The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 49

49. Give it Your All and Forget the Rest (1)

[Korea’s Ohtani? Joongang High’s Choi Su-won, No-Hitter and a Home Run for the Winning Run]

─k109910: A sophomore with a no-hitter and a home run? Insane. Is this really Korea’s Ohtani?

─InvincibleElitz: Look at this reporter hyping it up lol. A no-hitter and a home run in a high school game and you call him Ohtani? lol

─SluggerLeeJuHyuk: Lee Ju-hyuk is charging up for 4 at-bats, 4 home runs today.

─Samsung96thFloor: Isn’t a no-hitter a big deal? Plus, it’s 1:0 and a home run feels like he’s playing baseball alone. And the no-hitter was almost perfect, except for a hit-by-pitch in the first inning.

─InvincibleElitz: Tsk, no wonder you’re stuck buying Samsung at 96 floors with eyes like that. Dude, no-hitters happen every 3 or 4 years in high school. It’s different from the pros.

─MaSuwon: @InvincibleElitz You don’t know baseball but pretend you do. There have only been 22 no-hitters in high school history. And the opponent was Gyeonghago. I guarantee Gyeonghago in ’24 and ’25 was stronger than Cheonnam High in ’84 and ’85. For the past two years, Gyeonghago was the strongest team in high school baseball history.

─InvincibleElitz: @MaSuwon If you count high school baseball from 1946, that’s 80 years? 80 divided by 22 is?? lol And how many of those 22 players who threw no-hitters succeeded in the pros? lol

─SonOfDaejeonChoiSuwon: Looking forward to Phoenix’s rise next year.

─8888577: This year’s last place is the Marines. Choi Su-won too, Marines.

─886899: You guys were last place last year, so it’s our turn this year.

─JajangDubyeong: Jealous… But don’t you guys need to change your IDs soon? Both of your recent records are 71078910, 91010109.

─8888577: Yeah, when Jung Byeong-cheol comes next year, the Marines will win the championship. And we’ll build a dynasty with Choi Su-won.

─886899: Yeah, when Jo Gyu-chan comes next year, Phoenix will win the championship. And we’ll start a dynasty with Choi Su-won.

─HitKingIchiro: *Sniff sniff,* I smell KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] fans burning their wishful thinking circuits. Realistically, would Choi Su-won even go to the KBO?

It was just a high school player’s no-hit, no-run game.

Not only was there Han Min-joon’s no-hitter right before, but there was also one the year before last, but those articles barely got thirty comments combined.

But Choi Su-won’s no-hitter was a completely different story from the start.

Of course, there were several reasons for that. But what was certain was that the documentary on the educational channel, which started airing the evening before the semi-final, played a very large part in that reaction.

Originally, the broadcasting station planned to air a one-part documentary after the final results were out. But as Choi Kyung-ah conducted the interviews, she felt that this was not a subject that could be ended like that.

The future of a sports player is unknown. There were cases where a player who seemed like they would dominate the KBO and go to the MLB [Major League Baseball] ended their career sadly due to injuries, and there were also cases where a player who didn’t seem like they could even dream of the MLB dominated the KBO and stubbornly survived in the MLB.

But Choi Kyung-ah felt a near-certain premonition that Choi Su-won would go even higher. In the end, after coordinating with the higher-ups, they decided to air the documentary in two parts with a week in between.

And now, her choice has turned out to be a huge success. A no-hitter. And look at this buzz. She wondered if maybe those people who stubbornly showed up to comment on a high school student’s article felt a similar premonition to Choi Kyung-ah herself.

And two days passed in a flash.

Of course, the cameras still followed the Joongang High players during that time. The atmosphere was a bit strange. Victory is always right. But if you asked whether the victory against Gyeonghago was right, the answer was not easy to come by.

Among the famous sayings in the sports world is, ‘There is no player greater than the team.’

But at least among the students of Joongang High right now, there was no one who could confidently say that. In the semi-final game, was the Joongang High baseball team greater than the individual named Choi Su-won?

-Thwack!!

“Good work.”

