The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 9

9. The Best Do Well in Baseball (2)

How important are routines to a batter?

To talk about that, I have to start with the late winter of 2033 when I went to the majors. It was a very cold winter. I, who had literally blown up the league as the best hitter in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], went to the United States and… (omitted) …eventually succeeded as a designated hitter. Surprisingly, a hitter’s batting average can drop just by not going out to field.

Stepping into the batter’s box, I adjusted my helmet with my left hand and tapped my head twice. Then, I gripped the bat firmly twice with my right hand, tapped the home plate once, and adjusted my stance.

The pitcher on the mound came into view.

Silence.

Ah, of course, I don’t mean the stadium is actually silent. It means my concentration is so high that it feels silent.

Baek Ha-min wound up big.

It’s quite a dynamic form. The white ball is powerfully released from his fingertips.

Not bad.

-Clang!!

Yeah. Well, it’s not bad.

***

If you ask whether Baek Ha-min is the biggest prospect in this draft, not many scouts would nod. But at the same time, if you ask if he is a top-three pitcher in this draft, I can confidently say that no scout would deny it.

179cm and 79kg.

His size was a bit small, but he had a dynamic fastball with a maximum speed of 151 km/h [approximately 94 mph], seemingly utilizing all the elasticity of his body.

His stamina and fighting spirit were also proven through the New World Big Mart Cup National High School Baseball Tournament, the most recent tournament.

He threw 75 pitches each in the second and fourth games of the tournament, and even after throwing 105 pitches in the sixth game, his velocity remained above 145 km/h [approximately 90 mph] until the end.

As of 2025, with the gap between professional and amateur levels widening significantly, it is rare to find a pitcher who can contribute immediately upon turning pro. However, many scouts agreed that if Baek Ha-min could correct his slider a bit, he could be used immediately as a relief pitcher.

All the scouts’ eyes were on Baek Ha-min on the mound.

A 149 km/h [approximately 93 mph] fastball erupting from a fully compressed form.

The scouts nodded after watching three or four practice pitches.

“His form is definitely dynamic.”

“It’s amazing that he can control his pitches with that kind of form. Compared to Choi Su-won…”

“Well, Choi Su-won isn’t bad either. He’s still a year younger. A year at that age is huge.”

“More than that, Choi Su-won is too skinny. He needs to bulk up first.”

“Baek Ha-min is smaller, though.”

“Well, Baek Ha-min is skinny too, but he’s taller. Besides, he’s shown what he can do. Didn’t he throw 80 pitches in the semifinals of the New World Cup and then come back in the 7th inning and throw 150?”

“Not 150, but 149.3.”

“That’s practically 150. His fastball is already pro-level. If he improves his control a bit and properly corrects his slider, he could be used right away.”

Thus, all the cameras the scouts brought were focused solely on Baek Ha-min.

In that situation, he threw the ball with all his might.

-Clang!!

‘Huh?’

The sound of the hit was so clean that no one expected it.

When the scouts, who had been focused only on Baek Ha-min, belatedly turned their heads, they could only witness Choi Su-won’s natural follow-through.

The bat, lightly tossed, rolled to the side of the batter’s box. He didn’t bother to watch the trajectory of the ball for long. A light jog, as if it were natural.

It was a leadoff home run on the first pitch.

“Kim, what was that just now? Was Baek Ha-min’s pitch a mistake?”

“It was a bit of a hanger [a poorly thrown pitch that stays in the middle of the strike zone], but still…”

“What was the velocity?”

“It was 146.7 km/h [approximately 91 mph].”

“How many home runs has Baek Ha-min given up so far?”

“He gave up two in his freshman year, and none since his sophomore year.”

“Then, has Choi Su-won ever hit a home run before?”

“Well, that is… Ah!! One last year. And this is his first this year.”

The scouts became busy.

However, the more they looked at the records, the only conclusion they could draw was that Baek Ha-min’s body wasn’t fully warmed up yet, and the hanging pitch was accidentally hit squarely.

Of course, as you can see from his position in the lineup as the leadoff hitter, Choi Su-won’s hitting isn’t bad. Baseball is inherently a game where the best do well. But his style is more of a contact hitter than a power hitter.

“Then that’s good. We can see how he handles unexpected situations with this.”

Therefore, most scouts simply thought of the home run as a fluke.

However, one person, the fat man called Manager Kim, felt an even greater sense of incongruity from Choi Su-won’s figure running around the ground than when he stood on the mound earlier.

“Ah, this is really strange…”

“Manager Kim!! Are you going to keep slacking off?”

“Ah, yes!! Team Leader, I’m sorry.”

***

It was a perfectly good pitch.

Originally, batting practice pitches that come in awkwardly are worse. So, to talk about that, I can’t leave out the story of when I went to the Major League All-Star Home Run Derby in 2035. At that time, I… (omitted) …and eventually won the home run title in 2036, and Anderson, the guy who helped me as a batting practice pitcher, threw pitches that were just like that.

I lightly stepped on home plate and returned to the dugout.

“Wow, Choi Su-won’s luck is completely insane. To suddenly hit a home run off Ha-min senior here?”

