Goodbye
Yoo Hyeon-bin couldn't hold on again today. Three runs allowed in the first. Then in the second, he failed to record a single out, surrendered two more runs, and left the mound.
His previous outing wasn't great either, but at least he managed to keep it somewhat competitive. Today, though, was truly rough. His balance looked completely broken.
Taking the mound after Yoo Hyeon-bin is Jang Hak-yeon.
He's a rookie, but he brings steady command and a heavy fastball.
Hyeon-bin failed again today. No—he was even more of a mess than before.
No matter how I looked at it, something must have gone wrong from that reckless attempt yesterday.
Jang Hak-yeon scrambled up in a hurry and did a decent job of stopping the bleeding, but the opposing pitcher who should have faced us yesterday threw a gem, and we ended up losing 7–3.
Then, two days later.
Hyeon-bin took the mound in the seventh and retired three batters without allowing a baserunner—a perfect outing.
I guess you could say he was back in his proper spot. His expression looked a lot more at ease, too.
And when Oh Gyu-shin came on in the eighth, it was clear the second starter role had gone back to Min Gyeong-hak, the guy we'd picked up in a trade.
The only question was whether Min Gyeong-hak could actually hold that spot down…
The Saturday before my start, we got some shocking news.
A few days before Yoo Hyeon-bin's third start as a starter, inside the Savers' general manager's office.
"His mind is made up."
"Hmm… I'm still not quite following. Even after we told him it was fine, he's still saying that?"
"That's right. He just wants to rest comfortably back home and focus on rehab. But according to the interpreter, he seems to be carrying a heavy sense of guilt."
"Guilt?"
"He left so suddenly and created a hole in the rotation, didn't he? And the fact that the team was willing to wait it out for him…"
"Ha… Well, I'll be. He cares about the team that much?"
The Savers' general manager's office held its owner—the GM—Manager Park Donghoon, and the head of scouting. The scouting director had called this meeting in a hurry.
The topic was Michael Len, currently laid up in the hospital with his injury.
Specifically, that Michael Len wanted to return to the United States.
The expressions on the GM and Manager Park Donghoon's faces grew serious as they listened to the scouting director. In contrast, the scouting director himself looked almost excited.
"You might remember him—the player we saw during that spring training exhibition against the San Diego Padres…"
Manager Park Donghoon fell into thought for a moment at the scouting director's words.
"Was there a player on that team we should be coveting?"
At the manager's skeptical question—
"Ah! He didn't actually play in the game. But he was at the ballpark with them."
"Who exactly are you talking about?"
The GM, growing impatient with the scouting director's roundabout way of speaking, cut in.
"You might have heard the name… Jared Barnet…"
"Jared Barnet? The pitcher who used to play for the Cubs?"
"That's right. Sixty-five wins over five seasons with the Cubs."
"…… Why are you bringing him up?"
Manager Park Donghoon asked again, looking thoroughly baffled by the unexpected name.
"That player is interested in our team."
"What?"
"Jared Barnet started last year and won nine games. But this season, he doesn't have a spot."
"Why not?"
"Looks like San Diego wants to develop younger arms rather than stick with an older guy like Barnet. I hear they put him on the trade market."
"Age?"
"Yes. He's thirty-six this year."
"Hmm… A bit on the older side…"
The GM wore a complicated expression. Even as he called the age high, his tone suggested he was tempted.
"But can we even afford his salary?"
"We can figure something out on that front, can't we? Once we decide to bring him in, there are plenty of ways."
"True. Plenty of ways."
"How's his stuff looking? Even accounting for age, if his ability was still solid, San Diego wouldn't just let him go."
"He's not at his peak, but he still throws a fastball over 150 km/h. And his main weapons—the sinker and the curve—are still there. There do seem to be some stamina concerns, though. Looking at last season, he struggled toward the end."
"Stamina, huh…"
"But the U.S. and Korea aren't the same, are they? It's not like flying for hours between cities, and we play fewer games. Especially our team—even on the road, most of our opponents are only an hour or two by car from Seoul."
"Hmm… Can we bring him over right away?"
"The player himself wants it. And the team… they'll let him go without any real issues."
The scouting director spoke with confidence.
"I just don't get it. Why would a pitcher of that caliber suddenly take an interest in our team?"
"I haven't been able to talk with him in detail myself, but it seems he did some digging on his own."
