The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 364

364. The Decisive Difference (2)

Shohei Ohtani was a giant of his era.

There were still many disagreements about whether his two-way pitching and hitting was truly efficient. Some even said that it was the result of the league office pushing him by changing the rules of baseball because of his marketability.

However, considering that baseball is ultimately a very old ball game, and that the rules have always been modified to make the game more enjoyable, the fact that his marketability could change the rules itself proves how immense Ohtani’s influence was on this era.

But even a giant of his era cannot always be at the top. All new players stand on the shoulders of giants to see further, and giants cannot see further than those standing on their shoulders.

34 years old. Too young to be called old. Even by the standards of baseball players, whose careers are shorter than most professions, he was still holding onto the tail end of his prime.

But Shohei Ohtani was clearly aging.

He challenged himself with two-way play every season. Yes, he had succeeded in two-way play last year, the year before, and even years ago, but it was always a challenge. He got injured and came back, then got injured again and came back again. He defied, time and again, the narrative that it was time to focus on either pitching or hitting.

The human body cannot recover like a game character and return to a state as if nothing happened. Injuries always leave traces, and they erode a person in the long run.

Yes, 34-year-old Shohei Ohtani was clearly past his prime.

A sports player aging does not only mean a decline in overall skill. The ratio of good days to bad days gradually shifts towards the bad. On good days, he still showed skills comparable to his prime, but on bad days, he started to show unbelievably poor performance.

Game 6 of the Championship Series against the New York Mets.

Shohei Ohtani, after being tagged for his second home run of the game by the same player, put his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky for a moment.

Despair? Frustration?

Disappointment in himself? No, no. Surprisingly, the emotion Ohtani felt now was ‘fun.’ Yes, it’s fun. Baseball is a surprisingly fun game.

Shohei Ohtani threw the best ball he could throw at that moment. Sometimes those balls didn’t go where he wanted them to go. But good results didn’t always come when they went where he wanted, and bad results didn’t always come when they didn’t.

You are not always rewarded for doing your best. But how boring is a life where you don’t do your best?

The giant of his era, who had dedicated his life to baseball, battled, struggled, and persevered against the Mets’ lineup.

5.1 innings, 4 runs.

One out, runner on first.

New York in October.

Despite the chilly weather, he, soaked in sweat, looked at the league’s best home run hitter, who had hit two home runs earlier.

62 home runs.

Shohei Ohtani, who had once been a league home run king, knew better than anyone how great that number was. Some people told him that if he focused only on hitting, he could break the 62 home run record. Well? Shohei Ohtani never thought that was ‘possible enough’.

‘Well, unless it’s something worth challenging.’

The batter in front of Ohtani now was a batter who had achieved that worthwhile feat at the young age of twenty. Considering that Shohei Ohtani himself was playing in the NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan’s highest level of baseball] at the age of twenty, it was truly a terrifying talent.

He looked somewhere with a confident expression.

‘Girlfriend?’

Yes, that’s the time for that. It’s an amazing time when the desire to show off leads to actual results.

The batter’s tendency was clear.

Swing no matter what.

That means there’s no need to throw a good ball.

A ball that misses on the first pitch.

-Thwack!!

Alexander McDowell didn’t swing.

The second ball barely passes by.

-Thwack!!!!

“Strike!!!”

Alexander McDowell briefly stepped away and adjusted his stance. Despite being full of the will to hit, he is not easily fooled. Then one more in a similar course.

-Clang!!!!

The batted ball stretches out. But it was a foul ball that went off the third base foul pole.

For a moment, his heart dropped. But he smiles leisurely. As if it had flowed exactly as intended.

The count is 1-2.

He makes a move.

A splitter that’s been going in relatively well today.

Originally, it was a ball he had sealed away. Because he feels it himself. Every time he throws this ball, he feels his elbow being worn away little by little. He has a feeling that he will never be able to have a long career if he throws this.

But so what?

He’s thirty-four now. Of course, elite players play until they are nearly forty, but he knows that he, who has been running at an absurd pace since he was a child, can never do that. At most 2 or 3 years. Well, considering other legendary players who miraculously plummeted in their 30s, he would have to praise himself for maintaining top-class major league skills until he was thirty-four.

A splitter that sticks close.

The baseball left Shohei Ohtani’s hand.

‘Ah······.’

Could it be that his fingers lost a little strength while throwing 5.1 innings? The ball didn’t go exactly where he wanted it to go at this timing.

It was like slow motion.

The ball flew, and Alexander McDowell at the plate watched the flying ball. His eyes read the trajectory that Ohtani’s splitter would draw. And his body begins to move at a slightly faster beat.

A strong footing.

