What's So Special About That Car?
Even though it was my second perfect game, the baseball world was pretty loud about it. From where I sat, it felt like even more articles poured out than after the first one.
Especially after the interview with the Jaguars' foreign hitter, Peterson, went public, things only got worse.
"Having that player in this league is a cheat code. Today our team had to play a completely unfair game."
Peterson seemed to think he was showing me some kind of respect with that interview, but… coming from a hitter who actually had major-league experience, it set every baseball community on fire.
Posts that started with Peterson's comments kept chaining into one another, and even though the season was barely a week old, people were already talking about our team winning the championship this year and my jump to Major League Baseball next season.
Plenty of fans were already calling our title. Looking at that atmosphere alone, our clubhouse morale should have been sky-high…
Instead, we went on a losing streak.
First up was Hyeon-bin, who started the day after I pitched.
To counter the lefty sidearmer, the Jaguars stacked the lineup with right-handed hitters—everyone except two. Those two were Peterson and Heo Yun, the three and four hitters. Everyone else was a righty… and Hyeon-bin just couldn't solve them.
He battled, but still finished with four innings and five runs allowed.
The righties were tough, sure, but watching him I also got the sense he was a little tight. His usually solid command looked shaky all day.
Even then we weren't too worried. Hyeon-bin was only filling the rotation spot Michael Len had left empty, after all.
The next day Marte took the ball and we still lost, and that was when the mood turned serious.
Marte threw a strong 7.1 innings with three runs, only one earned, and the team still dropped it 3–1.
Setting aside the offense that managed just a single run…
Two errors showed up in that game, and the decisive one that led to two runs belonged to Ko Mandeok.
Sixth inning, we were up 1–0. A routine grounder dropped right in front of the plate. He tried to throw to first and somehow launched it into the next zip code. Both baserunners scored, and the whole feel of the game flipped.
Knowing Marte's personality, if it had just been that one error he probably would have laughed it off.
The real problem was that Marte had already been carrying a pile of complaints about Ko Mandeok long before the throw.
And on that point I was completely with Marte.
How do I put it… it was like a screw had come loose somewhere. The guy just could not focus on the game.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Did you get dumped?"
"Huh? No? Why?"
"Don't give me that. You were somewhere else the entire game. You couldn't even catch cleanly."
A catcher who handles knuckleballs dropping a plain four-seamer twice? That pretty much says everything.
"I just wasn't feeling great today."
"…You looked like garbage at the plate too."
"I told you, condition was off."
There was something there…
This guy definitely had something going on and was trying to brush past it with vague answers.
I didn't push any further. Marte had already gone nuclear on him before I ever got there, so he'd taken enough of a beating.
Marte unloaded on me pretty hard too.
I hadn't even played that day—Manager Park sat me to protect my stamina—so I was wondering why he was coming at me… and that was the reason.
Why hadn't I been in his game.
Honestly it was ridiculous, but he looked so miserable I just mumbled an apology and tried to calm him down.
A guy who walks around grinning every day, once he actually gets mad, becomes completely unmanageable.
A little scary, honestly…
Manager Park must have sensed something was off with Ko Mandeok as well, because the next game he didn't get the mask. Jeong Jong-seong started for the first time in a while, and Ko Mandeok was stuck in the dugout.
Jeong Jong-seong looked solid and we finally snapped the skid.
The next game Jeong Jong-seong wore the mask again and we won once more. Ko Mandeok's entire contribution was one pinch-hit at-bat late.
Even then he still didn't seem particularly worried. Probably figured missing two games wasn't a big deal…
Monday's off day came and went, and Tuesday—my start day—arrived.
Only when he saw the lineup did Ko Mandeok finally realize something was actually wrong.
"…"
"Not in again today, huh?"
"…"
"Sigh…"
"Ah, shit. I got completely distracted by the car."
"What did you just say?"
What kind of nonsense was this now?
