

-Swoosh!!!

Ball count 1-2.

He didn’t even flinch. The pitcher’s control is suffering because he’s preoccupied with the runner.

One mistake.

Yes, one mistake is all it takes.

Chris Sale continued pitching.

Foul, ball, ball.

And another ball.

He was clearly rattled, but he still avoided throwing it down the middle. Tyler Vett suppressed his frustration and took his base.

No outs, runners on 1st and 3rd.

Aaron Judge stepped up to the plate.

It wasn’t Aaron Judge’s first postseason encounter with the Boston Red Sox.

In the 2018 American League Division Series, Boston was the top seed, and the Yankees faced them as a wild card team. The Yankees were utterly humiliated. They not only lost by the largest margin in Yankees’ postseason history, but they also allowed the first cycle [hitting a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game] in Major League postseason history, and that cycle was the first ever hit in the new Yankee Stadium.

Only 10 years have passed, but Aaron Judge is the only player on the current roster who directly experienced that humiliation.

’14-2′

Aaron Judge repeated inwardly.

That was the score of the game representing the biggest postseason loss in Boston franchise history.

Chris Sale threw the ball.

With heat.

Aaron Judge didn’t bite.

Behind him was arguably the best player of his generation, and behind that player was a hitter in his prime.

He laid off bad pitches.

He waited for good pitches.

Aaron Judge executed that simple but difficult strategy perfectly.

And finally, on the fifth pitch.

Walk. With two steals and a walk, there were runners on 1st and 3rd. The runner on 1st even taunted Sale by taking three steps off the bag, mimicking the earlier steal.

And at the plate was Aaron Judge, one of the greatest home run hitters in history, and in the on-deck circle was a hitter who might be the greatest of this era, or perhaps the last 50 years.

So it would be too harsh to blame Chris Sale for one pitch slipping out of his hand.

-Clang!!!!

Even if the result is a towering home run that sails over the Green Monster [the nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park].

[Aaron Judge!! Hits it!! Home run!! A three-run home run!! A huge home run that clears the Green Monster!! Top of the 4th!! The Yankees finally take the lead!!]

[Chris Sale pitched well for 3 innings without giving up a run, but he ends up allowing the lead to change hands.]

[Personally, I think this home run was a direct result of Choi Su-won’s disruption.]

[Commissioner Park Dong-sik. It’s natural to favor your own team, but isn’t that a bit much?]

[Haha, it’s not about favoritism, but if you look at it, Chris Sale pitched really well until the 3rd inning. But after Choi Su-won got to 1st base and started causing trouble with his baserunning, the pitcher got rattled. Since then, he’s been walking batters, and now he’s throwing everything right down the middle, isn’t he? From the pitcher’s perspective, it’s inevitable that he’ll be 신경 쓰인다 (concerned/worried) when the runner acts like that. Look at this screen; Chris Sale is a left-handed pitcher, but he’s already looking at 3rd base three times. That shows how much Choi Su-won is on his mind.]

[Haha, yes. I understand. Anyway, the score is now 3-2. The Boston dugout. Still no movement in the bullpen. I guess they believe Chris Sale is a veteran and, since he pitched well for the first 3 innings, they’re going to give him a little more rope now that the bases are clear.]

[Well… some people say it’s easier for a pitcher to have the bases cleared with a home run than to have runners on base continuously. But from my personal experience, it’s very difficult to maintain your composure after giving up a lot of runs because of a home run. Boston is playing a do-or-die game right now. I wonder if this is the right choice…]

-Clang!!!

And Mike Trout simply swung at Chris Sale’s first pitch.

He once believed it was best not to swing at the first pitch, but that was in the past. Major League Baseball is constantly evolving, and Trout, who has been playing for nearly 20 years, has somehow managed to keep up with that evolution.

[A pushed hit!! Over the fence!!! It’s gone!! Home run!! Back-to-back home runs by Mike Trout!! Top of the 4th. The Yankees score 4 runs in an instant, and now the score is 4-2!!!]

The Boston dugout reacted late.

“Ah, damn it. Why does Jose still have the manager’s job? What the hell has he been doing since Game 1? He should have made a change earlier!! When there were no outs and runners on 1st and 3rd!! If not then, uh? He should have replaced him right away, even if he gave up a home run or two. This is a short series!!”

“Yeah, that’s right. The Yankees were strong this season. But, uh? We shouldn’t have been crushed like this. If we had used Garrett Whitlock in the first game and started using Juan Montero from the second game, the pitchers would have had enough rest. Uh? Their second starter against our first starter. Their third starter against our second starter. We could have competed with that kind of matchup.”

The Boston fans who filled Fenway Park voiced their frustration.

Of course, manager Jose was also upset that the starters for the series were decided by the front office, and his only mistake was trusting Chris Sale, who had shown flashes of his former self in the first 3 innings, but there was nothing he could do. The reason baseball managers get paid so much is to be a 욕받이 [scapegoat] in times like this.

[Brian Mata is coming to the mound. Brian Mata, who had a decent season as a 5th starter. I think Garrett Whitlock would be a better choice at this moment, but it would be a bit 부담 (burden/pressure) to pull the player who is scheduled to start tomorrow.]

[Well. I still think it would have been right to put Garrett Whitlock, who has a lot of experience, in this situation and send Brian Mata out as the starter tomorrow. I’ll say it again, but this is a short series. Boston is on the brink. It’s not time to think about tomorrow. We have to give it our all and hang on right now.]

The game continued.

Dennis Martinez and Austin Battle. Angel Cabrera and Oswald Wells.

And Anthony Volpe.

Two outs, bases loaded.

Choi Su-won came to the plate again.

***

[Top of the 4th. The game is dragging on, and with two outs and the bases loaded, the score is 5-2. Choi Su-won is at the plate.]

[Well, the Boston dugout. They must be in a tough spot right now. This is the worst possible situation. Choi Su-won with the bases loaded. It’s risky to issue an intentional walk because the hitters coming up next have all been performing well this inning. Tyler Vett got on base with a walk, and Aaron Judge and Mike Trout hit back-to-back home runs, right?]

[Ah, no intentional walk. They’re going for the out.]

The stadium was silent.

Brian Mata on the mound wiped the sweat from his forehead. He’s a good pitcher who had a solid career as a starter for Boston even before I regressed [referring to the narrator’s ability to go back in time]. The sample size is small, but I think his numbers against me weren’t bad either, his OPS against was around 0.8.

Of course, that Brian Mata, with an OPS against me of around 0.8, was a complete pitcher in his prime. But now he’s a 24-year-old 애송이 [greenhorn/rookie] trembling on the mound because of my reputation?

Yeah, this wasn’t going to be difficult.

The ball that was 몰린 [grooved/centered] over the heart of the plate on the 3rd pitch.

-Clang!!!

[He hits it!! Choi Su-won!! Left-center!! A huge hit!! It’s fast!! Is it going over!! Is it going over!!]

Ah, damn it.

This would have been a guaranteed home run in any other stadium…

[The ball hits the top of the Green Monster and bounces off!! In the meantime, the 3rd base runner and the 2nd base runner both score!! The 1st base runner also rounds 3rd and heads for home!!]

[Choi Su-won!! Choi Su-won with a bases-clearing 3-RBI double!! The Yankees are now leading 8-2!!]

[Normally, that trajectory would have easily been a triple. It’s a shame. The ball was traveling too fast.]

[That’s right. Ah, if the launch angle had been a little higher, or if this wasn’t the Green Monster, that would have definitely gone over. What a shame.]

The last game of the Division Series.

17-4.

As I promised Eun-jin before coming to Boston, one day was all I needed to stay here.