“Hey, let’s do a few more. I think I’m getting the feel for it.”

“Senior…”

After staring at Jo Yu-jin for a long time, Ahn Byeong-yeong scratched his short hair.

“Ha… I really feel weird.”

At least when it came to just the semi-final, there was nothing wrong with Ahn Byeong-yeong. The batters failed to score, and Choi Su-won threw over 105 pitches, 113 pitches to be exact, because he achieved the great record of a no-hit, no-run game.

‘Bullshit…’

Ahn Byeong-yeong shook his head.

This extremely self-centered man was, paradoxically, so tormented by that successful game in which he couldn’t do anything.

He wanted to do it. A stage like the one Choi Su-won showed in the semi-final game.

“Hey, just one more.”

“If you do that, Senior, it’s really the last one.”

“Ah, you little… Nagging. Anyone would think you’re the senior.”

He gripped the ball.

A big windup.

Pulling the center of his taut body back and, without feeling like he was gathering it at the highest point, in an instant, bang!!!

And the morning of the final arrived.

***

Since the Seoul Braves left Mokdong Stadium, it was unprecedented for so many spectators to gather for a baseball game held at Mokdong Stadium.

No, considering the average attendance of the Braves, the least popular team in professional baseball, the number of people gathered at the stadium today might even be higher than the Braves’ average attendance.

“There, there, those are the Joongang High kids.”

“Wow, they looked so skinny on TV, but they’re actually quite big?”

“That’s him. Choi Su-won. Wow, his proportions are insane.”

The viewership rating of the documentary aired on the educational channel was 2.7%.

Although the highest viewership rating for this program last year was 3.4%, that was the viewership rating for the third episode of a three-part documentary, so it was a very high viewership rating. But even so, this large number of people was not a number that could be easily understood.

The reason was simple.

YouTube.

A platform that may be more powerful than TV for modern people.

The documentaries aired on the educational channel had a bigger impact on YouTube than you might think. And the god of algorithms helped them.

No, perhaps it was inevitable. Recently, the name Choi Su-won had been spreading among professional baseball fans, and the number of professional baseball fans searching for him was increasing.

In any case, as a result, a whopping 6,500 of the 10,600 seats in Mokdong Stadium were filled. The KBSA [Korea Baseball Softball Association] was screaming with joy at the increased ticket revenue.

And Baek Ha-min on the mound smiled.

The stadium, which was more crowded than the Wangjungwangjeon [championship tournament] in the first half of the season, was very satisfying. His heart was beating faster with tension, but even that was welcome.

This was truly the perfect stage.

Baek Ha-min’s ball flew sharply and landed.

-Thwack!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

His boyish, handsome face was full of smiles.

The hot weather in late July caused sweat to form on his forehead even after throwing just ten balls. He briefly took off his hat and wiped his forehead. The naturally falling curly hair fluttered with his touch.

What the people who came after watching the documentary expected was the heart-pounding challenge of the Joongang High boys, or the *mosup* [image/figure] of a super high school-level player showing overwhelming force in both pitching and hitting.

But Baek Ha-min’s pitching forcibly drew their attention to himself.

“Wow, he’s the only one with a different art style.”

“Right? Why is he the only one from a romance comic?”

The sixth tool of a baseball player: appearance.

It was actually unfair. But it couldn’t be helped. Didn’t Socrates say that beauty is good? Likewise, most people loved beauty. And surely, this boy throwing a 150km/h fastball from the mound had a beauty that captivated people’s attention. Enough to make you want to cheer for him without even realizing it.

Third.

Choi Su-won stood at the plate.

The atmosphere of the ground changed in an instant. It wasn’t just because of the name value of Choi Su-won. If Baek Ha-min had the sixth tool of beauty that grabbed people’s attention, although it was a different kind, Choi Su-won was the same.

A tall height of over 190cm. And long arms and legs that matched that tall height. The eyes of the people that were fixed on Baek Ha-min had already moved to Choi Su-won.

Choi Su-won adjusted his helmet with his left hand and tapped his head twice. Then, he gripped the bat strongly twice with his right hand, tapped the home plate once, and straightened his posture.

