Beast's Blunder is Inevitable
Just as a pitcher's hanging curve to shut up the haters is unavoidable, a beast's error is an act of God. No matter how elite a shortstop is, they're bound to botch one eventually over a full season.
For example, even Senior Baek Jihun, whose defense is straight-up Major League class, had four errors this year. And those kinds of mistakes usually look utterly ridiculous and comical to everyone else. That's why baseball gets called the sport where "the peaks differ, but the valleys are all the same."
So.
Most people would cut you some slack...
But come on—two errors in a row? Both on routine grounders? That's a bit much, isn't it?
"Hoo..."
It was inevitable that my trust in Jang Munwoo's second base defense had hit rock bottom. And on top of that.
Our opponents are the Guardians.
We'd snatched the winning series from them just now, sure, but the Guardians were last season's champions. They were also currently sitting at the top of the Western League.
The Guardians weren't some fluke team riding weird luck and a regressor's influence like the Titans—they were the real deal, a genuine powerhouse.
Sim Chando? Yeah, he's an incredible pitcher, no doubt.
But even the greatest ace can't carry a team to contention, let alone a championship, without the lineup backing them up. You could see that just looking at my early career before regression.
"..."
I glanced at Jang Munwoo, who looked utterly deflated, then refocused on the at-bat.
No. 2 hitter... Solid contact skills, but great at executing small ball too.
Most Guardians hitters were what you'd call well-rounded "hexagon" players. Take Senior Oh Seungjin, who jumped to the Pistols on a massive FA deal in last year's stove league—you could see it there.
Decent eye. Above-average bat. Excellent situational awareness.
The KBO's top team's lineup was just on another level baseline. So.
Obviously, a bunt here.
Tap tap.
The sign from Jeong Hanseong.
- Four-seam
Four-seam it was.
That's the play.
The batter was blatantly squaring around to bunt. No need to waste energy trying to jam him.
Whiiip!!
That just leads to more pitches wasted, anyway.
Tick!
Clean bunt.
Pat pat.
As the runner dashed from first to second.
"First!"
I threw to first, just as Jeong Hanseong called. When you can't see the field, you trust your catcher, period.
Thwack!!
"Out!"
Jeong Hanseong was plenty reliable.
Wonder who raised him.
One out, runner on second. Scoring position.
Didn't see this coming right out of the gate.
The No. 3 hitter was Carpenter, the veteran foreign slugger in his third KBO season. He was the controversial type they called a "clutch hitter."
Data nerds say clutch hitters are a myth. But surprisingly, a lot of folks on the field believe they exist.
I was in that camp. Baseball's a mental game, and weirdly enough, some guys just lock in better with runners in scoring position. But.
Tap tap.
That's before they met me.
Clutch hitter or flatliner, in front of me?
Whiiip!!
They were equal.
Crack!
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
"Uh... Yuha. Sorry. I blew that one."
Jang Munwoo offered a cautious apology as he headed back to the dugout.
"Whatever. No runs scored, so we're good."
Jin Yuha replied with a blank expression.
"Just go get some runs today instead."
"...Yeah!"
Jang Munwoo nodded in relief at the encouragement. Lucky for him personally.
"...If you can't even do that, I won't treat you like a player anymore."
He'd been too fired up to catch Jin Yuha's quiet murmur.
The Guardians-Titans matchup was always extremes. Either a slugfest or a pitchers' duel.
Today was the latter.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
No. 4 hitter Oh Daesu couldn't even flinch against the two-seamer's filthy movement.
Bzzz!!
"Swinging strike three!"
Yoon Gangyeol's bat whiffed emptily at the changeup vanishing in front of the plate.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
Kim Taeyong, who at least put up a fight, went down swinging after a nine-pitch battle.
Early on, the Titans' bats were ice cold.
Bottom of the second.
I chatted briefly with Jeong Hanseong before taking the mound.
"Go strikeout-heavy?"
"Eh... Kinda iffy."
Talking future innings.
"Really? Normally, you'd say 'can't trust the D, so Ks it is' right about now."
"Yeah, normally. But their lineup's aggressive today."
Probably because.
"All these weird vibes, so they're forcing contact?"
"Yeah? Then..."
"No need to chase Ks here. Pitch normal, save pitches."
Come to think of it.
"Haven't had a complete game lately."
"...Most guys do that once every few years, you freak."
I'm not most guys.
"You better step up. Don't wanna get passed by Kim Beomjun?"
"...I know."
"Nah, Jang Munwoo might catch you too? Dude's bat's been nuts this series."
"Hey! Even you can't say that!"
The bottom of the second was what fans jokingly call the "Jin Yuha Special" inning.
Bzzz!!
"Swinging strike three!"
Sweeper with insane horizontal break on the righty.
Bzzz!!
"Swinging strike three!"
Changeup boasting sub-.200 against lefties.
Bzzz!!
"Swinging strike three!"
And the splitter that put me on the map before pro debut, clocking early 150s.
Guardians hitters scattered like leaves in the wind.
The booth was impressed, but I was nonchalant. Maybe a tad grumpy.
"Thought they'd sit back."
"Yeah. Was saving pitches, but why can't they even touch it?"
I was disappointed in the Guardians' lineup.
Thwack!!
A sharp liner sliced through the Jamsil Dome sky.
"Whoa."
Even I was impressed from the dugout.
Whoosh.
Jeong Hanseong flung his bat and sprinted to the bag. But.
Thud!
The left fielder dove boldly into the wall and snagged it on the fly.
"Argh! Jamsil Dome and I are cursed!"
Jeong Hanseong hung his head in regret on the way back.
"Stamina fading? You're dead in the offseason."
"Nooo... It's not even our home anyway."
"I didn't raise you that soft."
If there was a guy like Jeong Hanseong who clashed with Jamsil Dome, there was the opposite—a hitter who owned it.
Thwack!!
Jang Munwoo, tormenting Titans pitchers on D and Guardians arms at the plate since yesterday.
"Whoa... How high's that going?"
The ball rocketed up at a massive launch angle.
Ting!!
It caromed off the infield fair territory ceiling and plopped down.
"Ah!"
The outfielder, who'd read it perfectly and shifted, looked like a fool in seconds.
"Safe!"
Dome luck at its finest. But.
The Titans' only lucky charm was Jang Munwoo.
Thwack!!
"Out!"
Senior Baek Jihun's rare well-struck liner went right to the second baseman's glove.
Thwack!!
Senior Jeong Suyeong got it out to the outfield, but the guy fooled earlier got revenge with an easy grab on the tough one.
Hm?
Heading to the mound after a scoreless top of the third, I felt eyes from the dugout.
"..."
Manager Jeong Hyunho.
Thwack!!
Two-seamer tailing into the righty induced a grounder.
Crack!!
Cutter snapped another bat.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
Velocity up from early season—now a true heater at 164 km/h—plunked the heart of the zone.
"Sigh... Kinda disappointing."
Manager Jeong Hyunho eyed the pitcher who'd breezed through the bottom of the third, looking wistful.
"Uh... Skip, I mean bro. You lost it?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Saying that's disappointing?"
Pitching coach Kim Pilsun, overhearing, was floored.
"No, not the pitching..."
The manager's regret wasn't about the mound work.
"Can't really send Yuha up to pinch-hit in a pinch later, can I?"
Manager Jeong Hyunho recalled a recent memory. It had been Jamsil Dome, too.