"I see… Well, if he wants to come, that's good for us. How is he off the field? Character and so on…"
"They say he's extremely diligent and family-oriented. Nothing to criticize on the personality side."
"Oh…"
"And there's one more crucial point…"
The scouting director paused for effect, then leaned in toward the other two and continued.
"This player is planning to retire at the end of this season."
"What?"
"So my thinking is… rather than retire in the minors or get sold off to compete somewhere else, he probably wants to go out looking good in our league."
"So we'd only get one year out of him…"
"By next year… Michael Len should be recovered from his injury."
"Ah! That makes sense!"
"We'll need to talk it over, but if Michael Len intends to come back…"
"Good. I'm in favor. What about you, Manager?"
"I don't see any downside for now either. But we should get a clearer picture of his current physical condition and ability. I'd also like to see him throw."
"Then, Director—talk with Michael Len first, and we'll proceed from there."
"Understood!"
Saturday morning. The shocking news that Michael Len had left the team hit us.
I headed to the ballpark in a daze, and there was Michael Len waiting for us in a wheelchair. He said his goodbyes to everyone.
The team, thrown into disarray, lost that day's game…
I took the mound on Sunday and barely managed to protect the lead for the win.
Then Monday afternoon.
"…This guy's coming?"
"Yeah! Your team just hit the jackpot!"
"That big a deal?"
"You don't know? This guy's the god of the sinker! In his prime he was mowing everyone down with just that one pitch!"
"God of the sinker? With only eighty-nine career wins?"
"I'm talking about his prime! His prime! He was insane during his Cubs days, okay? He even won sixteen in a single season!"
"Huh… Really? But doesn't that seem weird? If he was that good, why only eighty-nine wins? And he's pretty old."
"This guy got to the majors late. Almost late twenties, I think."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Once he got there he exploded with the Cubs. Then he moved around and his numbers dipped a bit, but he still pitches well."
"I see…"
"Whoa… How the hell did they even land him? That guy's salary… it must've been ridiculous."
"They probably worked something out behind the scenes."
"Damn. Check when he's pitching. I gotta go to the ballpark."
"You're overreacting."
"He's worth it, I'm telling you!"
"Okay, okay."
Ho-min was going completely nuts, but I couldn't quite join in.
A guy's got to have some loyalty.
Michael Len had treated me pretty well, after all.
He'd even taught me the Deathball.
A week later.
I dragged my stiff body to the ballpark after a road trip.
Even though it was an off day, quite a few players were out loosening up. I joined them for a light warm-up, got a massage, and came out.
But the atmosphere felt somehow restless.
I was poking around here and there, wondering what was going on, when—
"Huh?"
A potbellied middle-aged guy with long hair that nearly reached his shoulders—almost as long as mine—came walking toward me.
"Hi~"
"Oh? Uh. Hi~"
I raised my hand and returned the unexpected greeting… and the interpreter standing beside him quietly filled me in.
"That's Barnet."
"Huh? Oh! The new guy who's joining?"
"Yes."
"……He looks a little different from the videos."
The Cubs-era footage Ho-min had shown me definitely hadn't looked like this…
Where had that guy from the video gone, and who was this potbellied uncle…
Of course, what I'd seen was from almost seven or eight years ago… but still.
Did our team just get scammed?
Then Hyeon-bin suddenly popped into my head.
Compared to Hyeon-bin, this guy is…
Yeah. Not as bad as Hyeon-bin.
While I was thinking that to myself, a rapid stream of English suddenly hit my ears.
I tried to piece together a few words, but the interpreter was faster.
"He says he watched you pitch. Found it really interesting and wants to talk with you sometime."
"Now?"
"No. When you have time later."
"Ah~ So he's saying we should grab a meal sometime? OK!"
"Huh? No, that's not—"
The interpreter was still young, so he seemed to take everything way too literally.
"If he wants to talk when we have time, it's either a coffee date or a meal date, right?"
"……"
"Tell him I said we should grab a meal together."
The interpreter relayed it with a deeply skeptical look on his face.
"Oh~ @#$^%$&$#^@%@$#%#$#@"
"…He says that sounds good."
"See? It was about grabbing a meal after all."
I made a dinner appointment with a foreigner I'd just met for the first time.
If I invited Ho-min along, he'd probably love it.