Olympics Over. Second Half Begins
The national team had barely—just barely—managed to keep breathing.
Their next opponent was Taiwan, rated the weakest of all the Olympic entrants. Of course, that assessment had come before the Games even began.
Even now, Taiwan’s standing hadn’t improved. It was simply that… our national team had dropped down to join them.
Taiwan sat at the same 1-3 record as us.
Just as we had somehow managed to take down the Dominican Republic, Taiwan had survived by knocking off Cuba, a team everyone considered a cut above them.
Two teams clinging to a rope that was about to snap. Whoever lost this game was essentially confirmed for elimination. Both sides had to stake everything on it.
Manager Min Gucheol sent Gwak Jeong-min to the mound—the same pitcher who had thrown three innings against Japan just three days earlier.
The starting rotation was a complete mess.
They had refused to use a reliable arm like Gwak Jeong-min as a starter and instead burned him in relief against Japan, and this was the result.
If they had simply run the three starters who had actually shown something in order, things would have been better than this.
Na Hong-gi from the first game and Ki Chan-su from the next couldn’t be thrown right back out as starters, so in the end Gwak Jeong-min was the only answer left.
And so the game against Taiwan began.
Our national team took the first lead and raised a flicker of hope.
But…
The pathetic batting lineup made Gwak Jeong-min cry.
A national team that had lost its purpose.
There was no “we went out with dignity even after elimination was confirmed.” Nothing of the sort.
Final record: 1 win, 6 losses. Dead last. The Olympics ended in utter humiliation.
“This Olympic national team, man. Honestly, it was complete garbage. Is it just me? No way. You guys think so too, right?”
A live broadcast rolling on a video platform.
A guy who had become fairly well-known for his baseball analysis sat in front of the mic, tearing into the Olympic roster.
“The pitching staff was one thing, but the lineup… except for the Savers’ Bear, every single one of them was a fucking idiot. Idiots.”
The Savers’ Bear—that was the nickname fans of other teams used for Seo Gyeongmin.
“Someone asked me, why was the national team that weak? Why? Because some crazy old man sat in the manager’s chair and did stupid shit, that’s why.”
The chat window exploded with his unfiltered words, donations pouring in alongside them.
He grinned at the tips and kept going.
“As you all know, Min Gucheol and Ko Jangsu are the real culprits behind this team. Ko Jangsu gives the orders, Min Gucheol follows! That’s your national team right there.”
“Alright. First, Kwon Jong-jin. He refused the call-up citing injury, right? But it wasn’t even that serious—everyone saw him pitch for the All-Star team. Heh. A player of Kwon Jong-jin’s caliber is hard for a manager to push around. Min Gucheol knew his words wouldn’t carry weight, so he went ‘oh perfect’ and cut him immediately. Doesn’t that fit the pattern exactly?”
The man moved his mouse and the screen showing Kwon Jong-jin switched to something else.
“And then Kang Hajin. Fuck, this one’s just ridiculous. Look at his numbers this year. And they didn’t take him? American scouts are all over this kid right now and they still left him off. Why? Isn’t it obvious? Ko Jangsu. That old Dragons manager ordered it.”
The screen flipped again. Now an old interview article with Ko Jangsu filled the frame.
“Back when Kang Hajin was with the Dragons, Ko Jangsu worked him like a dog. Then after the trade to the Savers, Hajin completely screwed Ko Jangsu over, right? This was revenge. As far as I know.”
The man kept going, tearing into several more players with various stories.
Nearly two hours of pure criticism rolled on…
“This year’s champions? Hmm… either the Raiders or the Savers. But if I have to pick just one… I’m going Savers. Why? I think the rest of the rosters are about even. Honestly the Raiders have the better lineup. But… Kang Hajin. He’s the X-factor. I just can’t picture him losing. In my opinion even Kwon Jong-jin… wouldn’t be able to stop him.”
That day’s broadcast lit a fire under every baseball fan.
After the national team’s noisy return home, time kept flowing until the Olympic break finally ended.
Now it was time to pour everything back into the league, where the standings battle was already white-hot.
Our team sat in second place, two games behind the first-place Raiders.
One hot streak and one cold streak overlapping could flip the gap completely.
A few days before the league restarted, I heard something unexpected from the manager.
“What? Me?”
“Yeah. I’ve already talked to both foreign pitchers, so prepare yourself accordingly.”
“Ah… yes.”
The second-half starting rotation would begin with me.
I had wondered whether the two foreign pitchers holding the one and two spots would just go along without a word, but apparently the conversation was already finished…
So for a moment I felt a little proud.
Ace of a second-place team. Both foreign pitchers were doing their jobs, and still I was the number-one starter… it felt pretty damn good.
“Ah, that? Marte completely lost it. Demanded they put you in the batter’s box whenever he pitches.”
