The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 64

64. Flaw (1)

-Choi Su-won ‘The Majors? I don’t know. I just want to focus on the tournament in front of me.’-

─8888577: Yes!! Su-won, you have the blood of Busan flowing in you [referring to his passionate spirit]!

─886899: Su-won, do you like bread? Want to come to Sungsimdang [a famous bakery in Daejeon]?

─ToughOnes: You guys need to change your IDs to 710789910, 9101010109?

─Hero’sSoul: That’s right, Su-won. The KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] is too small for you. I’m rooting for you in the Majors.

─GoldVaultRolex: Su-won, are you interested in a Rolex watch?

─GiantHitterLeeJuHyuk: Lee Ju-hyuk is loading up for 4 at-bats, 4 hits, 4 home runs today.

─JudgeWithHouse: There’s a saying about following your senior to Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul], how about Changwon?

─MarinesRetiredChoiSuwon: You shameless guys. You don’t even have a chance of finishing last this season, yet you’re already getting excited.

─IAmHappy?: Honestly, our team shouldn’t even dream of Su-won looking our way.

─JamsilFoodFighter: Since it’s come to this, let’s send Choi Su-won to the Majors in the spirit of magnanimity.

─GlassesAce: Who decided that?

─LogicKingKimJongUn: Comrades, let’s go with the flower of democracy, majority rule.

His outstanding performance in the games against Japan and the United States.

Even though the U-18 tournament gets less attention than adult tournaments, it would be strange if it didn’t become a hot topic at this point.

Jo Yu’s face was flushed as she raised her voice from her smartphone.

“Hey, it’s a real mess. Your picture is on the portal sports main page along with the Phoenix and Marines’ combined 16-game losing streak.”

“Wait a minute… I think I just heard something strange?”

A combined 16-game losing streak? What am I even hearing right now? It’s not surprising that my picture is on the portal sports main page. That was everyday life before the regression. It’s also not surprising that the Phoenix and Marines are on a losing streak. That was also everyday life before the regression. But even so, a combined 16-game losing streak?

“Wow, I suddenly have a lot of pride in myself and the U-18 tournament. Just this small achievement got me on the main page alongside such an amazing article?”

“No, strictly speaking, it’s not exactly side-by-side. Your article is a little smaller.”

“I’d be annoyed if I was losing to a mediocre article. But that’s almost a social culture front-page article, not just a sports main, so I’m not annoyed. But how is it possible for both teams to have a 16-game losing streak when there are 10 teams competing? Isn’t a 16-game losing streak almost a KBO record?”

“Yeah, it’s the biggest news not only in the sports section but also on the main page. And they say if they lose two more games, they’ll tie the all-time record. Like the 1985 Superstars and the 2020 Phoenix?”

Of course, even before I regressed, the Phoenix and Marines were hopeless around this time. But not to the extent of a combined 16-game losing streak. Basically, baseball is a sport where even the worst teams should have a winning percentage of at least .333 if they’re playing in the same level league. That means they should win one out of every three games.

“Actually, that’s why your article is getting so much attention in the comments right now.”

“Because of that?”

“Yeah, they’re saying the Phoenix and Marines are fighting to be last place to get you in next year’s draft.”

Fighting to be last place to get me?

I couldn’t help but laugh.

-Hehehehe

No, not just me, even Jo Yu, who said those words herself, couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hey, isn’t that just wishful thinking from the Phoenix and Marines fans? I think it’s just their skill.”

“Yeah, I actually think so too.”

The two of us laughed for a long time.

“By the way, how did the tournament go? It hasn’t been updated on the website yet?”

“Uh… that?”

It was obvious from the way Jo Yu trailed off.

“We unfortunately lost in the second round yesterday.”

“I knew it…”

“Hey!! What do you mean, ‘I knew it’!!”

Jo Yu got angry at my reaction.

“No, it’s just that we don’t have many pitchers right now. Honestly, Senior Byung-young and Senior Jin-woo weren’t at a level that would work nationwide, but we didn’t have any other pitchers to throw.”

“That’s true… Oh, right!! Senior Byung-young said he’s going to college.”

“Really? I thought he would keep trying as an undrafted player, but that’s unexpected. Well, we went to the national tournament this time, and we’ve almost filled all the requirements, so that’s a relief.”

“Hey, aren’t you too uninterested? These days, high school graduates aren’t immediately accepted as undrafted players. I think he’s probably aiming for the early draft after finishing his second year. Maybe that’s why he chose a pretty tough college.”

“A tough one?”

“Yeah, Dongho University. They have a 60% requirement for performance, and the standards are pretty detailed. They also look closely at aptitude and skills at 30%, and they carefully review the student record.”

Honestly, I didn’t know much about college baseball. It wasn’t something I needed to be interested in.

“Okay, I see. Anyway, I think I’ll be back around October after finishing things up here, so please take good notes in class.”

“Hey, hey. Wait a minute. October? The tournament ends in a week, so why October? That means you’re not going to the President’s Cup [a prestigious high school baseball tournament] either.”

“Yeah, I have some circumstances. Hey, I’m almost out of roaming data for today. I’m going to hang up now.”

“Hey!! Choi Su-won!! Choi Su-won!!!”

