Dawn Fans and Pinch-Hit Pressure
Sigh. The next day, I arrived at the stadium early. I wanted to get in plenty of batting practice to work on handling breaking balls. So, as usual, I pulled slowly into the parking lot entrance—and spotted a small group of people waiting right there.
"What the…?"
That's when it happened. They suddenly started waving frantically at my car and jumping up and down.
"Woooah! It's Kim Hu-seong!"
Oh...? Right!
It hit me in a flash. I'd totally forgotten for a second. There were fans who came early just to catch me arriving.
I rolled down the window slowly and stuck my head out. The cheers got even louder. Up close, I could see it was three female fans waiting for me.
Ahem. No way I could just drive past them. Honestly, it didn't feel bad at all. It really drove home that the new season had started.
I gave an awkward smile and greeted them first. "Ah, everyone... uh... please take care of me this year too."
The fans fired right back. "You too! And here... take this."
"Huh?"
Each of them handed over a small wrapped gift. Whoa... I guess I get stuff like this now too...?
"Thank you." I quietly placed the gifts on the passenger seat. Naturally, talk turned to autographs. I got out of the car, went over to them, and quickly signed everything they had.
But then one fan suddenly asked with a worried tone. "Kim Hu-seong, is your knee okay?"
Hmm... better gloss over that one. I paused for a split second but kept my expression as light as possible. "Ah, yeah... it's just so-so."
Another fan jumped in right away. "What about your hamstring?"
Oh yeah, that too. This one I could say with a bit more confidence—since it wasn't actually injured. "That's fine."
All three gasped in unison. Then one of them said, almost on the verge of tears, "His knee must still be bad..."
The mood suddenly sank. Whoops... this is awkward.
"But how'd you guys get here so early again?"
One fan answered like she'd been waiting for it. "The season's started—we had to come back! And Kim Hu-seong's the most popular... we can't miss our fixed time slot to see you!"
Hearing that, I smiled, but a wave of pressure hit me. But I'm planning to cut back on training time compared to before, so I won't be here often... Better draw a line now.
I said it as gently as I could. "Uh... I won't necessarily be here at this time from now on, so the odds are low going forward."
"Ah..."
The fans all looked disappointed. "So you three got lucky today. Since I'm here, want some photos?"
Their faces lit up instantly. "For real?!"
I nodded briefly and posed with each one for pictures.
I'd just finished training and set my bat down for a quick break when the coach gestured toward me in front of the other players.
"Hu-seong's the model of diligence. Mind showing the bench guys an example of good form?"
In the end, I headed back into the cage. Gripping the bat and setting my stance, I felt the eyes on me sharpen from behind. When the ball came, I kept my upper body still, braced with my legs, and extended the bat.
Crack.
"See that? That's pretty form right there."
I heard the batting coach's voice. The ball rocketed off cleanly. He got even more excited. "That's how you hit it. Do that, and you'll escape the bench. You're all seniors to Hu-seong—focus, watch, and copy."
Sigh...
That's when Hwang Do-yoon chimed in from outside the cage, all casual and teasing. "Man~ Hu-seong's got it good. Batting coach doesn't praise like that often."
"..."
"And you're fully managed now, right? Rest day today too? Lounge around, pinch-hit once, show off—lucky, lucky."
I slung the bat over my shoulder, caught my breath, and replied. "I don't really like resting. But no choice."
Even as the words left my mouth, it clicked. Wait—rest day today too?
"Hold on, Coach. Am I resting today too?"
The batting coach nodded like it was obvious. "Yeah. That's the plan."
What plan? I rested yesterday too?
I set the bat down and frowned. But no helping it. Our opponent for this three-game series was Daejeon McPhace. They'd gotten stronger—Yoo Hyun-gun, who'd played in MLB, returned and was their #2 starter. Add Choi Kang-hyuk with his 150km stuff, and they had four starters throwing that velocity.
