Chapter 312
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 312
Chapter Title: The First Pitch and the First Bat
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“Hello.”
The quiet practice field stirred at the arrival of a brightly smiling Seojun Lee.
“Welcome, Lee!”
The LA Dodgers' PR team, along with Robert the pitcher, Hayden the batter, and Philip the scout, who would be training with him today, greeted Seojun.
Since the news of Seojun’s first pitch hadn't been announced yet, there were no reporters, only a camera crew to film his practice for the press release.
“Thank you for having me today.”
“The pleasure is all ours.”
After exchanging greetings, Seojun, Robert, and Hayden began to warm up. Watching him stretch so proficiently, as if he had done it many times before, the two players looked at Seojun with curious eyes.
“Jun, have you played sports before?”
“A little, as a hobby.”
Seojun replied with a smile to Robert's question. Hayden, remembering something, chimed in.
“I heard your friend is a baseball player. You must know the batting stance, then?”
“Yes. He taught me in detail yesterday.”
“Well, the first pitch will probably take longer than the first bat, so should we start with that?”
Seojun and Robert nodded at Hayden's suggestion.
After finishing their stretches, Hayden took his position as catcher, while Seojun and Robert stood a little in front of the mound.
“Let’s start from here and slowly increase the distance.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Robert, the pitcher, demonstrated first.
He showed Seojun his hand holding the baseball. His index and middle fingers were placed across the seams of the ball. Seojun mirrored the grip with the baseball in his hand.
“A fastball would be best to get it squarely into the catcher's glove. It flies in a straight line to home plate, so it won't be too difficult to control.”
“Okay.”
“It’s windup, kicking, stride, and release, in that order.”
The windup, the ready position.
The kicking, balancing on the pivot foot while lifting the other.
The stride, planting the lifted foot on the ground.
The release, letting go of the ball.
After showing Seojun each movement slowly, Robert then moved quickly.
The baseball flew from Robert's hand and smacked into Hayden's glove. As Seojun clapped, Robert said with a smile.
“You don’t have to throw it too fast. Let’s practice focusing on control rather than speed. Don’t worry, as long as it gets close to the catcher’s glove, the catcher will handle the rest.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“So, shall we try a light throw?”
Seojun nodded at Robert's words and got into position. Robert took a few steps back, planning to correct his form after the first throw.
First, the windup.
It was a motion that should have been awkward for a first-timer, but Seojun showed no signs of it, causing both Robert and Hayden, who was wearing a catcher's mask, to widen their eyes.
The following motions came in quick succession.
Kicking,
Stride,
And release!
Seojun planted his lifted foot, shifted his weight forward, and then swung his arm to throw the ball.
Before anyone could even marvel, the baseball that flew from Seojun's hand landed squarely in Hayden's glove. It was just a practice throw, so the ball wasn't that fast, but everyone looked back and forth between Seojun and the catcher's glove with stunned expressions.
“Jun. Can you throw harder?”
Robert, who was standing near Seojun, said with a glint in his eyes. Even after throwing the ball, Seojun looked relaxed, as if he hadn't used his full strength. Seojun smiled and replied to Robert's question.
“Yes.”
“Then shall we try from the mound? Let’s pick up the speed a bit, too. As for control… as long as it gets near the catcher, Hayden will take care of it.”
Seojun nodded at Robert's words.
This time, they decided to throw from the mound, increasing the distance.
As Seojun prepared to throw again, the head of the PR team called a staff member and instructed them to bring a speed gun. Every single one of these records could become a press release and a hot topic.
‘And if it’s an outstanding record, all the better.’
Following Robert's advice, Seojun adjusted his stance and threw the ball once more.
He planted his foot more firmly than before and put more power into his arm. The ball, flying faster than before, didn't veer off course and landed precisely in the catcher's glove.
The distance had increased, yet the speed was faster, and the control was perfect.
Robert, who had been staring blankly at the scene, turned his head to look at Seojun and asked.