Jo Yu-jin was the first to run up and shout. As far as I know, this guy went to the same middle school as Baek Ha-min.

Everyone else except him also offered their congratulations. And that was it. It was because Ahn Byung-young was glaring at us from over the low fence in the bullpen.

Well, that sea squirt [a Korean slang term for someone who is annoying or a troublemaker] definitely kept his promise. He didn’t tell anyone the details of that day. But that doesn’t mean he’s become a new person.

Good heavens, the guy was such a gossip, gossiping about everything.

In the midst of all that, only Jo Yu-jin was cluelessly coming to me and acting friendly.

No, in fact, he might not be clueless. He might be the only one with a clue in this situation.

“Hey, Ha-min senior hasn’t given up a home run since he gave one up two years ago. Even if it’s a fluke, to suffer this kind of humiliation today when the scouts are swarming around. Even Ha-min senior might be shaken up a bit, right?”

“I don’t know.”

I answered indifferently to his story.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!!”

Of course, his mentality will be a bit shaken. Even normally, it’s normal for your mentality to be shaken if you get hit with a leadoff home run on the first pitch. Moreover, he hasn’t allowed a home run in an official game for over a year, and he got hit with a home run in a place where even the scouts are gathered, so if there’s nothing wrong, he’s a major leaguer just in terms of mentality.

-Wham!!

“Strike!!”

But the question was whether Baek Ha-min, who was so shaken up, was a pitcher that our hitters could exploit.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

A clean three-pitch strikeout, starting with a wild swing and ending with a refreshing wild swing.

The last slider had a pretty sharp angle. It’s quite usable at the high school level, and if you polish it properly, it’s good enough to work in the pros. He certainly has the skills to be picked in the top tier of the first round.

And I clearly remember this game because it was the game where I gave up two points with a bases-loaded walk in front of a bunch of scouts. At the time, Baek Ha-min pitched 7 innings with 1 hit and no runs before being taken down because he filled his pitch count, and thanks to that, we scored some runs in the 8th and 9th innings and won the come-from-behind victory.

Next up is the 3rd batter, Senior Young-jin. Still, as the first of the cleanup trio, he is one of the best hitters on the team.

-Clang!!

Look. It’s different from the previous batter’s ridiculous three-pitch strikeout.

Still, the bat touches the ball.

A clean ground ball in front of the shortstop.

Senior Young-jin runs as hard as he can, but it’s no use. No matter how messed up the infield defense of high school baseball is compared to the pros, if it goes in this cleanly, there’s nothing more to see.

“Out!!”

In the end, it was worse, but it’s very encouraging that he still touched the ball.

Next up is the 4th batter.

It’s Senior Gyu-hyeok. Although he didn’t succeed in baseball, he later opened a big gym in the neighborhood.

Certainly, you can tell a promising tree from its sapling, even now he is only 179cm tall but weighs 101kg. But his body fat is less than 19%.

Although he lacks a bit of feel, the tremendous power contained in those massive muscles is the driving force behind creating barrel hits [when the ball hits the sweet spot of the bat] that stretch out as soon as they are hit.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!!”

The scouts started whispering.

“His slider is better than I thought?”

“Certainly, the leadoff home run on the first pitch seems to have been an accident caused by his body not being fully warmed up.”

Second pitch.

-Whoosh!!

“Strike!!!”

Senior Gyu-hyeok briefly raised his hand, stepped out of the batter’s box, and swung his bat.

-Whoosh!!!

It’s brutal.

The bat contains a destructive power that seems like it will go over the fence as soon as it hits.

“The pitch that Baek Ha-min allowed a timely hit on in the semifinals of the New World Cup was a slider, right? Compared to that time… He’s definitely a player who is improving quickly.”

And the third pitch.

-Wham!!!

It wasn’t surprising.

Senior Gyu-hyeok was cleanly struck out without even having a chance to unleash that great destructive power.

Thus, our Central High School’s offensive inning ended in exactly seven pitches, excluding my home run. This is… I don’t even have time to let my shoulders cool down. I took off the pitcher’s jacket I was wearing and walked back to the mound.

“To throw two consecutive breaking balls to make it 0-2 and then immediately throw a 149 fastball into the zone. His psychological warfare is quite good.”

“Well, more than that, it’s confidence. Confidence that they won’t be able to hit his pitches even if he pitches aggressively. He definitely has a great mentality. To recover so quickly after getting hit with a surprise home run in a game where so many scouts have gathered.”

The scouts from ten teams were busy writing something down.

Second inning.

And the third inning.

Finally, as the scouts predicted, the game turned into a high-quality pitching duel.

Baek Ha-min didn’t allow a single batter to reach first base.

I also didn’t allow a single batter to reach third base.

I’ll say it again, even if you studied hard for the college entrance exam, if you haven’t touched it for 17 years, even someone who got all 1s on the college entrance exam will get a 3 if they’re lucky [a reference to the Korean grading system where 1 is the best and 9 is the worst].

This isn’t an excuse, it’s real.

Anyway, in the bottom of the 3rd inning.

It was my turn again.