episode_0403

“The starting pitcher for the USA team is Garrett Cole. You know about Garrett Cole, right?”

“Garrett Cole is pitching in the semifinals? Then who’s starting in the finals?”

“McClanahan.”

A right-handed 100 mph and a left-handed 100 mph. When it comes to facing them, isn’t it more comfortable against the right-handed 100 mph? Although he has hit a top speed of 102 mph before, his average fastball was around 96-97 mph (154-156 km/h), slightly slower than Dominican pitchers.

“Lucky Jang Woo-joo, what’s his deal?”

“Hyung, why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Never mind.”

It seemed like he had been too harsh on Garrett Cole with the nickname Lucky Jang Woo-joo. My apologies, Mr. Cole. After silently apologizing to Garrett Cole in my mind, I refocused on the briefing.

“Hyuna, do you know anything? You were on the same team as Garrett Cole.”

The coach’s gaze turned towards Sung-hyun, the starting pitcher set to face off against the USA. It was a question asked out of curiosity, hoping she might have some insights from their time together at the Yankees, but no one was really expecting much.

“Well, he throws well. He gives up quite a few home runs, but honestly, nowadays, most Major League batters swing for the fences, so if they connect, it goes.”

“Besides that, any weaknesses?”

“Hmm, not really.”

And as expected, Sung-hyun’s response was unremarkable. There wasn’t any significant information to glean.

“At least he’s not McClanahan…”

Currently, the best pitcher in the USA was McClanahan. He was the pitcher I hit a home run off of last year in the WBC. Until 2022, he wasn’t dominating the league to that extent, but it seemed that giving up that home run to me had somehow helped him find his groove.

“Did my home run snap him out of it? If so, can I consider myself his benefactor?”

In any case, McClanahan, who had truly come into his own last year, won the Cy Young Award in the American League and stood tall as the best pitcher in the Major Leagues. This season, he was maintaining that pace, making him a formidable opponent.

Well, Garrett Cole was also aiming for the Cy Young Award this season.

“Wow, so the finals will be Ohtani versus McClanahan?”

Ohtani… Last season’s American League MVP, and this season, a madman competing for the Cy Young Award in the National League as a pitcher as well.

Moreover, Japan was adjusting their schedule to start Ohtani in the finals, so if the USA made it through, there was a high possibility of a showdown between the Cy Young Award contenders from the American and National Leagues.

“Hey, the USA hasn’t made it through yet.”

True, if the USA did make it through…

“Yeah. We’ll be in the finals.”

“Wow, so it’s Jang Woo-joo versus Ohtani in the finals?”

Amidst talk of McClanahan and Ohtani, Jang Woo-joo… the weight of his name felt lacking. The matchup between McClanahan and Ohtani was already something I wanted to see. In contrast, Jang Woo-joo against Ohtani…

“…Isn’t it right for us to step back for the sake of baseball fans worldwide?”

“Hey, someone shut Lion’s mouth.”

“It’s a joke, just a joke.”

Of course, there was no desire here to step back just to witness such a matchup. The coaching staff felt the same way, which is why Sung-hyun was set to pitch in this game.

When it came to the one-two punch of the Korean national team, it was undoubtedly Major League starting pitchers Jung Woo-sung and Sung-hyun, who had both pitched in the Major Leagues. However, facing opponents where even giving your best might not guarantee victory against the Dominican Republic and the USA, we had no choice but to field our best starting pitchers game by game.

Yesterday it was Jung Woo Sung, tomorrow it will be Sung Hyun. That’s how it turned out, and even if we were to go to the finals, the starting pitcher would have to be Jang Woo Joo. Well, there were aces like Choi Joong Hoon or Kim Sung Kyul in the KBA league, but the coach’s choice was Jang Woo Joo, who threw the fastest pitches. Woo Joo had better stats this season compared to other seniors.

However, it was inevitable that the weight of responsibility would be heavy.

‘But this is probably a story for when we reach the finals….’

“So, what about the American lineup?”

“It will probably come out similar to the Round of 8. Will Smith at catcher, Freeman at first base, Betts or Semien at second base, Turner or Seager at shortstop, Arenado at third base, with Judge, Trout, Betts in the outfield. Harper. And designated hitter could be Alonso or Goldschmidt. Honestly, it will be tough no matter who comes out.”

