18. The Proving Ground (2)
Baseball, put simply, is a sport where you throw the ball and hit it. But every team shows slight differences in their approach. We call those differences their team color.
The reasons behind these team colors are complex.
The franchise's history. The characteristics of their home stadium. The manager and coaching staff's tendencies. And so on.
The biggest reason Daegu Warriors, Incheon Fighters, and Changwon Rhinos play big-ball baseball—heavy on the long ball—is their home parks. All three stadiums are notorious as hitter's paradises, derisively nicknamed "ping-pong courts" for how often homers fly out.
And our opponent for this weekend series, the Seoul Rangers?
"Is that a baseball team or a track club?"
They're a small-ball team.
"Gotta be 'cause their home park's so huge, right?"
The stadium shared by the Rangers and Guardians—whether the old Jamsil Stadium or the current Jamsil Dome—is famous for its massive dimensions.
"That's part of it, but their manager's just an extreme small-ball fetishist. He even has his cleanup hitter Hyeonwoo hyung bunt sometimes."
Seoul Rangers manager Yoon Youngsik loves small ball.
"He was a legit slugger as a player. Wonder how he flipped after becoming manager."
"Maybe deep down he always wanted to be a scrappy speedster. His body was built for power, so he couldn't chase that dream."
"Jihun, no power hitter dreams of being a pest. Think about the pay gap."
"Ugh... this filthy world that only treats sluggers right. What are guys like us supposed to do? Right, Suyeong hyung?"
"I'm still a level above you, though. I hit five homers last season. You've got five over four years."
That was the Titans' scrappy duo—Jeong Suyeong and Baek Jihun—chatting with me sandwiched between them.
Sunbae Jeong Suyeong and sunbae Baek Jihun weren't starting today's game.
Sunbae Jeong felt slight discomfort in his thigh, and sunbae Baek was held out for conditioning management.
Baseball's a daily grind. Unless you're some iron man, playing every game is rare. Still...
With two starters out at once, it's gonna hurt competitively. Can't be helped.
Sure, sunbae Baek isn't much of a hitter—even his "improved" season was a .240 average—but his defense is world-class.
Sunbae Jeong goes without saying. He's the Titans' ironclad leadoff, hitting .300 every year.
Yet Manager Jeong Hyeonho boldly benched them both? No wonder fans are whispering he's forfeiting the game.
And we're coming off a losing series. The criticism of Jeong Hyeonho—already getting roasted as "Doll Hyeonho" or "Clown Manager"—only intensified.
Well, it's not exactly wrong to call it a forfeit.
More precisely, they probably don't mind giving away this one. I'm no mind reader, but you can see the signs.
In the marathon of a regular season, you sometimes have to eat losses. Usually when there's a massive pitching mismatch.
Today's opponent starter was the Eastern League's top pitcher last year, right?
Today's game: Seoul Rangers starter Harold Gallen. A familiar name to me.
He was the pitcher we faced at Rookie Day in Shin Sajik Baseball Stadium. Word was he was MLB-bound back then.
Something must've fallen through.
There were touching stories about high offers from teams but staying for the Rangers' championship shot. Not very credible, though.
Who turns down MLB? Only a guy like me, who's already conquered it and regressed. MLB's every ballplayer's dream stage. Plus...
Was there a Harold Gallen in MLB around this time?
No memory of a major leaguer by that name. Anyway.
"Ivan's in for a rough one today, huh."
Not quite MLB caliber, but facing a top KBO arm means a tough day for Ivan Rodriguez all around.
"Yeah... probably."
"Eh, he'll figure it out."
Sunbae Jeong Suyeong and sunbae Baek Jihun made sour faces at the mention of Ivan Rodriguez.
Can't blame 'em for the bad blood.
A pitcher who can't get it done won't be popular in the clubhouse. And Ivan straight-up tanked the dugout vibe last outing by losing his cool.
Players are people too. They wanna hang with guys who rake and have good vibes.
Like me.
That's why these two are glued to my side, feeding me intel for tomorrow's start.
"Yuha, you know, your face shows every damn thought sometimes."
"Right? The pitchers say his poker face is scary as hell."
"Why fear the baby maknae?"
"Yuha's just the maknae?"
"Tch... fair. Even I hesitate to send him on errands."
Even as they said it, when sunbae Baek Jihun asked me to grab an ion drink from the fridge...
Tadak.
Footsteps pounding. Then—
- Ahhhh...
A collective groan from the crowd, like a death rattle.
Sruruk.
I turned to the field.
"...Safe!"
A Rangers runner had taken second base.
The fourth stolen base already.
"Mierda!"
Ivan Rodriguez swearing from the mound, venting rage again. Looks like...
...no 5 innings today either.
Told him if he was desperate, come find me outside the park. He ignores it and goes whining to some Ulsan bum instead.
Twelve games into the 2040 KBO season. The player drawing the most buzz? Undoubtedly Busan Titans rookie pitcher Jin Yuha.
A monster who'd notched complete games in both starts. Plenty of pitchers never record even one in their careers, yet this high school grad hasn't failed to shut it down once since pro debut. In an era where starters' innings are shrinking, Jin Yuha's feats stood out even more.
And tomorrow: his third start. Fans wondered if he'd make it three straight complete games—a historic streak.
"Baseball Tomorrow! Today's topic is what everyone guessed: tomorrow's Titans-Rangers clash at Shin Sajik Baseball Stadium. Can Jin Yuha pull off three straight complete-game wins?"
The venerable sports channel staple Baseball Tomorrow was dissecting it.
"Ahem. I think Jin Yuha's shutout streak ends here."
A former player panelist cleared his throat and shook his head.
"What's your reasoning, panelist?"
"Not dissing Jin Yuha—it's just realistically unsustainable."
With his recent hot streak and striking looks boosting his fanbase, the panelist treaded carefully.
Most were Titans fans, fiery by nature—passionate if you put it nicely, hot-tempered otherwise. No one wanted a post-broadcast comment bombing on SNS.
"In 60 years of KBO, only five guys have three-peated complete games. Just one since the 2000s."
Gutsy to push his take regardless.
"Fun coincidence—the last one was a Titan back then."
"True, but that's beside the point. In today's evolved game, three straight is near-impossible."
Even KBO aces like Rangers' Harold Gallen or Guardians' Sim Chando challenging it? He'd bet no. But...
"Jin Yuha's a high school rookie."
And...
"Facing the Seoul Rangers? Not ideal. As we know, rookies have it rough against them."
"Brutal matchup."
"Bunts and steals—tough for an inexperienced rook to handle smoothly. Rangers execute small ball better than anyone."
"Hmm..."
Even the host, quietly rooting for Jin Yuha, couldn't counter easily.
"Jin Yuha's incredible, no doubt. But..."
The panelist swallowed hard.
"This might be his true proving ground."
"Proving ground?"
The host's head tilted at the curveball.
"The lineups he's faced so far? Honestly not that strong."
True enough. Warriors' bats are potent, but when he faced them, the season was fresh—lineup ice-cold. Carvers? Weakest in the league, feeble offense.
But...
"Rangers' lineup now? Different story."
"Elite sniper squad showed up today."
"Exactly. Their bats are scorching. If Jin Yuha shines here... that rookie of the year and MVP talk from his interview? Not hot air."
"And if he nails the three-peat?"
The panelist burst out laughing at the host's closer.
"Just means an irregular showed up. Something us mortals can't judge."
"Tch... realistically unsustainable."
The blue-eyed irregular watching the broadcast smacked his lips.
These clowns... who're they putting on trial and judging?
Jin Yuha's brow furrowed slightly.