In this slow-motion world, only Alexander McDowell’s bat moved like lightning. And before the ball even fell properly. Far ahead of where it had just begun to fall.

-Clang!!!!!

And everyone gathered here could know.

‘It’s over.’

The batted ball hit the highest fourth floor on the left outfield of Citi Field.

A huge cheer erupted.

6:5.

It was the moment when the home team, which had not been ahead even once since the game started, finally took a 1-point lead. And through that home run, Choi Soo-won, who was watching the game from the sky box, was able to solve one question.

Alexander McDowell raised his index, middle, and ring fingers towards somewhere.

“It was a number after all.”

National League Championship Series Game 5.

Shohei Ohtani stepped down with 5.1 innings and 6 runs.

***

Mets owner Steve Cohen jumped up from his seat.

“That’s right!! Alex!! That’s it!! I knew it!! I knew you would do this!!”

Numerous cameras captured him in such excitement. It was never easy to see Steve Cohen, the king of hedge funds and one of the most legendary investors of this era, so excited.

Many people watching him thought that he was so happy to escape the brink of the Championship Series that he couldn’t control his joy.

But that was not true. The point where Steve Cohen is feeling joy now is that he had already anticipated the huge chemical reaction that Alexander McDowell shows when he is entangled with Choi Soo-won. Of course, he didn’t predict that it would lead to a result of 3 home runs.

The very moment Shohei Ohtani was relieved.

Mets fans imagined Game 7. And the World Series against the Yankees that would follow. The World Series is a Subway Series [a World Series featuring only New York City teams]. It’s the first time since 2000.

World series of the New York, by the New York, for the New York.

This phrase, quoting the most famous line of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, was a phrase that decorated numerous New York dailies at the time.

A World Series of New York, by New York, for New York.

As they began to swell with hope, the LA Dodgers manager gave Shohei Ohtani a tight hug.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Isn’t it still in progress?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He was different from ordinary pitchers.

Stepping down was not the end. No matter how miserable his performance was, he had no time to bow his head to the ground in frustration. Of course, he thought it was a happy thing, not a difficult thing. Because he had a chance to fix what was wrong with his own hands.

The game continued.

The Mets’ bullpen squeezed every last bit of strength to protect the 1-point lead created by their fielders.

The Dodgers players didn’t squeeze every last bit of strength. They just did their best. Nevertheless, they were the overwhelming rulers of the National League. LA Dodgers.

It wasn’t easy for either team to score additional points.

Therefore, unlike the Kansas City Royals fans who filled Kaufman Stadium last time, the Mets fans who filled Citi Field did not leave their seats until the 7th and 8th innings.

8th inning.

Alexander McDowell hit another hit. It was also a one-RBI double that flew to the fence. It was an overwhelming performance that showed a strong will to grab the Mets by the scruff of the neck and advance to the World Series.

The Dodgers fielders were tenacious.

Super plays were not easily seen. But there were no mistakes either. If even one more mistake had been added here, they might have given up another point. They did not give up a single additional point except for the points they had to give up.

In the attack, there was no feeling of overwhelming the pitcher like Alexander McDowell.

But they didn’t miss the timing when they should have scored. The player who had to get on base got on base, and the player who had to send the ball to the outfield sent the ball to the outfield.

They brought the points they should have brought.

And the 9th inning.

Dodgers closer Ricky Gonzales came to the mound.

This young pitcher from the Dominican Republic blocked the Mets’ lineup with his unique overwhelming velocity.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

It’s okay.

There are still two outs left.

“Just one!! Let’s just get one.”

One step to the World Series.

Which player wouldn’t be on fire in this situation?

Moreover, behind them was a crazy hitter who recorded 4 hits, 4 at-bats, and 3 home runs in today’s game. No matter how crazy Ricky Gonzales’ velocity is, if they can pass the baton to that guy, they have a growing belief that they can do something.

-Clang!!!

Ground ball out.

Yes, not yet. There is one out left.

And if they can succeed in that one step······.

Alexander McDowell walked out to the on-deck circle.

-Whoosh!!

The overwhelming presence felt just by swinging the bat once. The fact that Ricky Gonzales on the mound was trying not to look at that side made him feel Alexander McDowell’s overwhelming presence even more.

The batter’s bat swirled through the air.

He barely touched the ball, but it went far beyond the foul line.

And the third.

-Clang!!!!!

A high fly ball. And a split bat.

There was no miraculous scene of flying the ball far away even in a situation where the bat was split like someone else’s.

The batted ball did not pass over the pitcher’s head.

“Out!!!”

8:7

Game over.

Alexander McDowell couldn’t leave the on-deck circle for quite some time.

2028 NL Championship Series.