The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 404

404. Extra Story 7) The Greatest Hitter in the World

The 46th season was truly an ‘amazing’ year.

In 2044, the New York Mets, having miraculously defeated the Yankees to win the championship, failed to achieve a .500 winning percentage in the regular season in 2045, proving it was indeed a miracle, and collapsed miserably.

And in 2046, the Mets achieved another ‘amazing’ feat.

[New York Mets… Championship!! It’s the championship!!]

However, there was an even more surprising and eye-catching record than the ‘amazing’ feat achieved by the Mets, and that was the great record set by one player in the World Series.

24 plate appearances, 1 at-bat, 1 hit, 1 home run, 23 walks.

There’s a saying in internet communities that if something seems a little strange in Major League Baseball after 2028, just bet on Choi Su-won, and you’ll almost always be right. And that saying was right again this time.

Yes, it was Choi Su-won again.

The home run king of his 38-year-old season.

He surpassed the 62 home runs of his own teammate Aaron Judge and his rival Alexander McDowell by not just one, but two, hitting 64 home runs.

Thanks to this, even now, after the World Series has ended, the most-watched video is not the highlight reel of the World Series.

It was the 161st game of the regular season against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The video shows Choi Su-won, who hadn’t added a home run in four games since his 61st, hitting three home runs in one game against the Boston Red Sox, breaking the new home run record.

In particular, the video that people loved the most was the one showing a Boston Red Sox fan falling into mental breakdown in real-time. The highlight of the video was him smashing the camera he was holding to pieces at the same time as the third home run.

So, what was Choi Su-won, who exploded the blood pressure of Boston Red Sox fans even in 2046, doing when the World Series was all over?

“Honey, did anyone come into my study?”

“The kids are always rummaging around the house these days. You can say they go in there almost every day. Why? Did something break?”

“No, it’s nothing. It just seems like the room is a bit messed up.”

“Should I tell the kids not to go in there?”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

Yes, there was no need for that. Because this was beyond the scope of pranks that children could pull.

NEW ALL-TIME HOME RUN KING.

The card that was definitely in the drawer was a signed Hank Aaron card from 1974.

1974 was a monumental year when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record of 714 career home runs. Thanks to this, a considerable number of these cards were issued at the time, and even considering Hank Aaron’s autograph, the price of the card was not very high. Rather, Choi Su-won’s first major league home run ball on this desk would be worth 100 times more. So, it definitely wouldn’t be a thief.

The card, which had been in good condition as if it were new, was about 1/3 erased. However, the erased 1/3 was not completely white paper. A red hat. And the word RECORD.

It was difficult to guess who it was.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

Just before going back in time.

This card, which he received from Baek Dong-hui, had traveled through time with him, and had maintained its appearance for 20 years without any fading, as if it were isolated from time, even without any special measures.

Whether it was when he debuted in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], or when he advanced to the major leagues, or when he received his first MVP, or even when he finished the 2042 season when he went back in time, it was the same.

And now that has changed.

Of course, it could have been someone’s prank. But for some reason, Su-won had a strong feeling that it wasn’t. If so, it meant that something supernatural had intervened, just like when he went back in time, and there was only one thing he could guess.

“Is it the home run again?”

64 home runs.

This season, he played in all 162 games for the first time since his major league debut. As a result, the ratio was slightly less than in his early to mid-20s, but in absolute numbers, he achieved a remarkable feat of recording the most hits and home runs of his career at the age of 38.

As of 2045, Choi Su-won’s cumulative batting stats were 2,736 hits and 670 home runs in 18 years. Of course, it was a cumulative record that could be called all-time, but it was also true that it was a bit lacking considering that he was considered the best hitter of all time.

But now, after finishing the 46th season, his cumulative record was 2,940 hits and 734 home runs. He ranked 38th in all-time hits and 4th in all-time home runs.

“Hank Aaron’s home run record until 1974 was 734 home runs… Is breaking Hank Aaron’s cumulative record the goal that Baek Dong-hui wanted? Or…”

It’s impossible to know.

But if the card that hadn’t changed for the past 20 years changed with the new home run record he set this year, or with a cumulative total of 734 home runs, the answer was simple.

2047 season. Break the cumulative home run record. And if possible, aim for even more.

Of course, there were obstacles to breaking the cumulative home run record next year.

That was none other than Alexander McDowell. That was the reason why Choi Su-won was not 3rd but 4th in all-time home runs, even though he recorded a cumulative total of 734 home runs this year.

Barry Bonds’ 762.

Hank Aaron’s 755.

And Alexander McDowell’s 743.

In fact, Choi Su-won set such an absurd home run record this season that he was once again called a ‘competitor’, but based on last year, they had 717 and 670 home runs respectively, so Alexander McDowell was a few steps ahead, at least in terms of cumulative home run numbers.

But with 64 home runs in his 38-year-old season.

Now, the media’s attention was not on whether Choi Su-won could surpass Alexander McDowell’s cumulative home runs. That part was already a foregone conclusion. What the media was talking about now was whether Choi Su-won could reach the 800 home run mark for the first time in history.

