The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 99

99. Spring (4)

Dilton Dooley tilted his head.

What should he call this feeling? Uneasiness? No, it was closer to discomfort.

Why?

-Thwack!!

Nothing hurt. But instead of feeling refreshed every time he threw the ball, the feeling only grew stronger.

-Thwack!!

“Good ball!! Good ball!!”

Regardless of Dilton’s feelings, his fastball slammed crisply into the mitt. Choi Jin-woong, who caught the ball, gave him a thumbs up.

He couldn’t know the exact velocity, but it was around 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph]. By KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] standards, it was definitely a fastball, and considering it was still early February, it was more than fast enough.

Choi Soo-won tilted his head.

‘Just looking at this, I don’t understand why he’s a pitcher with an ERA in the 7s…’

A foreign player can fail in the KBO even with a 150 km/h fastball. The expectations for foreign players in the KBO were at least upper-tier starting pitcher performance, eating up 180 innings or more. But the Dilton Dooley I remember didn’t just fail by KBO standards, he was a complete bust.

An ERA in the 7s.

Assuming he pitched an average of 6 innings per game, that means he consistently gave up 5 runs in almost every game. Even a domestic pitcher would be sent down to the minors with those numbers. That’s why Choi Soo-won couldn’t easily understand this situation.

Dilton Dooley was a foreign player they brought in for a whopping $1 million. According to KBO regulations, the maximum amount that can be given to a first-year foreign player is $1 million. In other words, the Marines judged that Dilton was the best foreign player available to the KBO in terms of conditions.

29 years old.

2.78 ERA in AAA [Triple-A Minor League Baseball]. Of course, it was 2.78 in the International League, which is closer to a pitcher’s park than the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but still, 2.78 in a league where the average ERA is around 4.7 is a pretty good record. He had a less-than-stellar record of 6.03 in 37.1 innings in MLB [Major League Baseball], but it was still hard to understand how he could have performed worse in the KBO than in AAA, let alone MLB.

Was he hiding an injury?

But even so, he looked too good right now.

“Good ball, huh?”

“Looks like the front office did something right this time.”

The next pitcher to throw after Dilton Dooley was Diego Rodriguez, also a foreign pitcher.

He was an experienced newcomer who had already played in the KBO. Of course, he hadn’t played for our team, but he played for the Seoul Elitz last year, recording 10 wins with a 2.87 ERA in 141.2 innings. Looking at the detailed stats alone, he’s a pretty good pitcher, but the problem is his durability. Thanks to that, the Elitz gave up on re-signing him. Basically, the foreign pitchers that Korea wants are pitchers who can eat up at least 180 innings, so 141.2 innings is a difficult level. Moreover, his performance itself was good, so he demanded $1 million in the salary negotiation process.

Of course, the Elitz had no intention of giving him that much money. However, they couldn’t exercise their right to retain him due to contractual difficulties, and originally, an NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball] team had also made an offer, but the Marines were able to snatch him for $850,000 due to the recent weak yen and the NPB’s notoriously stingy salaries for first-year foreign players.

“They spent that much money. $1.85 million on just two foreign pitchers.”

“I guess so…”

Diego Rodriguez’s pitches weren’t as impressive as Dilton Dooley’s.

But since the Marines’ coaching staff had already been thoroughly burned by Diego Rodriguez several times last season, they didn’t doubt Diego Rodriguez’s skills.

The pitchers continued to pitch. Kwak Jae-young, Choi Min-hyuk, Baek Ha-min, and so on.

And among them was Han Myung-hoon, who had the most wins for the Marines last year with 6 wins and 11 losses and recorded the best ERA among domestic starters with 4.11.

-Thwack!!!

“As expected, his slider is really good.”

“It would be great if he didn’t have so many ups and downs.”

“Well, that’ll get better over time. More than that, looking at today, it seems like we don’t have to worry about the pitching staff this season? No, I’m actually worried about who to use because we have too many. Hahaha.”

“Oh, it’s really a happy problem. Besides, there’s still one really important kid left, isn’t there?”

The coaches’ gazes turned to one side.

A tall height of over 190 cm [approximately 6’3″]. A still-youthful face and a seemingly slender physique.

It was Choi Soo-won.

The talk of the town rookie.

But since he hadn’t even come to the minor league training, not many coaches had seen Soo-won pitch in person. At most, one game in the educational league. Even then, most of the coaches there were minor league coaches, and there were only three or four major league coaches.

“I hope he’s at least half as good as what I’ve heard.”

“He’ll be better than expected.”

And the first to read the atmosphere of the coaching staff was Han Myung-hoon, who was currently on the mound.

-Gritting

He gritted his teeth.

He, who had joined the team four years ago with a contract bonus of 60 million won [approximately $45,000 USD], had reached his current position through constant effort. How did he manage to seize the opportunity? He managed to get a chance to start by looking good to the coaches, practicing every day, and not shying away from difficult tasks. And he made the most of that opportunity.

6 wins and 11 losses.

Of course, it may seem shabby to some. But about 13% of all the wins the Marines got last year were wins he earned. Moreover, his 4.11 ERA is 42nd among all starting pitchers in the league. It means that he is good enough to take a starting spot in any team.

But even so, he was anxious.

That’s because it’s a whopping 1.05 billion, 850 million, and 2 billion [Korean won]. It’s the amount the Marines have spent on first-round draft picks over the past three years.

Like the saying, “If they’re the same, choose the prettier one,” it’s natural to use a player who cost more money if they have similar skills. Will he be able to secure a starting spot this year as well? The fact that the best domestic starter on the team last year is having these concerns made him angry.

He had already experienced it once last year.

That if he does his best in spring camp, he’ll be completely exhausted in the second half. But even so, he had no choice but to make the same choice this time.

