A Slight Difference
'Just one tiny difference. I predicted where the four-seam would come in and swung... What the hell happened during rehab? The two-seam I saw on video looked so bland, not even game-ready.'
The drop was about the same as expected, but the horizontal movement looked way sharper than anticipated.
In the previous two games, Seo Tae-woong's two-seam fastball usage hadn't cracked 10%. It just didn't have the oomph, and lefties typically only threw two-seams to right-handed batters anyway. He'd skipped it entirely against the first five hitters today, so Go Jong-woo had let his guard down, figuring it wouldn't come at him either.
And he'd fallen right for it.
'First pitch was a two-seam inside. So next up, probably a curve or changeup... As a lefty hitter, he's more likely to go curve over changeup against me.'
Swoosh.
Go Jong-woo stepped up to the batter's box line, crowding the plate even more to extend his swing toward the outer half.
'If it's inside... I'll step back a bit and fight it off.'
He wasn't neglecting inside pitches either.
The game resumed, and Tae-woong fired right away.
Thwip!
The second pitch was exactly as predicted—a curve tailing off the plate away.
'Gotcha!'
Crack!
The ball soared high, clearing the third baseman's head. The left fielder who'd shaded in, the shortstop, and even third—all three chased it, but it hooked foul just a few steps beyond the line. No one could make the play.
"Foul!"
'Damn, it hooked over the line. Should I hate this or love it?'
Lucky it didn't hang for a flyout, unlucky by just 10cm or so. A mixed bag.
'Whatever, can't be helped. I'll take the extra chance.'
Glancing at the ball's path as he touched first and second, Go Jong-woo trudged back to the box once foul was called.
Now down 0-2 after fouling off the first two. Unfavorable count.
'The movement's better than I thought.'
He'd timed the outer curve perfectly, sure it was squared up until the last second—but the drop was sharper, sending it foul.
Still, his chances weren't done. He could hit before three strikes piled up. No huge regrets.
'So the next one has to be...'
Go Jong-woo pondered and decided.
After the whiff and razor-thin foul, 0-2 count.
"My favorite spot."
So what now? Lure him off with a chase pitch? Or go right at him?
Pro tip: Hitters with good feel at the plate also have sharp eyes.
"How should I play it? Another two-seam? Or since I've shown inside tight and outer far, maybe a slider or curve drifting away?"
Dunno. If I were catching, neither's the answer.
"What? That leaves only bait pitches."
Tae-woong questioned it, but Ace proved him wrong in under five seconds.
See? Told ya.
Catcher's sign from Choi Ji-hoon... 'Inside? Front-door slider?'
Front-door slider wasn't a new pitch—just the path. For a lefty like him, starting toward the lefty hitter's body then darting into the zone.
'I won't hit him, but... at 0-2, why bother?'
His slider lacked pop, but with control, he could hit low and similar to the catcher's spot.
Usually no-runner situations, low-away to lefties to draw the bat out. But Choi Ji-hoon's mitt was lower than the first-pitch two-seam spot, spread wide.
Tae-woong, catching the sign, grinned like he'd known.
"How'd you know?"
Use your head a bit.
One: Hot hitters love curves and four-seams most.
So catcher skips your sub-130km/h garbage four-seam, right?
"Y-yeah."
Tae-woong wanted to argue but couldn't.
Leaves your decent curve. But hot hitters crush curves too.
Does catcher burn 'em now or save for last?
"Save for one shot at the end, obviously."
Now you're getting it. Gotta spell it out for a junkballer like you?
"What 'experience' you got?"
Shut it. Just roll with it.
Tae-woong got swept up in Ace's momentum.
"Uh... okay. What about changeup?"
Catcher knows your changeup ain't fooling lefties yet.
This guy's smoking fastball-speed stuff anyway.
Just tips his hat and count climbs.
"...Gotta rub it in like that?"
Prove me wrong then.
"Fine. So Ji-hoon hyung's calling a front-door slider bending into the zone from the body side?"
No need to straddle the body. Your control can't nail that on demand.
Just aim low in the zone.
"Why?"
Ace shook his head like the answer was obvious.
Don't just read scouting reports in the dugout.
Watch the hitter between pitches.
"Hmm..."
Check his feet. Guess his plan for the next pitch.
Tae-woong dropped his gaze to Go Jong-woo's feet and nodded like it clicked.
"Ah... yeah. Damn, too focused on my stuff to notice."
See now?
"Got it."
Go Jong-woo, glued to the front of the box, eased back half a step.
Full crowd or full retreat means one side only.
That? He's keeping both inside and outside live.
Ace backed off to let Tae-woong lock in.
Staring at the mitt, Tae-woong unleashed.
Thwip.
The ball arced behind the hitter, then snapped right. Go Jong-woo yanked his hips back. It dove lower behind his elbow, matching the first two-seam's path.
Head dropping, he watched it sail by.
Thwack!
Straight into the mitt.
The ump called it instant.
"Strike three!"
A looking K. Tae-woong had turned him around.
"Great slider angle!"
Max velocity +0.5 km/h.
Current max velocity: 129 km/h.
"Wooooah!"
Fans filled Hana Eagles Stadium with cheers.
Choi Ji-hoon beamed—his called game had owned the Heroes' scariest hitter. He jogged to the mound for a high-five.
"Tae-woong! Good! Nice!"
Smack!
"Nailed it! Thought it might get squared half the time, but that slider was filthy!"
"Nah, just threw what you called, hyung."
You got split personality or what? That was you a sec ago.
Tae-woong flipped Ace the bird inside his glove—camera-safe—then headed to the dugout.
'Eat that.'
Whoa, total psycho.
* * *
Top of the 3rd.
Crack!
Thud!
Max velocity +0.5 km/h.
Current max velocity: 129.5 km/h.
4th inning.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
The announcer nailed it.
Top 5th, Choi Un-tae's two-seam and circle change suddenly lost command.
Eagles pounced.
Leadoff weakly popped to center, but next walked full count, then a single. Right-field fly, runner swipes third—two out, bases loaded corners? No, 2nd out runner to third: two out, runners on 1st and 3rd.
One more K ends it clean, but Choi Un-tae's circle change hung flat.
Crack!
Gapper past center—two-run double.
Eagles jumped ahead 2-0.
Bottom 6th, Tae-woong whiffed the leadoff hitter on seven pitches with a deep-inside four-seam, hitting his post-regression goal.
Max velocity +0.5 km/h.
Current max velocity: 130 km/h.
"130 km/h! Me! I'm throwing 130 km/h heat! Thought next season at earliest!"
What? "Heat"? Folks'd think 150. Embarrassing—stay back.