The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 379

379. The Batter Just Throws Well (5)

Currently, our Yankees lineup is very strong, even without me.

Some gossipy media outlets are even saying that we are not only the strongest of our time but perhaps comparable to the historic powerhouses like the old great Yankees.

And in the top of the 4th, David Steele casually crushed that powerful Yankees lineup as if he were twisting a child’s wrist. The lineup of Mike Trout, Tyler Beat, and Dennis Martinez was retired with just eight pitches.

This wasn’t something we could just blame on our lineup.

Except for Anthony Volpe, those three are all at my level in terms of hitting ability before my regression. So, we just have to acknowledge that David Steele is completely in super ace mode and is unhittable right now.

It won’t be easy.

But David Steele already pitched 4.1 innings just three days ago. If the game goes long, he will eventually run out of stamina.

So, my role is to minimize runs as much as possible and suppress the opponent until that moment comes.

-Clang!!!!

First pitch hit.

Ah, damn it. That wasn’t good. It’s difficult to allow a lead runner in front of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Diego Vegas.

[Wow!! Amazing defense by Mike Trout!!]

[He started running almost as soon as the bat hit the ball. His prediction of the trajectory was excellent.]

Mike Trout caught the ball. The Dodgers’ not-so-wide outfield and his excellent defense created that result. Well, even though he was out on a fly ball to the outfield on the second pitch in the previous at-bat, this is forgivable.

I issued Mike Trout a pardon in my mind.

Next up, Mookie Betts.

He was standing very close to the plate, clearly conscious of having his count taken away on the outside course earlier and recording a double play on the last high outside course.

There’s a saying that you should hit anyone who stands close to home plate, even if it’s your grandmother. Of course, you have to consider that the person who said that was a pitcher from the 60s, full of macho men, and a crazy dog who actually threw beanballs [a pitch intentionally aimed at the batter] instead of intentional walks when the intentional walk sign came out, but anyway, pitchers need that kind of slightly crazy fighting spirit.

A pitch that’s so close to the body that it’ll startle the guy standing close to the home plate and make him fall back!!

-Thwack!!!

…but it hit him?

At least it wasn’t the head. The ball, which slipped slightly from my hand, went into his torso.

Mookie Betts collapsed on the spot.

─Wooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

A tremendous booing rains down.

Damn it, this is all because it’s an away game. I let the boos go in one ear and out the other. But Mookie Betts doesn’t seem to be getting up at all.

The manager, coaches, and the umpire from the Dodgers’ dugout approached him.

A brief interruption of the game.

[Ah!! Mookie Betts, who was complaining of chest pain. Eventually, he is carried off on a stretcher.]

[If you look at the video, he was hit in the chest area. I’m worried that there might be a problem with his ribs. The speed was very fast at 164km/h just now.]

[When you stand that close to the home plate, the batter himself has to be careful. Some people who don’t know might say, ‘Why are you telling the victim to be careful?’ But that’s the reality. Baseball is originally that kind of sport.]

[That’s right. In fact, if you give up on inside pitches just because he’s standing that close, that’s also a problem. Ah, James Duncan is coming out as a pinch runner for the Dodgers. This player is famous for playing both football and baseball in high school, and his best record for the 40-yard dash, which is 40 yards (36.58m), was 4.26 seconds.]

[Is that a great record?]

[Yes, I think you can evaluate him as a player who could break the 10-second barrier if he had pursued track and field professionally. For now, he seems to be the fastest player I know.]

James Duncan came up as a pinch runner in place of Mookie Betts.

The sight of him taking a lead of three and a half steps from 1st to 2nd base was unpleasant, but that feeling was only temporary. Shohei Ohtani came to the plate.

[Okay, our Choi Su-won. You must not waver here. That beanball just now is absolutely not the pitcher’s fault. The runner is a bit tricky, but if you calmly face the batter, you can overcome this crisis.]

I caught him with a surprise changeup in the first inning, but that’s really a one-time surprise show. I can’t use it twice in a row.

So, the first pitch.

A surprise slider.

I tried practicing this and that during my month off, and it’s the second ball that remained as a final candidate for a good ball to learn during the winter season along with the changeup. One way or another, it’s not enough to work in the majors consistently, but like the changeup, it’s enough for a surprise.

-Clang!!!

Shohei Ohtani smacked my slider coolly.

The batted ball flowed along the first base foul line. Aaron Judge quickly rushed to catch the ball.

Catching the ball itself wasn’t that difficult.

The important thing is the choice.

James Duncan, the runner on first base, was fast.

He was really damn fast. Should I gamble for a double play? Or should I safely get the batter out?

Fortunately, Aaron Judge showed a perfect choice befitting a veteran.

[Aaron Judge!! Turns his body and throws to 1st base!!]

“Out!!!!”

[Choi Su-won catches the ball stably and gets the batter out!! Meanwhile, James Duncan, the runner on first base, successfully advances to 2nd base.]

[Two outs and a runner on 2nd. The Dodgers have succeeded in sending a runner into scoring position for the first time in today’s game for both teams.]

[And Diego Vegas is at the plate. Diego Vegas is coming up.]

[Ha, this could be a very dangerous moment for Choi Su-won. A combination of a player who can flick the ball to the outfield and the fastest runner. This could really give up a run.]

How about an 80 out of 100 for the play just now?

