The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 375

Batter Just Pitches Well (1)

This year’s World Series was, in many ways, a match for the ages.

A showdown between the New York Yankees, the American League’s (AL) most popular team, who had been breaking various historical records, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who boasted the most popular player of this era.

The 42.31 million viewers recorded during Game 1 was the highest number for any World Series game, except for the 44.28 million viewers in 1978.

However, the average viewership for Game 2 and Game 3 plummeted to the 30 million range. Even considering that viewership typically dips for the middle games of a series compared to Game 1, this was a drastic drop.

According to experts—or, frankly, without even needing expert opinions—the reason was clear.

The Yankees were winning the games too easily. As a result, Dodgers fans, or those hoping for a Yankees defeat, were quick to change the channel.

And then came Game 3.

Finally, the Dodgers managed to secure a win.

“Ah, of course, this is just an estimate and not entirely accurate yet, but the final numbers shouldn’t be too far off.”

The employee added a comment, but Rob Manfred didn’t even hear it.

51.71 million.

A number that was difficult to achieve even during Major League Baseball’s (MLB) heyday in the ’70s and ’80s. It was the highest since Game 7 of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets.

“It seems that the previous game’s influence and Choi Su-won’s appearance in today’s game have both played a role. Of course, this is still an estimate, and we don’t know when the peak will be, so we’ll have to wait for the final average viewership. But I expect it to easily surpass 50 million.”

Choi Su-won was warming up on the mound on the office TV.

***

His condition was neither good nor bad. His mood was similarly neutral. Of course, he had felt a bit down when his 11-game winning streak was snapped the previous day. He felt as bad as when his consecutive hit record was broken by Ohtani Shohei.

“Damn it. Ohtani again?”

Seriously, is he my record breaker or something? My records always get broken when I face Ohtani.

Well, he had to admit what needed to be admitted. Ohtani pitched well. Honestly, 8 innings and 3 runs allowed against our lineup is an absurd achievement. Even Domingo, who is a strong contender for this season’s AL Cy Young Award [awarded annually to the best pitchers in each league], would probably give up more than 3 runs in 7 or 8 out of 10 starts against our lineup.

“We can just do it again starting tomorrow.”

“Again?”

Anthony casually suggested ‘doing it again,’ and for some reason, that resonated with me. Win the championship this year, and dominate next year too. Yeah, that was a good idea. And to make that idea a reality, we needed to win today’s game first.

[Alright, the Yankees’ attack in the top of the 1st inning ends with no score. Now, in the bottom of the 1st, Choi Su-won is on the mound. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Choi Su-won as a pitcher.]

[Yes, our Choi Su-won hasn’t been on the mound even once since the postseason started. Of course, many teams run with a 4-man rotation in the postseason, but the Yankees have been crushing their opponents so overwhelmingly that it hasn’t been necessary. They haven’t gone past the 4th game in any series. So, there have always been plenty of rest days.]

[That’s right. In fact, even today’s appearance wouldn’t have happened if Stan Owens hadn’t suffered an unexpected injury.]

[Yes, it’s undeniable that the focus is more on Choi Su-won as a hitter than as a pitcher. That’s why many experts predicted that Andrik Nava would start today’s game.]

[True. But since it’s a short series, they probably chose to send out the best possible pitcher as the starter, even if it meant skipping Choi Su-won’s appearance as a hitter for a day, or having him play as a hitter in slightly diminished condition.]

It really had been a long time since he’d pitched.

Today was November 2nd, and the last game he pitched was the final game of the regular season on October 6th, making it 27 days since his last appearance.

He had been throwing occasionally, so he didn’t think there would be any major issues with his feel. Plus, the weather in LA in early November was much warmer than in New York in early October. He glanced over at the fielders. Then, he made eye contact with Anthony.

The guy was pounding his glove, acting like he could be trusted. Yeah, he’s not very reliable with a bat, but with a glove, he’s my dependable helper. The Grab, which contributed decisively to my perfect game during the season, was his work, wasn’t it?

Rockey Chavez stepped up to the plate.

A bit small for a major leaguer. I had shared a meal with him before I went back in time. At the time, he said his size was due to not eating well as a kid. His parents were undocumented immigrants who crossed the Mexican border, so their income was unstable. Fortunately, he was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the United States.

Anyway, he was close enough to me that we shared such detailed stories. It’s no exaggeration to say that I learned about half of my Spanish while hanging out with him.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!”

The pitch he finds difficult is the low outside course. Yeah, the same course he was tormented by Dylan with the previous day.

And then, a curveball that drops sharply.

-Thwack!!

[Good curveball!! Ah, but the umpire’s hand doesn’t go up.]

It seems like the umpire is being a bit stingy with the low pitches today. Or maybe he’s being conservative with curveballs. It seemed like it barely caught the zone, but he didn’t call it a strike. Is he a bit old school? With AI umpires coming soon, curveballs are often judged more generously because they often graze the zone in a 3-dimensional way, even if they appear to be out of the zone. It’s a shame.

One more.

I aimed for a slightly lower and more outside course than the first pitch. I wanted to check the umpire’s zone [the area above home plate where a pitch must pass to be called a strike].

