Pursuit Team (6)
"Time!"
Yun Kang-min stepped out of the batter's box in a panic.
'What? Wasn't his top velocity around the late 130s?'
His mind was in chaos.
After being helplessly retired in yesterday's game, Yun Kang-min had been sharpening his blade internally. That was why he had thoroughly memorized the information on Han Min-woo provided by the analysis team.
But from the very start, he realized the information was wrong.
'Damn it.'
From that moment on, all the information he had on Han Min-woo was essentially useless. If he stepped into the batter's box with half-baked knowledge, he could get hit by another unexpected blow.
'What do I do?'
All the strategies he had drawn up had become worthless.
But Yun Kang-min wasn't the only one bewildered.
-The first pitch was a strike. However... the velocity on the scoreboard reads 144 kilometers per hour.
-Oh...
-The displayed velocity itself isn't that remarkable, but we couldn't help but be surprised. Player Han Min-woo has been breaking his top velocity every game, and he's finally hit 144 kilometers.
-That's really impressive.
-But is it really possible for velocity to increase this dramatically?
-It's not impossible. Technical expertise and equipment have developed significantly compared to the past.
-Could you explain that in detail?
-If you identify the areas where velocity isn't increasing and reinforce or eliminate those parts, it can sufficiently go up. There are actually a few cases like this in the Major Leagues as well. Austin Lockhart, currently playing for the Kansas City Royals, or Josh Raymond, playing for the Boston Red Sox, are examples of that.
-So you're saying that improving training methods strengthened his muscle power. Actually, I had a brief interview with Player Jo Woo-chan before today's game. When I asked, he had a lot of praise for Han Min-woo. He said he's the player who trains the hardest.
-Han Min-woo was originally a fireballer who threw 158 kilometers per hour. So I think there's plenty of room for his velocity to improve further in the future.
While the commentators were conversing, Yun Kang-min, who had returned to the batter's box, let out a long breath.
He needed to stay calm. The pitcher in front of him was no pushover.
'Let's just think of him as Lunatics' Yu Chang-jin instead.'
That was a small relief. He was a tough opponent to begin with, and the velocity displayed on the scoreboard just now had snapped him back to his senses.
'It felt like he could see right through exactly what pitch I was waiting for.'
When he waited for a four-seam fastball, a breaking ball came. When he aimed for an inside pitch, an outside pitch was drilled in. When he tried to make contact with a low pitch, a high pitch came flying in.
That wasn't the end. The last pitch he swung at yesterday, his bat was pushed back, resulting in a pop-up. That meant the quality of the fastball was also extremely good.
'He has more weapons than I thought.'
Listing out the opponent's strengths one by one, he could understand just how difficult a pitcher he was facing right now.
But Yun Kang-min wasn't intimidated.
'I'm also a batter who represents the league.'
Among the pitchers he had faced so far, there were those who had once played in the Major Leagues, and those who threw 160 km/h.
He had survived in the professional world by facing such pitchers.
He acknowledged that Han Min-woo was a difficult pitcher to face, but that didn't mean he was an impossible opponent to conquer.
Yun Kang-min swung his bat at the incoming second pitch.
Crack-!
'Ugh.'
His hands stung. The ball that hit the bat flew toward the back stands.
Yun Kang-min swallowed a groan.
The velocity recorded this time was also 144 km/h. But the quality of the pitch was on a completely different level from yesterday's game.
'Does this make sense?'
He couldn't understand it.
Quality of pitch.
It refers to the power of the pitch thrown by the pitcher, in other words, the force contained in the ball. When people commonly say the ball has a good finish, it means the quality is good.
Pitch quality is influenced by various factors such as velocity, movement, and spin rate. Simply increasing velocity doesn't necessarily improve pitch quality.
Velocity can increase or decrease. Pitchers who create velocity variance by pitching with less effort or going all-out actually exist.
