The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 386

386. Side Story 3) How Did He Become a Major Leaguer? (2)

Ordinarily, the success of a leading figure inspires those who follow. However, Choi Soo-won’s meteoric rise didn’t significantly motivate players in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization]. His success was simply too overwhelming. A moderately successful runner can serve as a good pacemaker, but a car speeding at 100 km/h is too fast to pace anyone.

Yet, there are always those who see a speeding car and aspire to run just as fast. And among them, some choose to ride a bicycle, so to speak, rather than relying solely on their own two feet.

Baek Ha-min was one of these individuals.

He continued playing for the Marines for seven years after Choi Soo-won’s departure. In his eighth and ninth professional seasons, he achieved ERAs [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] of 2.11 and 2.31, respectively, earning the Choi Dong-won Award [an award for the best pitcher in the KBO] for two consecutive years.

Consequently, Baek Ha-min, who qualified for FA [Free Agency] at the age of 27, a year earlier than Jo Yu-jin, also declared his intention to play in the United States. Unlike Jo Yu-jin, he successfully made the leap.

4 years, 80 million.

That was the contract Baek Ha-min signed with the LA Dodgers. Naturally, numerous conditions were attached. He had suffered various injuries, both major and minor, during his KBO career, and the medical examination revealed that the ligaments in his elbow weren’t in optimal condition.

There were bonuses for every 10 innings pitched after 120 innings, requiring him to reach 180 innings. Additional bonuses were tied to making the opening roster, the number of games played, and various awards, including the All-Star Game selection.

In reality, the base amount of $18 million over four years was only about 1.5 times more than he could earn staying in the KBO. This wasn’t a particularly large sum considering the risks of venturing into a new environment like America.

Nevertheless, Baek Ha-min boldly chose to pursue his American dream.

“The option regarding the number of games played is capped at 30 games, and the toxic clause requiring him to be a starter has been removed. In fact, by doing so, this has become a clause that the Dodgers will have no choice but to use Hamin as a starter as much as possible.”

Fortunately, the Dodgers had a precedent for questionable contracts with pitchers, like Maeda Kenta in the past, making it easier to remove the word ‘starter’ from the game appearance option.

“But Hamin, I’ve told you repeatedly, this is a really bad contract. The Rockies’ offer of $48 million would have been far better.”

“I’ve said it many times, a better environment is more important than money. Whether it’s 25 billion, 50 billion, or 100 billion won [Korean currency], it’s all the same to me – I’ll have enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life. My only regret is the trade-related clause… but I guess there’s nothing I can do about that.”

“Yes, they were very firm about the no-trade clause. Still, a clause that pays 4 million for unlimited trades should be a minimum safety net.”

“I suppose so. At least under the assumption that my skills are helpful to the team.”

Choi Soo-won instilled the dream of playing baseball in the hearts of many young children in Korea, but he didn’t inspire existing players to pursue the MLB [Major League Baseball]. Baek Ha-min was an exception.

171 innings, 4.11 ERA

147.2 innings, 4.07 ERA

Season out (due to injury)

And 183 innings, 3.18 ERA

Over his four-year contract with the Dodgers, Baek Ha-min earned a total of $57.2 million out of the potential $80 million. But that wasn’t the most significant outcome.

7 years, 200 million dollars covering ages 32 to 38.

As of 2039, contracts exceeding 300 million in total were becoming more common, but even then, an average of nearly 30 million per year was a deal typically reserved for ace-level pitchers.

Some analysts considered it astonishing to offer 200 million over seven years to a pitcher who had only one truly outstanding season, especially given his history of injuries. However, considering that other teams were bidding between 130 million and 170 million for four or five years, the prevailing opinion was that the market had gone crazy, rather than the Dodgers making a brilliant move.

Choi Soo-won’s success didn’t motivate other KBO players to go to MLB.

But Baek Ha-min’s success was enough to inspire them. While Choi Soo-won’s KBO records were extraordinary, Baek Ha-min’s were excellent but not unprecedented.

Of course, Major League Baseball was always a challenging environment.

Nevertheless, many players with ambitious dreams headed to Major League Baseball despite the difficulties. Among them was Jo Yu-jin, who signed a 2-year, $6.5 million contract with the Phillies.

[Game 2 of the series between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies!! Hello!! I am caster Lee Joo-hyung, bringing you today’s broadcast.]

[And I’m commentator Park Dong-sik.]

[Well, today’s game is a highly anticipated match between Korean major leaguers!! Commentator Park Dong-sik, what are your thoughts on today’s game?]

[First, we have the Mets, currently leading the NL East [National League East division], against the Philadelphia Phillies, who are in fourth place. It’s safe to say the Mets are favored. Furthermore, the head-to-head record between the Korean major leaguers that our Korean fans are eager to see shows Baek Ha-min dominating Jo Yu-jin with 7 at-bats and no hits. But isn’t baseball a sport where you can win even if you only succeed once out of three attempts, regardless of the skill difference?]

