Warriors' Hapless Stand
Lee Hyunwoo, the leadoff hitter for the Warriors, had prepared for today's game with a calm mind.
'Who doesn't know Jin Yuha pitches lights-out.'
Among the teams fans jokingly called "Jin Yuha victims," the Warriors were the first to fall. At first, getting no-hit in a high school rookie's debut stung like hell, but now he was numb to it.
'Just think of it as a force of nature. Makes it easier.'
He was the pitching answer to that fan joke: "What if Jin Yusung had debuted in the KBO?" Nah, after seeing that home run last time, maybe he was more than just the pitching version.
That aside, Lee Hyunwoo wasn't that scared of Jin Yuha. As a veteran, he'd faced plenty of ace pitchers—even if not quite on Yuha's level. But.
"Time."
Not being scared was one thing. Having confidence he could get a hit off the guy? Totally different story. The moment Yuha's first pitch came in, even that tiny bit of confidence evaporated.
"Hoo..."
Stepping out of the box for a deep breath, Lee Hyunwoo returned to the plate.
"Hmm... yeah, just normal blue eyes."
"Pardon?"
At least the good news was the Titans' catcher behind the plate wasn't Park Cheongwon—it was the high school rookie, Jeong Hanseong.
"Nah, everyone was saying he's a reptilian, so I wondered if he'd have snake eyes or something."
"Oh, even the foreign dude heard that?"
"Picked it up on the community boards. But seriously, doesn't it make sense? He threw 10 innings last start and looks fine?"
"Pfft... guy's just built different. Heard he laughed off those overuse controversy articles."
"The topic that burned up baseball communities all week was just a blip to him? Unreal."
Still, at least Hanseong wouldn't straight-up tell him to "shut up and make an out."
Tap tap.
'What'll the second pitch be...'
Whoosh!!
It was a four-seamer.
Crack!!
Second time facing him, so Lee Hyunwoo made contact. But.
"Urk!"
Yuha's signature tailing action on the fastball dodged the sweet spot.
'Lucky it's not an out.'
Two strikes. The count that terrified hitters facing Yuha the most.
'Nah, this is good.'
Yuha was aggressively attack-minded. At two strikes, he usually went straight for the kill. This might narrow his options—the perfect chance. Or so Lee Hyunwoo thought.
Whoosh!!
The pitch flew in.
Bzzz!!
Lee Hyunwoo swung.
"Ah..."
But Yuha's hyper-aggressive approach had a simple reason.
Thwack!!
No one could touch it.
"Swinging strike three!"
"Hey, when's that kid heading to the majors?"
"You don't just go 'cause you want to. And he doesn't seem eager anyway."
It was a horrifying answer.
Sometimes I pondered the butterfly effect.
After discharge, Kang Gihoo sunbae swept Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove, becoming the Titans' pride. That future? Gone. ROY comes once in a lifetime, and this season's already mine for the taking.
His popularity? Same deal. He's putting up great numbers, but mine overshadow them.
Can't be helped. He's performing at a believable level. Me? Unfathomably dominant.
'ERA's around... 0.34 now?'
Even that's up a bit from last month. That two-run outing against the Carvers hurt.
If Kang Gihoo lost out to my regression butterfly effect, others gained from it.
My personal catcher—who probably wouldn't have gotten a high draft pick otherwise—is a beneficiary. I made him.
And.
'That guy's future's changing too...'
Seems the Warriors had a hitter affected by my butterfly too.
- No. 2 hitter! Baek Sangyeon!
The Warriors' franchise star, who declared for MLB in two years, was the guy.
- "Be cautious with Baek Sangyeon lately."
The scouting team warned. Watching yesterday's game confirmed why.
Bzzz!!
'Approach at the plate's changed.'
Baek Sangyeon bulked up before the season, shifting to power-hitting for MLB prep. But.
'Blind bulking and home run swings? If that worked, it wouldn't be the world's top league.'
I wasn't sold. Pre-regression, he wasn't even on my radar.
'But he's tweaked his swing. Smaller leg kick. With the bulked power, prioritizing fastball reactions?'
Facing MLB-top-tier stuff—me—he realized changes were needed.
'Not bad.'
Solid attempt. The new form suited him like a glove.
Results backed it. Mid-season swing tweaks are brutal, but the prodigy adapted fast and was raking lately.
'Master that, he'll start anywhere.'
Of course.
Whoosh!!
That didn't mean.
Crack!!
He could beat me.
Heading back to the dugout, Baek Sangyeon eyed his snapped bat.
'Again...'
He'd believed his skills would play in MLB. Losing to a high school rookie shocked him hard. He knew now Yuha wasn't ordinary, but back then? Brutal.
So he ditched the arrogance, revamped his swing, and grew. It worked. But.
'Lost again.'
The Yuha wall was sky-high.
"...Should I just ditch MLB?"
"What? Don't say dumb shit like that, Sangyeon."
The Korean slugger prepping for MLB and the foreign vet dreaming of KBO longevity chatted sans interpreter.
"You didn't say that just 'cause that monster owned you, right?"
"..."
"Oh... Chin up. That guy's rare even in the bigs. Your rival's rival says so—spot on."
"Didn't you hit .100 against him in the minors?"
"Hitting .100 off that monster's an achievement."
Edmund joked, then frowned.
"Damn... to me, he's scarier than Eric. Facing him kills my swing for days."
Hard to pep up a teammate when you're down too.
"...Hang in there."
"Alright. I'll send his pitches to the moon for you."
Bzzz!!
"Swinging strike three!"
But the one rocketing to the moon was Edmund's feel for the bat.
Bottom of the fifth. Lots happened.
I'd held a perfect game. Warriors burned four pitchers already.
Crack!!
Je Gal-hoon sunbae went yard.
Crack!!
Yoon Kang-yeol sunbae too.
Crack!!
Even Jeong Hanseong homered.
"Wooo!!! This is baseball!"
Hanseong vented his frustration from the Rangers game stolen by Jamsil Dome rain. And.
Crack!!
Baek Jihun sunbae notched a multi-hit game, including extra bases. True to his All-Star grind, his bat heated up as voting closed in.
'...Will it work?'
Pre-game, Rhino's Song Jung-woo clung to top shortstop votes by a thread. Even a mega-team star struggled against an ex-major leaguer.
Crack!!
"Out!"
Even leaping for well-hit balls into outs didn't help.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
I took the final out myself.
"Augh..."
Heard some disappointed groans behind me. Must've misheard.
"Yuha, good work."
"Huh?"
Back in the dugout, Manager Jeong Hyeonho patted my shoulder.
"That's it for today."
Pulled.
Pulled after five? Caught me off guard at first, but I nodded.
'Hanseong mentioned it.'
Everyone's busting ass to avoid overworking me. No need to be stubborn.
Crack!!
Almost regretted when the bullpen gave up a homer to Edmund mid-game.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
But we won anyway. Good.
'Sucks no shutout complete game...'
That can happen anytime. For now, happily accept the team's care.
'Feels weird.'
Pre-regression me never got this consideration. Kinda bittersweet.
Days later.
Incheon Airport.
"Hoo... so this is Korea. Tsk."
A notably tall man set foot on Korean soil.
"Turner! Over here!"
The Titans' long-awaited new foreign pitcher—who they'd been "damn enduring" for. Travis Turner, my teammate pre-regression.