But pitch quality was a different matter. Throwing while scraping the fingertips to impart spin required not only grip strength, but also sensation, which was an extremely important area.
'Damn. I just called time recently, so they probably won't grant me another one...'
Yun Kang-min was bewildered.
Seeing that, Han Min-woo smiled with his glove covering his mouth.
'Just as expected.'
What got Yun Kang-min out yesterday was a B-grade four-seam fastball. That alone was enough to handle the power contest with Yun Kang-min with a fly ball.
But the pitch thrown today was A-grade.
The originally D-grade four-seam fastball had risen one level with
It was only natural for Yun Kang-min, who had yesterday's memory, to feel confused by the quality of today's pitch.
'This level of four-seam would be about the same as Daegu Gladiators' closer Shin Seung-min's.'
Having thrown from D-grade to A-grade during this time, he had physically experienced what kind of pitches he could throw at each grade.
As a result, Han Min-woo could categorize pitch value according to the grade table.
D-grade was below league average. C-grade was at the league average level.
B-grade was about the four-seam fastball thrown by teams' ace pitchers, and A-grade seemed to have pitch value at the level of representing the league.
That was why a batter of Yun Kang-min's caliber was struggling with a single pitch.
'Still, I mustn't let my guard down.'
Han Min-woo, having received the ball back from Pi Ki-jung, adjusted his glove.
The opponent was the league's best contact hitter. A .300 batting average wasn't obtained easily.
In fact, Yun Kang-min stubbornly held on, fouling off both the third and fourth pitches Han Min-woo threw after that. All the pitches thrown were four-seam fastballs.
That meant even an A-grade pitch couldn't unconditionally overwhelm a batter.
'This is why baseball is so fun.'
Paeng-!
"Swing strike! Batter out!"
What struck out the resisting Yun Kang-min was, ironically, a changeup. Its grade was D, having risen one level due to
'What's important isn't fast velocity or a breaking ball with a large drop, but how you deceive the batter.'
In that sense, Han Min-woo was a pitcher who knew how to deceive batters quite well. He made them focus all their nerves on the A-grade pitch, and then struck them out in reverse.
[Daily Quest List]
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'Alright.'
Watching Yun Kang-min return powerlessly to the dugout, Han Min-woo clenched his fist.
'At this rate, I might actually record three strikeouts today?'
└WOW what is this? First time seeing Yun Kang-min strike out that easily daebak all five pitches were in the zone and he couldn't properly hit any of them;;
└(Cicada crying when in danger) Cicaam..?
└kkkkkkkk crazy
└Watching Han Min-woo pitch is kinda fascinating, can't take my eyes off it. I was eating ramen while watching and it all boiled overㅠ
└Actually isn't our front office doing a really amazing job..? If he keeps showing this kind of performance, trading Yu Sung-jong for him is incredibly fortunate?
└Yeah true, a foreign player left and the starters collapsed early on so the relievers were all wrecked right; Han Min-woo came and cooled things down, didn't he?
└Plus Kwon Jun-seo just came back from injury so Yu Sung-jong was awkward anyway kk Better to trade him than leave him sitting on the bench ㅇㅇ It's not like our team doesn't have outfield utility players.
└And strong teams are always teams with stable pitching staffs kk Look at the Dolphins kk They have a stacked lineup but haven't won in 38 years~
└(Dolphins fan) Jumps in surprise.
└Youuuuu are seriously kkkkkkkk why poke at the quiet Dolphins you devil kkkkkkkkkkkk
└Isn't it not just the pitching there but also the defense that's the problem? They have a catcher who lets normal fastballs slip behind them and infielders who can only cover about one step kk kkkkk
└Han Min-woo is so cool!
"What was it?"
Jin Sang-heon, who was in the on-deck circle, asked Yun Kang-min as he headed toward the dugout.
Yun Kang-min shook his head and said.
