episode_0353

[Choi Jin-cheol’s hit goes high! Far! Towards the wall! Caught in front…! Dealing with the crisis of 2 outs, runner on 3rd base, Seonghyeon!]

“You were slightly late on the timing, right? The speed was clocked at 152, but this was the second fastest pitch of the game.”

“Seonghyeon strikes out Choi Jin-cheol with a fastball! Now the game moves to the bottom of the 4th inning!”

Choi Jin-cheol’s hit caught at the deepest part of Daejeon Baseball Stadium. Seonghyeon, who turned back to watch that hit, wiped the sweat dripping down his arm.

“Wow, that was close.”

What if it had been the prime of Choi Jin-cheol? With such a grim thought, Seonghyeon chuckled once and then glanced at Jimangho, who had been troubling him from 3rd base.

“Oh, damn!”

Laughing again at Jimangho’s expression of regret as he threw his helmet away.

“Hyung, what do you think of him?”

“Who? Jimangho?”

“Yes.”

As they were talking, catcher Lee Yong-gi, with his mask hanging on his side, approached them and spoke.

“Is he okay?”

“Not kidding, right?”

“He’s impressive. I understand why there was a fuss about him in Korea. But more importantly, what’s the catcher’s job? Isn’t it to make the pitcher comfortable? We gave up one run, asking for some points here.”

“Ah… I’ll try my best. But it seems like Krongs might be struggling today. I’ll do my best for now.”

Krongs, a pitcher known during his time in the U.S. Having heard of him a few times, possessing good stuff but struggling with walks, Seonghyeon knew him as a player who had moved between several teams. Seeing him pitch well made him realize how well he had adapted in Korea.

‘If I have the courage like Siwoo and Yonggi, I should be able to give up just one run. Well, the real issue is that Jimangho guy.’

Seven years with the Dodgers, four years with the Yankees. Spending a total of 11 years in the Major Leagues, Seonghyeon found Jimangho’s recent hitting quite surprising. It wasn’t like his prime competing with Cy Young, but Seonghyeon believed his current physical condition wasn’t much different from when he was winning 10 games with the Yankees.

And then, the first plate appearance against Jimangho. The match unfolded as expected. When faced with a pitch of unexpected speed, his swing, taken aback, wasn’t much different from other batters. Especially struggling to keep up with his favorite changeup.

Thinking back to their training together in the WBC last year, he had thought he could get past it if he hit it properly, but could he really hit his pitch? Such uncertainty in his appearance.

‘I thought he was just a big mouth in the first plate appearance.’

However, in the next plate appearance, he managed to hit a double by targeting his changeup. It was truly surprising to see him adapt so quickly. In the talent-filled Major Leagues, most batters took quite some time to figure out his changeup, even those who kept hitting ground balls to the infield.

Even in the Major Leagues filled with talents, Jimangho was different. Sending a changeup he couldn’t catch initially straight to the outfield in the next plate appearance? Adapting to hit a ball he had only seen twice accurately was no easy feat unless you were exceptionally talented. Such batters were rare even in the fluctuating Major Leagues.

‘He’s quite an intriguing guy. How can he adapt so quickly in just one plate appearance?’

What was even more astonishing than his hitting was his audacity to steal 3rd base from 2nd base on a first pitch.

Seonghyeon was a pitcher known for controlling the running game well even in the Major Leagues. Allowing only around 20 steals in 11 years, permitting only 1 or 2 steals per year, he was that kind of pitcher. He had surely analyzed himself thoroughly and prepared for the game, so that fact had to be acknowledged.

Knowing all that, he ran straight ahead without fear. It was a fearless demeanor.

“Well, with that kind of fearlessness, I guess that’s how interviews are done.”

Overall, he was an interesting batter. The power observed by his side during the WBC period, adaptability confirmed through this match, his specialty in stealing from second to third base, and the audacity to swing at first pitches against any opponent. He was a type not easily seen even in the Major Leagues.

“Well, if he continues to grow like this, he might eventually become a top player in the Major Leagues. However…”

…it wasn’t the time yet.

Somehow, Ji Maeng-ho was lacking. Even though he sent a changeup to the outfield in this at-bat, it wasn’t a solid hit. Especially, seeing him swing late at a 150 mph pitch in his first at-bat made it even more apparent. It didn’t seem right for a batter like Ji Maeng-ho to miss the timing on a 150 mph pitch. The secret behind his slow timing was his “devilish” guessing ability, as mentioned by teammates or in articles.

Thinking back to his first at-bat, being in a two-strike, one-ball situation, generally, it wasn’t a moment for guessing. In a two-strike count, the norm is to react to any ball coming into the zone. Opting for guessing in such a scenario was akin to always resorting to guesswork in every situation.

However, becoming a good player in the Major Leagues through guessing was impossible. While he could potentially become an average player, aiming for the top tier required abandoning such guessing tactics.

Sure, he might get lucky and make contact in some at-bats, but those guess hitters were prey for pitchers of his caliber. Could he anticipate and hit over five different types of pitches coming out of the same form every at-bat, every pitch?

That was impossible. Unless, as the real pros talk about, you make a deal with the devil and know what pitch the pitcher will throw unless you have no idea.