"You actually said you'd buy me a car, so I kept thinking about it…"
This idiot…
The day after I talked with Ho-min, I had decided I would buy Ko Mandeok a car after all. I went to him and said that unless he asked for something completely ridiculous, I'd get him a car instead of a watch.
Then he asked if I could chip in when he bought the car he actually wanted, and without thinking much I told him I didn't care.
He had been over the moon about that, and that same day he was behind the plate catching Hyeon-bin…
"Come on, what's the big deal about that car? Honestly, with your salary you could just buy it yourself."
"There's one I've had my eye on for a long time… I really wanted it… but it was a little expensive for me to swing alone, and then you said you'd buy it…"
"So let me get this straight. You had some kind of dream car, and once you started thinking you could actually get it this time, you got so excited you couldn't focus on the games?"
"Y-yeah, pretty much."
If the person standing in front of me had been a friend like Ho-min or a younger teammate, I would have unloaded a full string of curses. But he was still my senior, so I couldn't quite go that far.
"Haa… Go train. You need to show them you're fine again."
"Y-yeah. I should."
The guy looked completely deflated.
Seeing him like that made me feel a little sorry for him.
But that was that, and honestly I still didn't get it.
What the hell was so special about that car… I had no idea what model it even was, but he had been thinking about it the entire time he was on the field…
"Yeah, Marte had every right to be pissed."
Jeong Jong-seong still preferred a quick game, and in that respect he and I meshed reasonably well. A fastball-heavy mix wasn't bad either. It wasn't the seamless connection I had with Ko Mandeok, but if something didn't click I could just call for what I wanted.
We gave up a run right at the start of the sixth on a double, a productive out, and a fly ball, but it wasn't anything serious, so I stayed on the mound through the seventh.
In the eighth I handed the ball to Oh Gyu-shin, and Jeong Jong-seong came out with me. Ko Mandeok put the mask back on.
Maybe he had finally gotten his head straight?
He looked as steady as the Ko Mandeok I was used to seeing. It was only two innings, but he guided Oh Gyu-shin and Jang Hak-yeon cleanly and shut the door. Final score 6–1, our win.
My third victory of the season.
I half-expected it, but when Hyeon-bin's next start came around, the catcher was Jeong Jong-seong again.
Ko Mandeok had looked good in those two relief innings, but in Manager Park's eyes it still wasn't enough. Or maybe Jeong Jong-seong was simply playing too well to sit.
Hyeon-bin failed to solve the righties again and went five innings with five runs. The offense exploded, though, and somehow we scraped out a win.
Then there was Marte, the same guy who had gone nuclear on Ko Mandeok.
"What the hell is that picture?"
When had those two gotten close again…
They must have made up, because Marte and Ko Mandeok were walking around with their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing their heads off.
Ko Mandeok even stuck around for Marte's final pre-start check the next day… and then his name finally appeared in the starting lineup again.
Ko Mandeok helped Marte throw a shutout and announced his return.
The next game he teamed up with Hwang Chan-young and brought home another win.
Saturday's game was rained out. For the final game of the weekend on Sunday, the mask went back to Jeong Jong-seong.
We lost 7–5. Lee Yong-hun collapsed early again and that was that.
A messy, complicated week finally ended, and Monday arrived.
"Ah, come on… I was planning to just rest at home."
"It'll be quick, I promise. This involves you too, so just give me a little time. Heh heh heh."
After a light workout I was heading home when Ko Mandeok grabbed me and dragged me along.
Straight to a car dealership.
"Y-you're buying this?"
"Yeah. I've been looking at it forever. This is the one."
"…"
"Just chip in a little. Heh. I'll handle the rest myself."
Sitting in front of me was a bright red SUV. The problem was the price tag had way too many digits.
"This is the actual price, right?"
"Yep!"
"Then why doesn't the first number… start with a one?"
"Ahahaha. Cars like this are just like that."
"…So how much are you asking me to put in?"
"W-well…"
I had a feeling I was about to get thoroughly fleeced…