-Thwack!!

“Oh, good ball!!”

And right next to him, on the practice mound.

Choi Soo-won came up to the mound.

No coach was looking at Han Myung-hoon.

***

First pitch, lightly.

-Thwack!!

Three days was enough time to adjust to the time difference. Besides, his condition was gradually improving as he had been consistently working out for the past few days.

“Hmm…”

“It seems a little less than what I heard? Didn’t they say that guy throws up to 157 [km/h]?”

But that didn’t mean his body was in top condition.

I know my body better than anyone else. The overall physical strength of this body right now is slightly lacking compared to my prime when I was playing in MLB. Ah, the reason why it’s ‘slightly’ and not ‘a lot’ despite the physical differences is because the recovery rate of a mid-30s player and the recovery rate of a 19-year-old are different.

And that means that if I only played as a designated hitter, I would have enough stamina to play a full season at full strength. But I’m planning to cover both pitcher and hitter this season. I was well aware that being a two-way player is physically demanding. And as far as I know, it’s not something to be taken lightly, even if you’re playing 144 games instead of 162 games.

The goal is mid-April.

Slowly build up my body. It might be a presumptuous thought for a first-year player. But sending a player who cost 2 billion to the minors? It’s impossible unless it’s really bad.

“It’s definitely not the same feeling as during the educational league game. It seems like his body hasn’t fully warmed up yet since it’s only February.”

“A rookie not taking care of his body?”

“Anyway, these days, kids are completely slacking. Does he think he’s a superstar who’s guaranteed a spot on the first team just because he got 2 billion? Manager, I think his mentality is completely rotten, so how about sending him to the minors for a while?”

Of course, the Marines aren’t just any team, so it might be possible enough.

-Thwack!!

Right next to him, on the mound.

I could see Han Myung-hoon gritting his teeth and throwing the ball. He said he was 6-11 with a 4.11 ERA last year, but his ball was pretty good. Better than expected. If he can keep throwing like that, he could definitely be a spot starter from time to time this year, right? In the first place, if I’m going to be a two-way player, I’ll need a sixth starting pitcher because there will be days when I need to take a little more rest in between.

“Let’s keep an eye on everything during this spring camp.”

***

Jackie Robinson Training Complex.

The facilities here, named after the great Major League player, were excellent. It wasn’t quite the level of a luxury hotel where Major Leaguers stay, but the facilities and food in the restrooms, showers, and restaurants were all above standard.

“Hey, Swan.”

“Dilton?”

Just as he finished showering and was heading to the cafeteria, Dilton followed Soo-won.

“Are you going to dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go together.”

Usually, foreign players tend to hang out with each other. But Dilton’s case was a little different. It’s because of the language. The other two players who came to the team as foreign players both couldn’t speak English. Of course, at first, he was just pretending to know Choi Soo-won, who he was familiar with because he had heard a lot about him.

“But Swan, how did you learn English so well? Is it because you’re thinking of advancing to the Big Leagues?”

“I just paid attention in my school classes. What about the other guys?”

“Well, I think they’re going out to eat? They said they found a good pub nearby.”

“Pub?”

“Are you interested, Swan?”

“Dilton, I’m only nineteen years old.” “Ah… That’s right. He was the same age as Alex, wasn’t he?”

“No, but really, how much did this Alexander guy talk about me that he memorized my name even though he was only on the same team for two months?”

“Well… Alex is just so unique. What was it? A destined rivalry? I couldn’t help but remember it because that monster was talking about it so much. Besides, your name isn’t as complicated as the other guys, it’s Swan.”

As the two were talking and heading to the cafeteria, another player joined them. It was Baek Ha-min.

“What, did your hyung’s [older brother/older male friend] people all go out again today?”

“Yeah.”

The drinking age in Arizona is 21.

Choi Soo-won, who is currently 19 years old, as well as Baek Ha-min, who is 20 years old, were not allowed to drink.

“Sunbae [senior/upperclassman] Jung-hoon said that if you mix in properly, they won’t know, but if you get caught, it’ll become a big deal.”

“Good job. If something happens with the police and it gets in the news, you’ll get a lot of hate because your performance is already messed up.”

Of course, not all the players who didn’t eat dinner at the training center were going out for a drink. Half went to pubs, and the other half went to find good restaurants.

“Anyway, tomorrow is finally the Blue-White game. Hooo… I’m a little nervous?”

“Hey, what are you nervous about? It’s just a Blue-White game.”

“No, with Sunbae [senior/upperclassman] Min-hyuk and you coming in this time, the pitching staff is really stacked. I was wondering if I could switch to starting this year, but it looks like I’ll be playing in the bullpen again.”

Dilton, who was listening to the two people’s conversation, managed to understand one word from their words.

“Bullpen? What. Is Baek worried that he’ll be a bullpen pitcher?”

“Yeah.”

“Haha, tell him that’s a useless worry. In my opinion, unless the coaching staff are all idiots, they should use Baek as a starting pitcher no matter what. In the first place, Baek is a much more suitable pitcher for starting than Rodriguez.”

“Uh… Um…”

Soo-won hesitated for a moment.

“What? What are you saying? Did you say something bad?”

“No, it’s just that… I think Dilton is misunderstanding the rules about foreign players in Korean baseball and the overall situation of the Marines. But he told me to tell you that your pitching is good and that you’re good enough to take a starting spot.”

“Really? Dilton, thank you. Thank you.”

Hamin thanked Dilton. And then asked Soo-won again.

“But what do you mean by overall misunderstanding? What is Dilton misunderstanding?”

“Uh… The capabilities of the Marines’ coaching staff?”

The morning of the Blue-White game dawned.