“Jun. Have you ever played baseball in Korea?”
“No. Playing with my friend is all I've done.”
“You could be a baseball player… Not interested?”
“Hahaha.”
While Seojun laughed, Robert sized him up from head to toe.
His pitching form was flawless and natural, and his control was perfect. The speed was also faster than Robert had anticipated.
‘And… he still looks like he’s holding back.’
Robert wanted to ask Seojun to throw even harder, but he couldn't make such an unreasonable request of an actor, not a professional player, so he held his tongue.
And so, Seojun threw a few more balls from the mound.
Windup, kicking, stride, release.
Seojun's natural pitching form looked less like an actor practicing for a first pitch and more like a professional player's pitching practice.
As the baseballs Seojun threw flew at high speed and slammed into the glove, Robert scratched his cheek and said.
“I don't think we need any more practice for the first pitch.”
He didn't need to throw a 100-mile-an-hour pitch; all he needed was to throw with proper form so the ball would land in the catcher's glove. The PR team agreed with Robert. They had expected it to take hours, but it was over far too soon.
At Robert's words, Hayden, who had been wearing the catcher's mask, took it off and stood up.
“So, shall we try batting now?”
“Yes.”
“I just heard from the scout that you've hit a few at the batting cages?”
At Hayden's words, Seojun's gaze shifted to Philip. Startled, Philip gave an awkward smile. Seojun chuckled softly at the sight and nodded.
“Yes. I go with my friend sometimes.”
“Alright, let’s see you hit your way first, and then we'll take a look.”
“Okay.”
Robert stood on the mound.
“The speed will be around 140 km/h. Right down the middle.”
“Got it!”
Seojun had only ever hit balls from pitching machines or thrown by friends; this was his first time facing a real professional player's pitch, so he was a little nervous. But it was a pleasant kind of nervousness.
He gripped and released the baseball bat a couple of times, then let out a breath and looked at Robert on the mound.
“…Just looking at the atmosphere, you’d think this was a real game.”
The people watching from a short distance away looked back and forth between Robert on the mound and Seojun at the plate.
Seojun's serious expression at the plate was understandable, but Robert's stern face on the mound was a bit puzzling. He looked like he was in a real game.
An unexplainable tension filled the practice field.
Soon, Robert assumed his windup position.
‘The most important thing is to never take your eyes off the baseball.’
Seojun, recalling Jack's words, kept his eyes glued to Robert's hand holding the ball.
Robert stepped forward with his left leg and swung his right arm. Before the baseball could even reach the catcher's glove, it met the bat. Seojun followed through, pushing the bat upward.
*Thwack!*
Except for manager An Daho and the two players, who were well aware of Seojun's athletic abilities, no one there expected him to hit the ball on his first try. They could only stare blankly at the white ball soaring through the air.
Robert's gaze on the mound also followed the ball.
“…I knew this would happen.”
Robert couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. He turned his head to look at Seojun standing at the plate.
“I almost made a mistake.”
If a batter at the plate was intent on hitting, it was the pitcher's job to read that intention and throw where the batter couldn't hit.
Seojun's eyes, never leaving the ball from start to finish, and a gut feeling that he was going to hit it had momentarily confused Robert.
It was absurd enough to think of a Hollywood actor as a 'batter' for a moment, but Robert had unconsciously almost tried to avoid the hit by throwing not down the middle as promised, but outside and at a higher speed.
And there was one other person.
Hayden, who had been inwardly marveling since Seojun took his stance, asked him.
“Have you played baseball in Korea?”
“No. Playing with my friend is all I've done.”
“It’s not too late to start playing baseball now, you know. What do you think?”
“Hahaha.”
Seojun just laughed at Hayden's words, his eyes gleaming.
“I see now why he said we needed to see his batting.”
The head of the PR team swallowed hard.
Having watched baseball for a long time, his eye for talent was second to none. The first pitch was surprising, but the first bat was no less impressive.