[Yes, that’s right. The ball is round, and the unpredictability is what makes baseball so captivating. As we speak, Baek Ha-min is taking the mound. Baek Ha-min is thirty-three this year. Ah, he’s thirty-four now that he’s had his birthday.]

Short for a pitcher.

But possessing solid muscles that filled out his frame. Long hair that hadn’t been cut in years and a long beard that seemed to have grown for just as long. Thick forearms and occasional tattoos.

The Baek Ha-min, once known for his handsome looks in his younger days, was gone. His features were still recognizable, but now he resembled a muscular biker who looked like a gangster, fiddling with the baseball in his glove.

Baek Ha-min, who had gained a remarkable 21 kg (46 lbs) in 16 months after working with a new physical trainer following his injury, was indistinguishable from the pitcher he was before the injury, both physically and mentally.

Gaining 21 kg didn’t dramatically increase his velocity. However, the improved physical condition and reduced risk of injury were significant benefits.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!! Out!!!”

A 92.7 mph slider.

Ranked 4th in pitch value among all sliders in the league.

Pitches reminiscent of a KBO pitcher, who relies heavily on a single slider to handle various situations, stifled the Phillies’ lineup.

-Clang!!!

Of course, not every batter swung wildly.

Regardless of his league ranking, the Phillies’ hitters were still major league caliber, and even if Baek Ha-min was a $200 million pitcher, his ERA was still in the 3s.

The moment arrived when walks and hits translated into runs.

But the pitcher on the mound wasn’t a 20-year-old rookie. He was a 34-year-old veteran who had played the game three times longer than the years he had left to play.

Baek Ha-min continued to pitch without faltering.

-Whooooooosh!!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

[Ah!! Jo Yu-jin strikes out swinging on the 5th pitch, a high fastball inside!!]

[Jo Yu-jin is now hitless in 5 consecutive games. Not a good sign. He seems too anxious.]

And

-Thwack!!!

[He connected!! Alexander McDowell!! A massive hit!! Center left!! To the center-left fence!!! It’s over!! It’s gone!! Alexander McDowell hits his 37th home run of the season!!]

[Wow, he adds another home run. This marks his 631st career home run. Alexander McDowell surpasses Ken Griffey Jr.’s 630 home runs in just 15 seasons, making it the seventh-most home runs in Major League history.]

[This player is truly incredible. 631 home runs in 15 seasons. He’s only thirty-three, even after playing 15 seasons. If nothing unexpected happens, he could aim for 700 home runs in his career, and even Barry Bonds’ 762 home runs.]

[Yes, it was a stroke of genius that he was drafted two years earlier than others through the GED [General Educational Development test, an alternative to a high school diploma].]

It’s acceptable to concede 1 or 2 runs.

The team had teammates who could score even more.

7 innings, 2 runs.

Baek Ha-min earned his 49th career win. Meanwhile, Jo Yu-jin extended his hitless streak to six games, and with this series against the Mets, the Phillies dropped from 4th to 5th place in the division.

Home games continued without a day off.

Signs with the letter K written on them were brought into Citizens Bank Park. Of course, the signs weren’t to celebrate the starting pitcher’s strikeouts.

-Whoooooosh!!

“Striiiiike!! Out!!!!”

[Ah!! The camera briefly focused on the audience. This is probably…]

The commentator couldn’t finish his sentence.

A staggering 17 capital letters K.

That’s right. The capital letter K represented the number of strikeouts Jo Yu-jin had recorded since his last hit.

Curses like ‘Go back to your Fxxx country’ were among the milder ones. More offensive insults echoed loudly throughout the stadium.

Compared to when Jo Yu-jin first considered playing in the United States five years ago, his improved language skills were a significant difference. As a result, the Phillies’ crude insults were translated in real-time and registered in his mind.

He tried to remain composed.

But it wasn’t easy.

“Hey, bro. Don’t worry about it. Those trash bastards are always like that.”

“Thanks.”

“No thanks needed. Back then, they brought a mask with my face on it, made a hole in it, and then put a picture of a man’s dick in it and took it out to mock me. Compared to that, that KKK [referencing the signs with the letter K] is really nothing.”

“…Yeah. That’s a great comfort.”

“They’re bastards I want to kill, but just hold back and do well. Then they’ll come running at me like they’re going to suck my balls. If you hit a multi-homer game, they might actually offer to suck it.”

Yeah.

Ultimately, it’s baseball. Only the expression was slightly different, but Korea was the same. If you slump for a few games, you get cursed, and if you get multiple hits again for a few games, they’re busy praising you as if nothing happened.

Jo Yu-jin had already experienced turning boos into cheers.

No matter where you go, the essence of baseball remains the same.

So, it will be possible enough in the major leagues.

“What? Minors [Minor League Baseball]? What nonsense are you talking about? I clearly have a minor league refusal option in my contract, so minors is not an option.”

“Oh, we know that too. So, minors or DFA [Designated For Assignment, meaning the team intends to remove him from the 40-man roster]. The choice is yours.”

3 weeks until the All-Star break in the 39th season.

Immediately after the game, a bombshell was dropped on Jo Yu-jin.