But today was #4 starter Jang Geon-woo. Max 150km, but that's his peak. So, regrettably, I wasn't on the starting lineup.
Tsk...
"Ah..."
As I sighed, the coach glanced at me and quickly changed topics. "By the way, Hu-seong, you gaining weight okay?"
"Weight?"
"Yeah. That's key for you. Otherwise, you might struggle at home games."
"Huh?"
I sounded confused again, and he rattled on like it was common knowledge. "You know our park's tough on hitters? Looks small, but it's deeper than it seems, no wind—bad for batsmen. You're at a huge disadvantage. Not easy to overcome."
Damn, he wasn't wrong. Without enough power, balls don't carry. And if they don't...
No reason for me to pinch-hit. Against the Padres, the pitcher's ball had good hop and I cleared it—but even then, it wasn't a bomb...
"So either practice more to crush breaking balls, or bulk up and drive 140km fastballs deep."
"..."
"Got it, got it."
Come to think of it, what should I eat later? Can't just grab anything to gain weight. Need balanced carbs, plenty of protein and fats. But too heavy, and I'd get sluggish. Menus flipped through my head. Chicken breast was bland, gukbap too salty. Pasta good but low protein, burgers decent but still lacking.
Sigh...
- Gocheok Turkeys take an early lead against Daejeon McPhace!
I hate waiting in the dugout. So this moment felt suffocating.
- Oh! Hong Je-ju crushes it! Over the wall—Daejeon McPhace takes the lead!
Watching a tight game slip away is frustrating, but even worse...
- Bottom of the 7th. Daejeon McPhace changes pitchers.
"Kim Hu-seong, get ready."
- Daejeon brings in closer Jeong Ji-hoo.
- Still throws gas. Mid-150s heat...
Perfect chance for me. Hard to argue against.
- Gocheok preps a pinch-hitter.
- And it's Kim Hu-seong!
- Runners on first and third. How will Daejeon play it? A homer here flips the game...
- They haven't faced him yet. Probably battle.
Jeong Ji-hoo. Faced him before. 153-155km fastball with a wicked slider. Slider-only? I'd be toast. But guys cocky with heat...
Whiff—crack!
- He crushes the first pitch!
Easy.
- Underestimated Kim Hu-seong! High fastball first pitch, 155km... but he's faced MLB guys!
I watched the ball soar. Eh...? A bit short? Go over. Go over. Go over...
"Woooaaahhh!"
Outfield crowd roaring. Phew... close one.
I tossed the bat and circled the bases slowly. The scoreboard flashed "HOME RUN," numbers ticking up. Turkeys fans cheered; pinch-hit success had Kim Young-ho beaming.
He loves this stuff.
We held the lead after that and won. But something felt off. Great pinch-hit, team wins, homer pads my stats. Yet... dugout waits suck this much? My attitude?
Haa...
Still grumpy, packing in the locker room and heading to my car, I overheard two voices bickering.
"Manager, you can't keep pushing Hu-seong like this."
"Pushing how?"
Eh? Pushing me?
"You're feeding him homer setups. He's racking them up. Hits 40, options trigger—and after four games, he's at five already..."
"What're you talking about? He wants to play; we're rotating other outfielders. He might just be hot. Pull him for options?"
I peeked cautiously. Manager and operations head arguing.
"Come on! What if he pads options then slacks? Control it."
Crazy?
"That's what we're doing! What do you want?"
"Tch. Match him tougher. Hard matchups build skill fast."
Wow... saying it outright? But ops guy's pissed, so current plan... might be good?
"Keep it up, and I'll DH him every game."
"Ugh, why say that?"
Kim Young-ho sighed at the ops head, then scowled like something hit him. "And Jeong I-hoon posted for 20 billion, but we're still broke this season?"
"He... spent it elsewhere."
"All of it? On what?"
"Places he had to. Old FA flops piled up..."
"...Sigh."
Sigh... damn.