***

The last game of the preliminary round.

The fifth game against Cuba ended without much difficulty.

The bats that were messed up after the game against China were still a mess, except for Park Jin-kyung and Jung Byung-cheol, but fortunately, Cuba’s pitchers were even more of a mess than those bats.

11:7 victory.

Was it thanks to that?

Senior Gyu-hyuk also recorded a multi-hit game for the first time in a while, and his face, which had looked like he was about to die for the past few days, was a little more alive.

The way he’s excitedly practicing his swing right now is truly…

-Whoosh!!

It was quite a sight.

No, that’s not right. I gave him some pointers in Korea, but Senior Gyu-hyuk is about to go pro, and there’s no reason for me to meddle. There’s no right answer in baseball anyway. Yes, there’s no right answer. There’s definitely no right answer, but…

-Whoosh!!

Wow, I really can’t stand this. I spent almost five months making him into someone, and he’s going back to this in just a few games?

“Senior. Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

My senior approached me with a look of complete incomprehension.

“Senior, are you going to do this again?”

“What?”

“No, I know you’re frustrated that you can’t hit the ball, but we talked about this before. It’s meaningless. Unless you can get to first base in 4 seconds, a hit depends not on how many balls you roll, but on how often you hit strong balls.”

“…”

“Ah, I know I’m meddling right now. But I’m just doing it because it’s a waste. A waste. I worked with you for five months. Those guys talking behind your back? Honestly, how many of them will be on the same team as you? You’re not just going to play baseball here. Right?”

All-star players don’t like going to the home run derby because it messes up their batting balance? It’s not for nothing. The more intense the experience, the clearer the memory etched into the body. Just two games. Senior Gyu-hyuk was abandoning the swing he had built up with me for five months and was already returning to his original swing, which was focused on just hitting the ball.

“Wait a minute. So, my swing was going back to the way it used to be? Not getting better?”

“Yes.”

“That’s… I definitely felt like I was hitting the ball better…”

Senior Gyu-hyuk’s face was filled with confusion. It was a common occurrence. They feel like they’re improving, but in reality, they’re regressing. In a game, you only get stronger by accumulating experience points. But in reality, you can actually get weaker by accumulating experience points. This is especially true in the realm of ‘precise skills’ like hitting.

“Of course, it’s up to you whether you believe me or not. I’m not the god of baseball. There’s no guarantee that what I say is always right. But that’s how it looks to me.”

I didn’t bother adding that I’m not the god of baseball, but I’m at least something close to it when it comes to hitting.

It’s not an exaggeration. Many American media outlets said about me, ‘There goes Choi Su-won. The greatest hitter since Ted Williams.’ Considering that Ted Williams was someone who was called the god of hitting, I’m roughly the greatest hitter since the god of hitting.

“Of course, I have to believe you. Who would I believe if I didn’t believe you, Su-won? By the way, did you know those guys were talking behind my back?”

“How could I not know? They’re making it so obvious. Honestly, everyone on the national team probably knows? Senior, you knew Senior Byung-young was talking behind my back, too. But you just left it alone because I was staying quiet and thinking about team chemistry. I think everyone else is probably the same way right now?”

Suddenly, Senior Gyu-hyuk’s face was filled with apology.

“Ah, it’s okay. You don’t have to look at me like that.”

That kind of face might have been helpful to me 17 years ago. But 17 years was long enough to not call the fact that Mungae was talking behind my back a trauma, and I succeeded too much. Rather, what I kept in mind was my shameful past, where I ‘respected’ such a person who was trying his best.

-Whoosh!!

Senior Gyu-hyuk moved slightly away from me and swung his bat again.

It wasn’t a swing I particularly liked. But it was still the swing he was swinging before this tournament, consciously thinking about what I had told him.

***

The Super Round games continued.

The teams that passed from Group A were Korea, the United States, and Cuba.

The teams that passed from Group B were Taiwan, Nicaragua, and the Netherlands.

The Super Round of tournaments organized by the WBSC [World Baseball Softball Confederation] takes on a slightly different and unique rule than a typical tournament. The rule that the results of the preliminary round are applied to the Super Round is exactly that.

In other words, in the case of Korea, they had already won two games without a loss in the round record because they had won against the United States and Cuba in the preliminary round, and in the case of the United States, they had 1 win and 1 loss. Cuba had 2 losses. And in the case of Group B, Taiwan, Nicaragua, and the Netherlands, they were all in a state of being bitten and bitten back, recording 1 win and 1 loss each.

[If Korea wins against Cuba and loses to the United States, they can advance to the finals with 3 wins and 2 losses. Or, if they win against the United States… (omitted)… they can advance to the finals.]

The Taiwanese media, the defending champions of the previous tournament, counted the complex number of cases, just like their homeland. And they also successfully carried out the initial plan.

United States game 14:2

7th inning called game loss [mercy rule].

And the second step of the plan.

The game against Korea.

Exactly 1 hour and 42 minutes after the game started, they had to slightly revise their report.

[If Korea wins against the Netherlands, the United States wins against Nicaragua, and we win against Cuba, we can advance to the ‘3rd, 4th place game’ on our own!!]

Super Round 2nd game.

With one game still remaining, the rematch of the finals between Korea and the United States was decided.