‘If he’s good at both, the more spectacular and story-filled first bat would be better.’
The PR team leader's mind, which had been leaning toward the first pitch, now tilted decisively toward the first bat, where the ball flew so magnificently it could be seen from any seat.
Seojun's powerful hitting, so impressive it made everyone doubt if he was really a Hollywood actor, continued. The speed of Robert's pitches gradually increased, but Seojun Lee didn't miss a single one.
“Isn’t his main job acting and his side job baseball?”
The thought came to mind unbidden as he watched the white ball fly powerfully toward the far sky.
Robert, who had been thinking for a moment while watching the ball fly, said to Seojun.
“Jun. Are you okay with different pitches?”
“Hmm. As long as you avoid the inside, I should be fine.”
He could hit any ball, but since they were filming, it was better to avoid anything that could cause controversy.
“Don’t worry about my control.”
This wasn't a game where he had to strike out the batter.
Robert smiled, looking at the talented young player… wait, he wasn't a player. Robert, who had been smiling proudly as if looking at a talented junior, scratched his cheek. Hayden seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as he started offering Seojun small pieces of advice on his form.
Seojun Lee's practice for the first pitch and first bat had somehow turned into a training session between the two players and Seojun. When Seojun threw, Hayden would hit, and when Robert threw, Seojun would hit.
As the speed of Robert's pitches increased, so did the distance of Seojun's hits.
*Thwack!!*
At that sound, everyone knew instinctively.
This one is going over.
Robert, Seojun, and Hayden's gazes turned upward. The cameras and the people all tilted their heads toward the sky.
“Whoa…!”
As the baseball finally cleared the fence, everyone let out a breathy gasp of admiration.
Seeing the crowd's reaction, scout Philip felt a sense of vindication that his judgment hadn't been wrong, but at the same time, he let out a sigh full of regret for Seojun Lee's wasted talent. He wasn't the only one who felt that way.
The sight of Seojun and the two players talking during a short break caught people's eyes.
“Jun won’t become a baseball player, right?”
“I’m a fan, so I know he won’t. You have no idea how much Jun loves acting.”
The tone was somehow both proud and full of regret. The hearts of Seojun Lee's fans and baseball fans were in conflict.
Seojun, who had quenched his thirst with a sports drink given to him by An Daho, asked Robert and Hayden.
“If I do it like I just did, do you think I could hit a home run during the first bat?”
“Oh. You're going for a home run?”
Seojun replied to Hayden's question with a smile.
“I don't know if I can, but I'm going to try.”
Seeing Seojun's bright smile, Robert and Hayden had a feeling that Jun might actually hit a home run.
* * *
[Actor Seojun Lee to Perform First Bat at LA Stadium!]
[Seojun Lee Scheduled for First Bat at LA Stadium Tomorrow!]
[First Bat, Not First Pitch? The Influence of a Friend?]
-? So suddenly?
-But considering all the buzz lately, it's not that surprising.
=Seconded. There's so much whale-related merch, of course Seojun Lee has to show up.
=I saw a whale-shaped cake lol It was delicious lol
-This is probably going to be a hot topic until the documentary comes out.
=It'll probably still be a hot topic even after the doc comes out haha
-Our Seojun is doing the first bat… Is he going to hit a home run?
=Somehow, I think he will.
=With Seojun's athletic ability, why not? lol
-It's in LA! I have to go see it!
=+1 Can't believe I'll get to see Seojun in my city!
* * *
The day of the home game at LA Stadium.
The news of Seojun Lee's first bat drew a great deal of public interest, and that interest immediately turned toward LA Stadium.
A Black man in the driver's seat stuck his head out the window and looked around.
“…Is this a parking lot or a road?”
“Are we even going to make it to the stadium today?”
Tom, who had rescued the whale with Seojun Lee, and his friend stared with weary eyes at the cars clogging the road.
#