Smashing the Haters (3)

"...Yuha, what the hell happened?"

Baek Jihun sunbae, who should have been in the on-deck circle by now, approached me and asked.

Has he completely given up on hitting...

Well, he'd earned his keep by ripping multiple hits off Sim Chando in Game 1 of this series.

"Huh? What about me?"

"After you went to the locker room with Moonwoo, he started acting weird."

Hmm.

"Nothing happened."

"His eyes were half-dead, muttering he had to get a result no matter what?"

"Is that so? High motivation is a good thing."

"..."

At my nonchalant attitude, Baek Jihun sunbae leaned in and whispered.

"You didn't, like, hit him or anything, right?"

Huh?

"Even you can't resort to violence, Yuha. You know that, right?"

"Come on, I'm not that kind of guy."

Outside of games, I'm someone who avoids violence at all costs. If I don't like something, I just ignore it.

I had to believe no one actually thought "beating with a fungo bat" meant literally clubbing someone.

"I didn't hit him. I didn't..."

Just.

"...gave him a little encouragement, that's all."

"I see..."

Only then did Baek Jihun sunbae nod and start heading to the on-deck circle.

"But... I'm not on your bad side or anything, right?"

He asked with a slightly tense expression.

"Of course not. You defend great, sunbae."

If Baek Jihun sunbae had been bad at defense too...

Hmm.

I probably wouldn't be calling him sunbae in the first place.

The Guardians' third-year foreign pitcher, Eric Sanchez, couldn't hide his uneasy feelings.

What the hell is that hitter thinking?

Pitcher-batter matchups ultimately come down to a psychological battle. There's a famous saying in baseball for a reason.

'Hitting is timing, and pitching is stealing that timing.'

In that sense, the Guardians' ace Sim Chando was a model pitcher. Eric Sanchez had learned the essence of pitching by watching him. And yet.

That very Sim Chando was showing unprecedented interest in today's opponent—me.

'Jin Yuha. A truly amazing pitcher. Not just great stuff, but born with every talent a pitcher needs. Even in the psychological game.'

Jin Yuha was undoubtedly an astonishing pitcher who could leave Sanchez's jaw on the floor. He even had the potential to grow into a pitcher as great as Sim Chando—maybe even more likely. But.

Through the bottom of the eighth, the score was still 0-0. Today, Sanchez was holding his own against that amazing pitcher. Of course, Sanchez's outing would end this inning, while I'd probably go to the ninth with high odds—but for now, it was even.

I don't want to give up any runs.

Naturally, Sanchez wanted to finish his appearance scoreless, ideally to the final inning. But.

...I can't read him.

The batter at the plate's mindset was hard to read. It was rare since he'd started shadowing Sim Chando and learned how to battle hitters psychologically.

What the hell happened in between?

Even more shocking: up until the previous at-bat, that hitter's psychology had been crystal clear. He was a high school grad rookie with plenty of talent but lacking experience.

Several misfortunes led to hits, but...

He was still far too green at outpsyching Sanchez himself. Or so he'd thought—until just now.

What should I throw first pitch? Two-seam? Or four-seam?

Jang Moonwoo muttered nonstop, staring at him with half-dead eyes. Sanchez couldn't decide on a first-pitch offering.

Its implications were huge.

[Yes. It's as good as adding a new pitch to his arsenal. 10 km/h slower than his usual four-seam, with a trajectory distinct from his existing breaking balls.]

"Ha… this is tough."

Guardians manager Won Sangcheol let out a sigh of exasperation.

"This is driving me insane..."

Kim Beomjun, who wanted to at least grab Jin Yuha by the ankles even if Rookie of the Year was a stretch, clutched his head.

"…That's something even I can't do."

For the first time in his life, Sim Chando felt hollow knowing his top velocity barely topped 150 km/h.

Despite the 2-run gap from Jang Moonwoo's two-run homer, this was the moment the Guardians' fire for victory was utterly extinguished.

Bottom of the ninth.

Even with the precarious 2-run lead, the stadium was silent.

Thwack!!

"Strike three!"

Only the umpire's booming call echoed.

Snicker.

Jin Yuha on the mound curled one corner of his mouth.

"..."

The Guardians hitters couldn't even muster anger at his arrogance. Despite the flow favoring them, they'd lost.

As always.

Thwack!!

"Strike three!"

In sports, the winner takes all.

While Korea buzzed with Jin Yuha's 9th complete-game shutout and the Titans' 11-game win streak after 32 years...

Out of nowhere, Jin Yuha's face appeared on the Citi Field scoreboard.

"Please... save our team like your dad did... We'll pay you big..."

A premature show of affection born from desperation.