It was good to get the tricky batter Shohei Ohtani out with just one pitch. For now, the surprise slider seems to be working. It would have been better if I could have pulled off a double play, but considering the runner, this is a satisfactory situation for now.

A runner in scoring position?

No need to worry. It’s two outs anyway. Whether it’s an outfield fly, a ground ball, or a strikeout. Anyway, if I just get the batter out, there won’t be a run.

Diego Vegas puffed out his nostrils and looked at me from the plate.

He definitely has punching power. In fact, he stayed in the big leagues as a designated hitter for quite a long time, and I remember he even won the Triple Crown in the NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball league] in his later years.

High fastball.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!”

Higher fastball.

-Clang!!!

[He hit it!! A huge foul that directly hits the upper part of the infield stands!! The count is 0-2!!]

Certainly, even if he shows some weakness against high pitches, he’s starting to catch up little by little because I’ve been throwing several in a row since the previous at-bat.

Then the third.

A breaking ball that he likes.

However, slightly off the zone to the outside.

I put in a curve with horizontal movement. Is it because he only saw balls he didn’t like in a row and then a ball he liked came in?

Even though it’s a ball that’s slightly off the zone, his bat followed that ball. Yes, just like me, who swings at pitches that are a bit outside the zone if they are low and outside.

-Clang!!!!

And his bat barely managed to hit that ball.

Again, this guy is a talented hitter who got two big contracts in the big leagues as a designated hitter and even won the Triple Crown in the NPB when he was almost 40 years old.

James Duncan, the runner on 2nd base, ran without looking back. Diego Vegas also ran to 1st base in big strides.

The batted ball stretched through the heavy air of Dodger Stadium.

But basically, this guy is a contact hitter who hits the ball far. Does that sound like a hot iced Americano or a cold hot chocolate, but it’s true. His hitting mechanism is that of a contact hitter, but he’s just ridiculously strong, so the ball flies far.

That kind of guy forcibly hit a breaking ball?

The result is obvious without even looking.

I wasn’t nervous at all.

I really wasn’t nervous at all.

─Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!

A tremendous roar filled the stadium, but I really wasn’t nervous at all. I pointed my finger high in a relaxed manner, indicating the ball.

Tyler chased the ball.

The ball doesn’t fall easily.

But it’s okay.

Again, I’m not nervous at all.

There’s no way this will go over. If this ball goes over, the physics engine in the real world must be broken somewhere.

The batted ball slowly begins to fall.

The landing point is roughly near the warning track.

Got it!!!

Now, it’s a ball that can be caught easily unless it’s the dumbest defense in history. If he misses this? Adding to the fact that he struck out three times in the previous at-bat, Tyler’s position in my mind will now plummet vertically to the level of Jo Yu-jin.

So please!!

[Tyler Beat!! Catches the ball lightly in front of the warning track!! The Dodgers’ attack in the bottom of the 4th ends like this. The score is still 0:0. The game continues.]

A clean outfield fly out.

I issued Tyler a pardon in my mind as well. I forgive the great sin of the stupid three-pitch strikeout you recorded earlier.

The numbers on the scoreboard are still 0:0.

David Steele went up to the mound.

Meanwhile, I returned to the dugout, put down my glove, received a pitcher’s jacket, and put it on. Los Angeles was a bit warmer than New York, but it was still November weather, so my body would cool down if I stayed still. So, I tried to keep my body as warm as possible…??

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

There was no need for that.

The damn batters were so worried that my body would cool down that they ended the top of the 5th inning in a flash.

Another three up, three down.

Surprisingly, at the end of the top of the 5th inning, no one except me, who walked to 1st base with an automatic intentional walk, had stepped on 1st base.

I had a feeling.

Ah, these guys are doing their best to focus the spotlight on me by playing baseball alone today. At this rate, David Steele’s arrogance will grow and eventually he will face me in the top of the 6th and get hit with a solo home run, leading us to victory.

Okay, so let’s just defend the bottom of the 5th really well. I’ve already finished the top of the order by getting Diego Vegas out earlier, so I can definitely defend it.

And the game went according to my scenario as surprisingly as possible.

The defense continues normally.

When I see things like this, I’m sure that our fielders’ condition is not particularly problematic today. It’s just that David Steele, who is coming up to the mound again in the 6th, is going crazy.

Okay, top of the 6th.

David Steele came up to the mound again.

***

“Now it’s Su-won’s second at-bat.”

“Will they compete?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? Honestly, David Steele. If he hadn’t given Su-won an automatic intentional walk, he would have had a perfect game.”

“That’s true. At this point, it seems like the pitcher would insist on competing. The automatic intentional walk changed the perfect game to a no-hitter.”

“Hey, still, a no-hitter is something. I don’t think there’s ever been a no-hitter in the World Series, has there?”

“Really? That’s surprising. I know there’s been a perfect game once. But no no-hitter.”

Jo Yu-jin and Lee Jeong-hoon’s conversation.

Lee Gyu-man tilted his head with a strange expression, not joining their conversation.

“Senior, what’s wrong?”

“Senior Gyu-man. Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s not that. Isn’t our Su-won also pitching a no-hitter right now?”

“Yes? The 1st and 4th innings… Ah, wait a minute. It was an error and a hit by pitch, so…”

“That’s right. A no-hitter. Why haven’t we noticed this until now?”

“I think it’s because David is so overwhelming? Wait a minute. Ah… The Korean community is already going crazy. They’re saying it seems like Su-won is having ‘that day’ again after a few months.”