Furthermore, guess hitting ultimately chipped away at batters’ potential. Guess hitters were mostly players lacking physicality or aging with diminished reaction times. For a player like Ji Maeng-ho, who possessed physicality similar to his, resorting to guesswork was simply wasting talent from the start.

There were two ways for pitchers to survive in the Major Leagues. Either throw pitches the batter doesn’t know how to hit, like Seong-hyun himself, or throw pitches that even knowing, they can’t hit, like true monsters. Especially the superior pitchers were all of the latter type. Fastballs reaching 105 mph, sinkers at 100 mph, breaking balls with significant movement exceeding 90 mph, curveballs dropping from head to knees, and so on.

The Major Leagues were a league of monsters where pitches un-hittable even when known were abundant. To hit such pitches, batters had to abandon guesswork. Relying on guesswork would inevitably lead to a decline in coping abilities.

This style of hitting offered nothing beneficial to players like Seong-hyun with finesse features or to pitchers throwing unhittable pitches even when known.

What Major League demanded from batters was the ability to handle any pitch, not just the ones they knew.

In that regard, Ji Maeng-ho still lacked, but there was certainly potential. Despite missing the changeup he couldn’t catch in his first at-bat, he managed to pull off a long hit in just one at-bat.

While he was good, he was still a young player in need of guidance.

“But why would someone like Maeng-ho resort to guess hitting?”

And a fundamental question arose in Seong-hyun’s mind. There was absolutely no reason for a player with the physicality of Ji Maeng-ho to engage in guesswork. Even at a glance, with his swift bat speed and a body weighing over 100 kg filled with muscles, he seemed like a player who had no reason to resort to guesswork.

“But who is the AT hitting coach?”

“AT batting coach? Is it Coach Ikcheol?”

“Ikcheol senior? The one who used to catch?”

“Yes. But why?”

“Oh, because of Jimaengho. Why the gas hitting.”

“Well, as far as I know, Ikcheol was the coach for Jimaengho during high school. Must have learned from there, I guess.”

And thanks to the junior who responded to his muttering, he could find the answer to that question. Ikcheol was a prominent catcher who had won the Golden Glove several times during his time at KBA. He even held the title of home run king.

“…And he was famous for his gas hitting.”

Renowned for his ball-handling skills in defense and claiming the home run king title with his unique gas hitting. Learning from such a person since high school, it seemed plausible to understand why he stuck to that hitting style. And for a batter like Jimaengho to do that was a loss for Korean baseball, especially considering the upcoming Olympics.

“There are limits to gas hitting. I should teach it once for promising juniors.”

Though reluctant, as someone who loved Korean baseball and as a senior who first made it to the majors, he thought it was time to impart some wisdom to a promising junior he hadn’t seen in a long time.

And that opportunity came sooner than expected.

“[Yongki’s hit! Far! High! It goes over! In the bottom of the 7th, Yongki’s two-run homer turns the game around! 2-1! Home fans, Yongki gives strength to Seonghyun’s shoulders!]”

“Hyuna, how about it? Want to go up in the 8th?”

The ace pitcher, who had only given up one run until the 7th inning, was questioned by the volcanic coach.

“This inning starts with Suho and goes up to Jimaengho at bat.”

The result of the third showdown settled in the 6th inning was a high fly ball to the outfield. If this at-bat also ends in a bunt or strikeout, a player like Jimaengho would realize that his approach was wrong and that he had the real talent, blessed physicality, and adaptability to develop further. Well, if he still doesn’t realize it, he can be told after the game or tomorrow.

For a junior who will lead the future of Korean baseball, such advice was more than enough.

“I’ll go up.”

So Seonghyun chose to take the mound. And he managed to deal with the first two batters according to his plan.

“Seonghyun strikes out Kim Suho!”

“The warning track hit is high! But center fielder Kim Juyeop catches it! Two outs now! Currently at 96 pitches! Could we see his first complete game after returning to Korea today?”

“While the AT batters naturally played a fast game, it’s also due to Seonghyun’s veteran-like stamina distribution shining through.”

“Now the game continues with Jimaengho at bat.”

“Finally here? I’ve been waiting.”

And Jimaengho walked up to the plate with a gleaming look in his eyes. That kind of intense focus emanating from a seasoned batter.

“Is this the state Juyeop mentioned? The look in his eyes is good. But can he anticipate my pitch?”

Seonghyun has six types of pitches he can throw: fastball, sinker, cutter, slider, curveball, circle changeup. Moreover, the fact that all these pitches come out of almost indistinguishable forms to the naked eye was one of Seonghyun’s main weapons even in the Major Leagues.

“Courage. From now on, I’ll call the shots.”

And Seonghyun, a top pitcher who had played in the Major Leagues for 11 years with an average fastball velocity, had a background of winning many battles against Major League hitters. Despite Jimaengho being dubbed a demon by the media, as a second-year rookie, he had no intention of losing in this battle.

“Understood.”

Chogu aims for the body. With a pitch that seems to be heading towards the hitter’s body but then breaks into the strike zone, Chogu waits, thinking it will be a perfect strike. Especially against pitchers with the likes of Seonghyun’s pitching strength.

Thud!

And as the pitch is thrown, Jimangho reacts by stepping back.

“I can react to this level, right? As expected, interesting. If it were our team, we would have taught you more. Well, if you’re a batter like Jimangho, there must be something to learn from this at-bat.”