Looking at the lineup, it indeed seemed challenging. On top of that, there were formidable players not mentioned by the coach.

‘We’ll have to rely on our pitchers to perform well. Especially Senior Sung Hyun….’

As Sung Hyun listened to the lineup called by the coach, his expression appeared dark as expected.

“Alright, pitchers, follow me.”

“Yes.”

Starting with Sung Hyun, the pitchers followed the pitching coach into another meeting room. With about half of the people who filled the meeting room now gone, the room looked empty.

“Okay, focus.”

As the pitchers left, batting coach Ju Hyung Jin captured the players’ attention.

“Let’s start with the video. First, the fastball, average speed is 97.4 miles per hour (156.7 km/h). Although he used to hit around 102 miles per hour in his prime, he has hardly thrown over 100 miles per hour since last year.”

Gerrit Cole’s fastball replayed on the screen. Gerrit Cole’s fastball looked intimidating. It was hard to understand how he could give up so many home runs with such a pitch. Was it because he relied heavily on his high fastball?

‘Indeed, Lucky Jang Woo Joo….’

While I thought that, the voices of the other batters were quite grim.

“Wow, are Major Leaguers monsters? How do they hit such pitches? It seems like the bat wouldn’t even touch them….”

“Well, it’s slower than yesterday….”

“But they say if you hit it, it goes over….”

It was surprising to hear national team players speak so weakly. It was definitely time for me to step up.

“Are you all speaking so weakly? Even Alcantara got hit.”

“He got hit, he was off his game.”

“I got a hit in 3 at-bats with a double against a pitcher I met for the first time. Isn’t that good enough?”

“Yeah, you did well. Dude.”

“Where should I quarantine Maeng Ho?”

…Alright, that should do it.

“Okay, let’s focus. Let’s see the next pitch. The next one is….”

“It looks like he can hit the slider?”

“It’s scary when it mixes in.”

“When I played, it was almost at a wild level. Is it because his fastball speed has decreased?”

Perhaps due to a breath of fresh air, the atmosphere had slightly brightened compared to before. In fact, hitting the slider was just as difficult, but the despair from earlier didn’t resurface.

“The next pitch is a cutter. This pitch is the most tricky, opposite to the tailing fastball, it bends while being similar to a fastball. However, the speed difference is about 3-4 miles, so if you read it well….”

“Well, cutters aren’t thrown often, right?”

“It has increased a bit this season, but with that ratio….”

“If it’s 93-94 miles, well, there are foreign players in Korea who throw such pitches too.”

Analyzing Gerrit Cole’s pitches, they managed to maintain a cheerful atmosphere somehow.

“Now, it’s bullpen time. First, the winning combination is….”

After Gerrit Cole, the analysis of other pitchers continued. It wasn’t just one pitcher in a game. No, even sending out just one was an issue. It meant giving a complete game or shutout to the starting pitcher. To win the game, analyzing other bullpens was also essential.

That’s how videos of American bullpens started coming out. They were bullpen pitchers at the Olympics, but in the Major Leagues, they were monsters playing as aces for their teams and closers guarding each team’s back door.

While Korea’s top closer Go Young-ho had been performing well in the majors, considering he was just a common “ace” there, the U.S. was still a formidable opponent.

“…This should suffice for the analysis.”

After watching videos of American pitchers for a long time, the analysis phase ended, and it was time to discuss hitting directions.

“Well, expecting a streak against Gerrit Cole is practically impossible. Understand?”

“…Yes, I do.”

“For the next game, aim for aggressive hits by targeting home runs as much as possible. Focus on pitches like forkballs or changeups that yield more home runs than sliders. It might be tough, but if you time it right, you guys can do it, kids.”

Honestly, it wasn’t the best strategy. Even the idea of crossing over if hit properly was a story told at the level of Major League batters.

Looking at our team, apart from Choi Ju-tae and Ki Sang-joo who had experienced the Major Leagues and Nana Joo Seung-cheol aiming for the Majors, hitting Gerrit Cole’s pitches accurately was challenging. There was Kang Han-beom, but his current tournament record was 1 hit in 16 at-bats. It was worrisome whether he could hit not just 100 mph but even 90 mph pitches properly.