It was exactly as it appeared in the YouTube highlight video.

Baek Ha-min looked at the dugout once with eyes full of regret.

The coach of Cheonnam High shook his head firmly.

-Thwack!!

A ball that can never be hit.

The baseball passed through that distant place that the bat could not reach no matter what.

Intentional walk.

Choi Su-won threw down his bat and walked to first base.

And three and a half steps.

He threatened the pitcher with a slightly lowered posture.

Baek Ha-min glared at Choi Su-won once.

The moment Choi Su-won’s center of gravity shifted slightly back to first base. Baek Ha-min threw the ball from the set position like lightning.

Less powerful than the windup position. But the timing was a beat faster.

Jo Gyu-hyuk at the plate swung his bat.

-Clang!!

The high fly ball soared into the sky.

But it couldn’t stretch out at all. This was because of the launch angle of nearly 70 degrees. At this rate, no matter how strong you are, there is no way to get out of the infield.

Baek Ha-min, who had moved a few steps from the mound, caught the ball in style.

“Out!!”

Bottom of the 1st inning. Cheonnam High’s attack continued.

“Huh? What? Where did our Su-won go and why is some sea squirt coming up?”

“Right? What’s going on? Is Su-won sick?”

“No, but he was doing well as a batter just now.”

“Well, he threw so much two days ago, maybe the coach gave him a day off?”

“Even so, it’s the final game?”

“Hey, what kind of world is it these days. No matter what, can you make him pitch so many consecutive games? It’s not like it’s the Korean Series in the 80s.”

Not many people knew about the existence of mandatory rest days in high school baseball. It couldn’t be helped. Even fans who watched professional baseball often didn’t know the rules of high school baseball. No, to be more precise, there were very few cases where they knew the rules.

The spectators who had come expecting to see Choi Su-won pitch today couldn’t hide their disappointed expressions.

Ahn Byeong-yeong, who was standing on the mound, also clearly felt their emotions.

As Choi Su-won had assessed, Ahn Byeong-yeong had an extraordinary aspect when it came to mentality. If it were a normal person, they would be completely stunned when suddenly standing on the mound in front of so many people. Or even if that wasn’t the case, it was natural to feel burdened by so many people expressing their disappointment.

But Ahn Byeong-yeong was instead burning with determination in this situation. He would turn their disappointment into admiration.

-Clang!!

Of course, if everything could be achieved just by burning with determination, there would be no one in the world who would fail. Ahn Byeong-yeong’s pitching was the same.

Lim Ji-min, the second baseman of Joongang High, quickly chased after the batted ball. It was a fairly difficult batted ball. Moreover, the gazes of so many people watching them were eating away at his nerves. The one-bounce batted ball evaded the glove.

No outs, runner on 1st base.

Ahn Byeong-yeong’s hot gaze turned to Lim Ji-min.

-Gulp.

Sweat dripped down Lim Ji-min’s back. Was it because of the heat? No, it wouldn’t be just that. Just how harsh would his words be? Ahn Byeong-yeong sighed deeply.

“Sigh, Ji-min. Let’s please do well, okay? *Hyung* [older brother/male friend] is asking you like this.”

Ahn Byeong-yeong turned around.

That’s it?

No way.

But it really was the end.

Ahn Byeong-yeong, who had uttered those two words, stood on the mound again. To Lim Ji-min, this was a miracle comparable to Moses parting the Red Sea.

However, the only disappointing thing was that the same miracle was limited only to Ahn Byeong-yeong’s character.

The ball that Ahn Byeong-yeong threw was still the ball that Ahn Byeong-yeong threw. A fastball of 134km/h based on a fairly good curve and a pretty decent slider.

And all those repertoires were too familiar to Cheonnam High, which was in the same district.

The numbers of Cheonnam High written on the scoreboard gradually increased.

On the other hand, the numbers of Joongang High did not seem to move at all.

And in the 3rd inning, with two outs and no runners.

Choi Su-won’s second at-bat came around.