Good Child
The weekday series against the Seoul Guardians, which kicked off the month of May, ended in a 1-1-1 tie. So yeah... it was a seriously weird series. There was nothing else to say.
In Game 1, senior Baek Jeongsu failed to go five innings and got pulled. It was unexpected, but not all that shocking. Unless it had been me who couldn't make it through five.
The real surprise was something else. The guy who saved us from defeat was none other than...
Thwack!!
Senior Baek Jihun, who had just five career homers total.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
In a flashy bat flip that was totally out of character for our clockwork shortstop. Even he seemed stunned by his own homer, bellowing like a beast as he rounded the bases.
And so Game 1 ended in a Titans win.
In Game 2, our publicly acknowledged fifth starter headache, senior Kwak Jaewoong, put on a monster performance.
Crack!!
"Strike three!"
Seven scoreless innings. Pitching perfection. But...
Thwack!!
The Guardians' starter was Sim Chando, the national team ace and currently Korea's best pitcher.
Crack!!
"Strike three!"
The funny part?
He threw a nine-inning shutout and still didn't get the win. And so...
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Game 2: a draw.
Finally, Game 3...
Bzzz!!
"Swinging strike three!"
James Gilbert went seven innings, two runs—a step below Kwak Jaewoong but still solid.
"Haha. Feels easy!"
He happily stepped off the mound after the seventh. The score was already up by over 10 runs. But...
Thwack!!
The Guardians, who had half-given up and subbed out their starters, tore into our bullpen. Leading the charge was my classmate Kim Beomjun—a first-round pick who saw himself as Jeong Hanseong's rival.
Rookie of the Year? Competition? With him? Me?
I didn't like the Rookie of the Year talk, but the guy's bat was legit.
Thwack!!
"Safe!"
Even closer Jo Yongjin gave up runs, sealing a walk-off loss in Game 3.
"What the... What kind of game is this?!"
James Gilbert, watching anxiously from the dugout bench, was devastated.
"Yu-ha... Too much happened. I'm exhausted, for real."
He vented to me after the game. Hearing familiar Korean from him was the real shock.
They say foreigners learn swears first...
Anyway. Just three games, but they drained the life out of us.
"Every matchup with them turns into this crap. Good thing we're in different leagues."
I heard later that clashes between our teams were infamous for this kind of chaos.
...What the hell.
I couldn't bring myself to say the ugly words for it.
The battered Titans returned home to face the Pistols.
Daejeon Pistols. The East League's traditional weaklings, just like us. But...
"We're not on their level anymore, right?"
As Jeong Hanseong said, objectively speaking, this season we weren't in the same tier.
"Because I've got this." "We're second in the East... Huh?"
Why the surprise?
"It's not wrong. The biggest reason we're second in the East is me, isn't it?"
"Sometimes I wanna slap you."
"Sometimes?"
"Actually, often."
"Maybe Park Cheongwon for Saturday's catcher."
"Sorry."
Joking with Hanseong aside, our talent gap over the Pistols was clear. However...
"Ugh... 'Upsets are inevitable' or whatever."
"My fault?"
Baseball's full of weak teams toppling giants. "Giant killing" wouldn't even be a phrase otherwise.
That was Children's Day series Game 1. The Titans lost to the Pistols.
I didn't even want to pinpoint the cause. Ivan just had an off day, that's all.
For Titans fans, Game 1 of the Children's Day series was a shock. Losing to a clearly inferior team, objectively speaking. And yet...
On Children's Day itself, fans filled the stands.
The day's stars, the kids, showed up in droves.
Most wore jerseys with the same number.
My number.
Just a month into my debut, I'd become the Titans' superstar. Sales proved it: topping even perennial leader Park Cheongwon (with Baek Jihun somehow in second), mine were the hottest sellers.
Three straight complete-game shutouts. 42 scoreless innings. Five wins.
"Phew..."
Jin Yuha, basking in the absolute adoration of Titans fans, prepared for his start as always.
Thump thump! Clap! Thump thump! Clap!
As my entrance music played and I finished warming up...
"Titans fighting!"
A kid fan in my jersey cheered in a lispy voice before tossing the ball.
Whoosh~
The wobbly pitch from near home plunked into the dirt.
Plop.
Jeong Hanseong, my personal catcher, exaggerated his framing to turn it into a strike.
- Hahaha!
The crowd burst into laughter at the fun display.
"Oppa! Win today too!"
I didn't hesitate.
"Obviously."
It was just what you do.
Kids are kinda intimidating...
Can't be helped, right?
I'm pushing 2 meters tall. Athlete build means I'm huge too.
What if I accidentally break one?
Legit concern on my end.
Not like I'm married or anything...
Pre-regression, I never tied the knot. Dated, sure, but...
Eh...
Life just happened. Kids always threw me off.
"Watch from there. We're definitely winning."
Fan service matters. Especially for kid fans.
"Yes!"
The kid beamed and headed out.
"Play ball!"
The ump called for the start.
Hah...
Children's Day event meant my scoreboard profile pic was a childhood shot.
When was that?
Looked like me with Dad in his playing days, from some parenting variety show. Specifically...
The day after he gave up a homer to his one-and-only kid and got pissed.
A pic from when MLB legend Dad—ruthless even to his own flesh and blood—was super salty after I went yard on him. Puffing my cheeks confirmed it.
Snort.
I chuckled briefly, then locked in.
Tap tap.
First-pitch sign: obviously.
- Four-seam.
Whoosh!!
I fired as soon as I got it.
Nice.
Since the Lynos game where my streak ended on an unlucky error, I'd taken the mound once more.
Seven scoreless. Looked like my worst start, but nah—only about 70 pitches.
Score blew open, so manager pulled me for maintenance.
Condition today? Peak lately.
Crack!!
It showed from pitch one.
"Strike!"
The ump's booming call.
"Whoa..."
Batter's dazed awe.
- Waaaaaaaaah!!
Stadium-shaking cheers.
- 164km
Velocity on the board.
Dad told me. 'Smash the Pistols.'
Jin Yuha was a good child who always listened to his parents.