Tae-seong hyung tossed the line out like it meant nothing.
“…… What?”
“He was arguing why he should be the only one taking the hit.”
“F-for real?”
Come to think of it, he had said something like that before.
“So the rotation’s going to be you first, then Yong-hun, then the two foreigners, and finally Chan-young. That’s how it’s spinning.”
“……”
So I was the ace in name only.
“Hmm… perfect.”
I had been taking my medicine every week. The rest during the Olympic break had recovered a body worn down from running the first-half rotation… or at least a body that was probably a little worn down.
And I had spent a long, long night with Han Song-yi, who had finally returned to Korea after almost a month. A really long, scorching night.
Thanks to all that, heading into the first game of the second half against the Warriors, my condition was at its absolute peak.
Had I gotten too cocky and let my guard down?
“Ugh—”
Ah… he just threw the first pitch and the ball completely sailed. It flew so high catcher Ko Mandeok couldn’t even reach it.
Catcher, batter, and home-plate umpire all jumped in surprise. Haha. He didn’t do that on purpose. The ball must have just slipped out of his hand.
I had wanted to start with a cool look, and instead the ball completely got away from me.
It flew so high and far that even if Ko Mandeok had stood up he probably couldn’t have caught it.
And yet…
“Wooooaaaaahhh!!”
Why were the fans cheering? Everyone was laughing and clapping.
…Do they think this is some kind of greeting?
I opened the second half with unintentional showmanship.
“Stri~ke! Out!”
That’s his fourth strikeout of the day, and he closes the top of the third with three batters again.
I say this every time, but he really is an outstanding pitcher. The best fastball in the country, a full arsenal of secondary pitches that match it, and command so sharp he barely ever misses his spot. Nothing to criticize.
After that first pitch, nothing major went wrong.
I had tried to throw too hard, pulled that embarrassing showmanship stunt, and then dialed the effort back a little—and the results turned out even better than expected.
Mid-150s fastballs and breaking balls were landing exactly where I wanted them in Ko Mandeok’s mitt.
Because it was the first game of the second half I had worried a little that the other side would throw their ace and turn it into a pitchers’ duel.
But our captain’s home run, carrying the same hot bat he had shown in the Olympics, plus a string of hits, had us sitting on a 4-0 lead by the end of the third.
“Be honest. You were nervous today because you weren’t in the lineup, weren’t you?”
Ko Mandeok, who had already notched a hit of his own, poked me in the side.
“No? Why are you making stuff up?”
“Yeah right. I can read you completely.”
“What are you even talking about… stop framing an innocent man.”
He had nailed it so cleanly I almost jumped. When I first saw my name missing from the batting order I had honestly felt a little uneasy. All season long, whenever that happened the runs just wouldn’t come.
I thought I had managed my expression pretty well, but apparently this guy had caught me anyway.
Still, I could never admit it.
“We’ve got the captain. Why would I worry?”
“…You’re seriously using the captain as a shield? Cheap.”
“What? You don’t trust the captain, hyung? For real? Wow, that’s cold.”
“N-no! Of course I trust him! Ahem!”
Watching him fluster made me feel a whole lot better.
Every inning the hitters were giving me hits and chewing up plenty of clock, so I could stay completely relaxed.
Finish an inning quick, come in and rest nice and calm, go back out, finish another, come in and rest nice and calm again.
We were winning, my condition was good, I was getting proper rest. Everything was going my way, so the tension was completely gone.
Standing on the mound felt almost like live BP in practice.
If I had been rolling a no-hitter the way I had with that perfect game last time, maybe it would have been different—but I gave up the first hit in the fourth, so both the perfect game and the no-hitter were already dead. Whatever.
People say a little tension raises your performance… but for me, just throwing free and easy like this felt even better.
With the lead comfortable, I even tried a little prank like the one just now.
“What the hell was that?”
“What?”
“That pitch just now felt weird.”
“Huh? How so?”
“That wasn’t a slider…”
I had thrown a cutter on a slider sign. The same cutter I had messed around with a few times in practice.
No runners on, so I could afford the joke. And a slider or a cutter… they’re pretty similar, right? If he can’t catch it, oh well.
“It was a slider.”
“…… No it wasn’t. That was a sweeper—”
“Maybe it just didn’t break as much. Maybe I didn’t snap it hard enough? Ahh, my condition today is kinda…”
“……”
Ko Mandeok didn’t look like he believed me for a second. But what was he going to do? I said it was a slider.
Looks like that’s all for Kang Hajin today.
Yes. Pitchers are warming in the bullpen and Kang Hajin is leaving the dugout, so it looks like a pitching change.
Six innings, four hits, one run. Another strong outing from Kang Hajin.
Our team took the first game of the second half lightly, and after that…
Five straight starter wins had us right on the Raiders’ heels.