"Changeup. Be careful, hyung. The fastball is incredible. It's a whole different game from yesterday. I was so focused on that, I got fooled by the changeup."
"How good is it?"
"It felt like Shin Seung-min was throwing."
"That good?"
Yun Kang-min nodded and disappeared into the dugout. However, that sight only added to Jin Sang-heon's doubts.
'What is it?'
There's such a thing as a baseline of common sense. Honestly, as someone who had faced Han Min-woo once, he couldn't believe he had changed that much in a single day.
But standing in the batter's box, Jin Sang-heon had to admit that his common sense had been shattered.
Pang-!
"Strike!"
He heard a sound like catching a cannonball. Even at a glance, the pitch quality was considerable.
'It really is Shin Seung-min's four-seam.'
Jin Sang-heon, who had swung and missed at the first pitch, swallowed hard.
A ball's movement is divided into two types: V-movement and H-movement.
V-movement refers to vertical movement. H-movement refers to horizontal movement.
As a prime example, a slider, which has horizontal movement, could be said to have high H-movement.
What governs this movement is the spin applied to the ball. In other words, the more rotation, the more drastic change the ball shows.
In that sense, the four-seam fastball of Shin Seung-min, called the league's best closer, has high V-movement. It creates the illusion of the ball rising, as people commonly say.
'It looked like it was rising.'
Han Min-woo's four-seam fastball was the same. The first pitch just now came in about one fist higher than his bat.
In this situation, the choice Jin Sang-heon could make was no different from Yun Kang-min's.
"Time!"
Jin Sang-heon, stepping out of the batter's box, let out a long breath.
The battle between pitcher and batter is often compared to rock-paper-scissors. Viewed this way, it seems like a compatibility fight based on luck, but in reality, it was like a mind game fought by analyzing past data.
Whether to aim for the opponent's strengths or their weaknesses. If aiming for weaknesses, how to induce them. If aiming for strengths, how to attack them.
Therefore, when a pre-constructed scenario falls apart, the batter couldn't help but be bewildered. They couldn't just swing relying on luck.
'I need to shake the pitcher somehow.'
But Jin Sang-heon was Jin Sang-heon. Even after taking an unexpected blow, he remained calm to the end.
The opposing pitcher had torn up the scenario he had drawn. Then the best choice he could make in this situation was to turn the pitcher's scenario to foam as well.
The so-called mud fight.
"Huu..."
Jin Sang-heon stepped right up to home plate.
At the same time, Han Min-woo threw the second pitch. The pitch type was a four-seam fastball. The location was a pitch riding the inside borderline.
'I thought he'd throw inside.'
At that moment, Jin Sang-heon's eyes flashed as he twisted his body.
Then he collapsed as if he had almost been hit by the pitch.
Paeng!
"Strike!"
-Uh uh!
-Player Jin Sang-heon falls down on the pitch coming inside. That was a bit dangerous, wasn't it?
It was a 100-point acting performance. A situation where anyone would think Jin Sang-heon was in danger.
"You son of a bitch!"
He threw his helmet. He also tossed his bat carelessly and walked steadily toward the mound.
'Let's play in the mud for once.'
The method Jin Sang-heon used to shake Han Min-woo.
It was a bench-clearing incident.
Dragging the opponent into the realm of emotions and fighting. The less experienced or weaker-mentally a pitcher was, the more likely they were to lose their composure in such events.
But after taking three or four steps, Jin Sang-heon flinched.
'Huh...?'
Something was off.
"Hey hey! That bastard there!"
"Block him quickly!"
He had only taken three or four steps toward the mound, but the Wolves' infielders were running toward him at full speed.
Not only that, someone roughly pushed him from behind.
It was the Wolves' catcher, Pi Ki-jung.
'Huh...?'
In that instant, he sensed something had gone wrong.
"This bastard dares to lay a hand on our Min-woo?"
Pi Ki-jung, who had the nickname "Fist," grabbed him by the collar and shook him violently.