However, from our perspective, it was the best strategy. Still, at least four out of nine could hit the ball properly. It was much better than waiting for a walk or a streak.

Four out of nine. And if I said I would definitely hit a home run, even if only one home run came out of the remaining three players out of nine plate appearances…

“Coach! Why is this guy laughing?”

“Let him be, at least he’s thinking about something.”

“Ji Maeng-ho, focus. Concentrate.”

“…I was concentrating.”

“Then what did I say?”

“…Hit a home run?”

“Hit a home run? Why are you being cheeky? You weren’t focused, were you? Tell me honestly.”

“Sang-joo, I’ll handle this kid.”

“…Why did Senior Sang-joo look at me like that? He wasn’t focused either, right?”

“You won’t make it. We need a special practice today after the analysis. Follow me.”

Oh no… I had plans for a cozy night with Hyun-ah after this… If it was Ki Sang-joo and a special practice, it would take at least two hours.

“Senior, can I join too?”

“Sure, Seung-cheol. Come along.”

“Well, if the juniors are coming out like that, I have to go too.”

“Let’s just all do the special practice together and finish up.”

“Got it?”

“Yes…”

Still, if we all did it together, we could avoid Ki Sang-joo’s exclusive marking, so that was fortunate…

“After the group special practice, let’s stay for an extra hour. Maeng-ho, can you handle it?”

“…Yes.”

“Darn it, I messed up for nothing.”

“Han-beom.”

“Yes, Coach.”

As the impromptu special practice led by Ki Sang-joo was nearing its end, Coach Lee Geum-hyun called Kang Han-beom, the eldest member of the national team who had been observing the special practice. He knew this day would come eventually and had mentally prepared for it, but facing it in reality didn’t feel good at all.

“Sigh… There’s nothing to say even if you’re dropped.”

16 at-bats, 1 hit. It was a performance that might be acceptable in the league, but in the short term, it was different. It was a performance that wouldn’t raise eyebrows no matter when one was taken out. No, rather, it was strange that they had been waiting until now. Moreover, considering the batting during practice games or training sessions, the issue was more about hitting the ball well.

The real problem was the current situation where they didn’t even know what the problem was. If there had been an issue with the batting form, they could have worked on fixing it, but strangely, once in the game, the bat just wouldn’t connect with the ball. It might sound like a lie if one claimed not to feel the pressure, but this level of pressure was nothing new, having felt it even when they were young, so it shouldn’t have affected their hitting.

In fact, it wasn’t anything special not knowing what the problem was. Every batter goes through a severe slump once a season, like a lunar eclipse. Yes, it was just that. A slump that every batter experiences at least once in a season had found its way to them.

‘Why now of all times…’

Kang Han-beom resented the heavens. At this moment, his last stage as a national team representative, to have such a slump come upon him. If there were baseball gods, he would have wanted to grab them by the collar. However, he had to admit it. Right now, he wasn’t contributing to the team.

That’s why he was willing to accept whatever the coach said. In his mind, the names of other batters who could replace him came up.

As a designated hitter, anyone could take his place. Park Cheol-yeong, a second baseman with talent in contact hitting, Kim Hwan-young with power hitting ability. And then, with designated hitter Ju Seung-cheol going in, and Yang Ji-hyuk, boasting the best domestic center field defense, going in as the center fielder.

While he was resolving himself, Coach Lee Geum-hyeon spoke up.

“Han-beom. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“There will be a lineup adjustment.”

“Excuse me?”

“If you’re feeling pressured being in the cleanup spot, you might not hit well due to unnecessary thoughts. Go down to a lower spot and hit comfortably. I believe in you.”

Even in a situation where elimination was looming tomorrow, Kang Han-beom’s eyes almost welled up at Coach Lee Geum-hyeon’s words, which hinted at discussing a lineup adjustment out of concern for the batter’s pride.

Even though he might be receiving criticism for being taken out at this very moment, thinking of the players… To prove that the coach’s judgment was correct in tomorrow’s game was the only way to repay.

‘Tomorrow, without fail…!’

Kang Han-beom nodded firmly in determination to Coach Lee Geum-hyeon’s words.