Now he was approaching his forties.

Past history has proven how different one year can be for a player of that age. Therefore, no one expected Choi Su-won in 2047 to perform as well as he did in 2046. They just hoped that his aging would be a little gradual. So that he could really show a cumulative total of 800 home runs.

And the 2047 season arrived.

─Intensifying home run competition!!

─I can’t give up the home run king title!! Alexander McDowell’s veteran spirit!!

─A faster pace than last year!! Is a new home run record possible at 39?

Choi Su-won always broke people’s expectations and satisfied them beyond what they expected. Last year, he reached the 20 home run mark in the 47th game. And this year, he reached the 20 home run mark in just 39 games.

Only 1 home run away from Hank Aaron’s 755 home run record.

Only 8 away from Barry Bonds’ 762 home runs.

-Thwack!!!

Alexander McDowell finally succeeded in tying Barry Bonds’ 762 home runs by recording his 19th home run of the season in just 40 games.

Baseball is a very old sport. Therefore, the all-time records in baseball are usually set, and new records tend to follow them. But this case was very special.

─Choi Su-won is now only 5 home runs away from the all-time home run record!!

─Choi Su-won is now only 6 home runs away from the all-time home run record!!!

The order of the articles was not wrong. Articles about the all-time home run record being broken in real time and the miracle-like articles created by a competitor chasing it within a difference of 10 were pouring out every day.

Over the past 20 years, baseball’s popularity has grown really fast.

The 100 million viewers of the World Series proves it. But even so, there was clearly an insurmountable wall between baseball and American football. It was a truth that could not be changed since the gap began to widen in 1980. But for one moment, MLB’s popularity threatened the NFL, and that was in 1998 and 1999, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were competing for home runs.

All games between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets began to be broadcast nationwide, beyond the region. The objections of YES Network, which has exclusive broadcasting rights for the Yankees, and SNY, which has exclusive broadcasting rights for the Mets, were resolved with the league’s persuasion and appropriate financial compensation.

Baseball’s popularity, which seemed to have almost reached its growth limit, was rapidly increasing. It was a great pace that reminded me of the days when Choi Su-won first appeared in the league in 2028.

The All-Star break has passed.

And the Subway Series [games between the Mets and Yankees] that followed immediately. The match between the two players, who were recording 41 and 37 home runs respectively, set a record of 120 million simultaneous viewers. It was an overwhelming number that was hard to believe for just a regular season game.

The season continued.

What people didn’t expect this season was not only that Choi Su-won would show another performance comparable to last year. Alexander McDowell was experiencing a normal aging curve, and therefore had never recorded more than 40 home runs since his 35-year-old season. But now, in his 39-year-old season, when it wouldn’t be strange to retire right away, he was showing off his spirit by surpassing 41 home runs in just 112 games. It was a miracle created by a huge sense of rivalry towards Choi Su-won.

But the miracle was only up to that point.

It is truly sad to get old. The tired body does not recover easily, and this is the same even for Major League players who are managed to the extreme.

Alexander McDowell’s home run pace stopped at some point.

Of course, Choi Su-won didn’t run as crazy as he did at the beginning of the season. But even though the pace slowed down, Choi Su-won’s home run numbers steadily increased, and finally in the 149th game of the season.

-Thwack!!!

With a cheerful sound of the ball being hit, Choi Su-won’s batted ball went over the fence.

51st home run of the season.

Cumulative 785.

It was the moment when he finally surpassed Alexander McDowell and recorded the most home runs of all time. And at that moment, Choi Su-won felt that something indescribable had changed.

Since the battle for the division title was in full swing at the end of the season, the celebration party did not last long. But he was rather glad. He just wanted to run to his study right now and see what the 1/3-changed Hank Aaron card looked like.

The Hank Aaron card with NEW ALL-TIME HOME RUN KING written on it in the drawer was gone.

Instead, there was a card there. And the card had a very familiar face drawn on it. Yes, it’s the face I see every morning when I wash my face.

NEW ALL-TIME HOME RUN KING.

Choi Suwon

Su-won unknowingly picked up the card and looked at it closely. A photo that seemed to have been taken just before the game and a signature that he had no memory of. And the rough feel of the ink on the back. He turned the card over.

-Congratulations. You have surpassed Hank Aaron’s record for the most home runs by the greatest baseball player in history. To commemorate him, one of Hank Aaron’s great talents [popularity that transcends racism] is granted.

“Huh?”

No, wait a minute.

Choi Su-won was greatly embarrassed. But the embarrassment didn’t end there.

Right where he picked up his card.

1985 RECORD BREAKER

PETE ROSE

The card of Pete Rose, who broke Ty Cobb’s record of 4,191 hits in 1985, was clearly showing its presence.

39 years old.

Su-won’s cumulative hits are 2,917.

And the number of hits remaining until Pete Rose’s 4,256 hits was 1,339.