-Clack!!!!

Rockey swung at that pitch.

The weakly hit ball flew between 2nd and 3rd base.

Stable stance.

My reliable helper, Anthony Volpe, caught that ball…

[Ah!! Deflected ball!! It narrowly avoids Anthony’s glove!!]

[Wait!! It’s only the bottom of the 1st inning. Why is the ground in this condition?]

[It seems like the ground was slightly dug up during the Dodgers’ defensive play a little while ago.]

Wait a minute. Irregular bounce or whatever. Honestly, any human being should be able to catch that ball. He’s not helpful with the bat, and even less helpful with the glove. What’s he even good for?

I took a deep breath.

Calming the anger that surged up, I looked at Anthony Volpe with a warm and forgiving heart.

‘It’s okay. It’s okay. It happens.’

What’s done is done.

There’s no need to make him more nervous. Yeah, let’s take comfort in the fact that the number 1 went up on the E [error] instead of the H [hit] on the scoreboard and prepare for the next batter.

Mookie Betts.

A 36-year-old veteran who is a lock for the Hall of Fame even if he retires right now. Of course, hitters can still perform well into their mid-30s. Especially if they have had such a great career, they tend to maintain their competitiveness for a bit longer.

He’s a bit past his prime, but still good enough to be a leadoff hitter or in the heart of the lineup for a contender team.

Unlike Rockey, I hadn’t really talked to him before the regression, and we didn’t have any personal connection. But as someone who has also gotten older, I know that the most dreaded thing is a fastball that exceeds my reaction speed.

A fastball deep inside, high in the zone.

-Clack!!!!

His bat was late.

The ball hit the net behind the catcher.

The count is 0-1.

[99.4 mph fastball on the first pitch!! Choi Su-won!! He’s in great condition today!]

[He’s been resting for almost a month, so his shoulder must be fresh. Plus, the temperature is 22 degrees Celsius, which is quite warm for November. We can expect good things from him.]

He can’t time the fastball.

Second pitch.

Low and outside.

98.9 mph.

-Thwack!!!

Ah, I was focusing on control, so the velocity dropped a bit, and even the location wasn’t quite right. Mookie Betts’ bat, which was halfway through a swing, stopped.

[Slightly outside!! Ball.]

[It was a bit outside. Good. After showing him an inside pitch, you need to tempt him with pitches like this. The Yankees still have plenty of bullpen options. Even if the pitch count increases, they need to carefully manage the game to minimize runs allowed.]

Ah, it’s obvious that he’s looking for a fastball. It’s a shame. If it had been just half an inch inside, it would have been a double play.

Third pitch.

Oswald asked me for a slider that slightly breaks out of the zone.

If the opponent is repeatedly showing that they’re trying to hit a fastball, they’re more likely to swing at a slider thrown in a similar location.

But then, I suddenly had this thought.

Is he really looking for a fastball?

It’s basic mind games.

Showing the bat at the fastball timing, but actually timing the swing for a breaking ball. I often used to trick opposing pitchers like that.

I’m on the mound, having debuted at the age of 20.

Oswald, wearing the mask, is a rookie who debuted two months ago at the age of 24.

It’s the perfect combination to deceive.

Plus, my slider isn’t really good enough to work against top-tier major league hitters. You might think, ‘What does it matter if it’s breaking out of the zone?’ But one of the reasons why it’s not good enough is that it sometimes goes in flat, which makes it too risky.

I nodded to Oswald once and sent a slightly different sign with my body.

A 96.3 mph fastball, full on the outside corner.

Mookie Betts just watched that pitch.

-Thwack!!!

“Strike!”

Count 1-2.

[Ah!! A fastball that perfectly catches the border line!! Mookie Betts just watches that pitch.]

Mookie Betts is a capable hitter.

Maybe he thought the pitch was a breaking ball because it was a bit slow. Of course, I didn’t intentionally throw it slow. I was just so focused on the location that I didn’t put as much power into the pitch. I probably didn’t get a good grip on it either, so the spin rate was probably terrible.

However, one thing is clear.

The umpire isn’t stingy with low pitches, but unlike the current trend, he’s not giving generous calls on curveballs.

Fourth pitch.

The fastest pitch, high in the zone.

Assuming that Mookie Betts is timing his swing for a breaking ball, it was the most perfect finishing pitch.

-Clack!!!!

His bat followed my 99.7 mph fastball.

Hmm… It seems like he was looking for a fastball after all. But age is hard to hide. Dennis Martinez lightly snatched Mookie Betts’ ground ball that was bouncing between 1st and 2nd base.

4-6-3 double play [a play where the ball is hit to the second baseman (4), who throws to the shortstop (6), who then throws to first base (3) to get two outs].

A clean two outs.

Anthony, just because he caught the ball that Dennis threw to him and threw it to 1st base, he’s roaring like he just made The Grab again.

Anyway, bottom of the 1st.

Two outs, no runners.

Ohtani Shohei stepped up to the plate.

Yeah, the same Ohtani Shohei who threw 109 pitches over 8 innings the previous day.