Natural Disaster (4)
People often say baseball is a mental sport. Truth be told, what sport isn't? Still, in baseball, fighting spirit and passion are crucial elements.
But.
Thwack!!
"Strike!"
In the end, those elements are what turn razor-thin battles into victories.
Thwack!!
"Strike!"
No matter how fiercely you burn with spirit and passion, there's always an insurmountable wall of pure skill.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
The Rhinos were desperate.
Thwack!!
"Strike!"
But.
Thwack!!
"Strike!"
That desperation couldn't produce the miracle of beating Jin Yuha.
Whoosh!!
"Swinging strike three!"
That's why sports can be so cruel.
Bottom of the sixth, and Jin Yuha has struck out two batters in a flash. At the plate is Song Jeongwoo, the leadoff hitter who's the only one with a hit off Yuha today.
First at-bat, he poked a bunt single for a surprise hit. Second time up, he struck out. If Song Jeongwoo gets a hit here, it could shift the momentum. Just like the Titans did in Game 1—baseball's the sport where you can explode for a big inning even with two outs!
Crack!!
Song Jeongwoo crushes Yuha's first pitch! The deep fly heads for the pole…!
"Ah."
Song Jeongwoo stared blankly at his fly ball from the batter's box, then hung his head.
"Foul!"
It dropped just outside the pole.
Tap, tap.
Foul home run or whiff—it was all the same to the Titans' battery: a strike.
Any rookie would've been rattled seeing a confidently thrown pitch turn into a massive fly. But neither Jin Yuha nor Jeong Hanseong showed even a hint of that weakness.
...Can't even call him a rookie anymore.
Jeong Hanseong was still borderline, but Jin Yuha had long surpassed the rookie label. Hell, he'd outgrown the KBO level entirely. Maybe even...
Major League class. Top-tier at that...
Even Song Jeongwoo, a former Major Leaguer, struggled to name MLB pitchers better than Jin Yuha.
Whoosh!!
Song Jeongwoo, once called the KBO's "complete hitter."
Thwack!!
"Strike!"
The shock he'd felt debuting in MLB had been beyond imagination.
His KBO-dominating bat was just average there. Song Jeongwoo wasn't Jin Yuseong.
His defense was solid enough for any infield spot, so he'd carved out a role as a utility player.
...But not good enough for an everyday gig.
His old team, the St. Louis Cardinals, were rebuilding their past glory. Their infield was stacked—no room for mediocrity.
When his contract ended, several big-league clubs offered starting jobs. But Song Jeongwoo chose to return to Korea.
'The GM said they needed me to win it all...'
Chasing an iffy career abroad paled next to being a key piece in his hometown team's championship run.
"Ha... Shim Chando or Jin Yuha... Why'd it have to be those guys."
This season's title chase looked doomed again.
"Uh, hyung? If you compare him to Shim Chando-hyung, how's Yuha stack up, really?"
The Titans' young catcher asked innocently, oblivious to the mood.
No wonder some kids rub people the wrong way.
He lacked tact.
Whoosh!!
Or maybe he was sly.
Eh, for a catcher, 'sly' is the highest praise.
Whoosh!!
But Song Jeongwoo was one of the league's elite hitters, so cheap tricks wouldn't fly. His bat snapped at the strike-zone invader.
But.
Thwack!!
"Swinging strike three!"
Jin Yuha's stuff was tough even without the mind games.
"..."
"Good work."
"Hey, you asked how Yuha compares to Chando?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Song Jeongwoo let out a deep sigh, his face slack.
"He's a hundred times scarier, kid."
Top of the seventh, the Rhinos masterfully chopped up the inning, shutting down the Titans' lineup cold.
Bottom of the seventh.
Jin Yuha still on the mound. Pitch count: a measly 62.
"...Shxt."
Leadoff hitter Jacob Dominguez stepped up, frustration plain on his face.
"Damn. I'm usually so full of confidence, but your buddy's turned me into a coward. You know that?"
His grumble to the catcher behind the plate.
"Huh... what're you talking about?"
Fell on deaf ears.
"Sigh..."
Jacob eyed the mound.
He's huge.
Not just the nearly 2-meter frame.
Presence? Pressure? Whatever it is, it's massive.
But.
Whoosh!!
He couldn't back down intimidated.
Crack!!
"Foul!"
Jacob Dominguez especially trusted himself against righties. His agent had mentioned MLB teams eyeing him for platoon roles.
"Kgh..."
He shook his stinging hands at the plate.
- 163 km/h
Overwhelming velocity, as expected.
A starter casually throwing big-league bullpen heat...
Jacob thought positively.
Yeah, if I can hit this guy, I'll level up. Skills, value, everything.
Whoosh!!
The pitch came. Probably.
Four-seam!
He swung hard.
"...Real shxt."
But it buckled toward his body at the last second.
Crack!
Cutter.
"Out!"
Crack!!
"Out!"
Two outs, bottom seventh.
Rhinos' cleanup hitter Baek Daegi adjusted his batting gloves and strode to the plate.
In high school, Baek Daegi was Gyeongsang's top bat. A first baseman drafted in the first round purely for his hitting talent.
...But didn't I match Yuha's bat back then?
Baek Daegi was pure hitting talent. Jin Yuha was a freak blessed with everything and a killer swing.
No point dwelling on hitter Yuha now.
He had to face pitcher Yuha.
"Hoo..."
The bench's contact-play call didn't suit him at all. He was born a homer hunter.
Still, I got a hit off Yuha in Game 1.
Grip.
He squeezed the bat tight. Against Yuha's first pitch.
Whoosh!!
Unleashed his signature massive swing.
Thwack!!
"Strike!"
Low-dipping splitter.
"Tch."
Jeong Hanseong secretly clicked his tongue watching Baek Daegi roll foul.
Poor guy...
Yuha was death incarnate for big-swingers like him.
Bottom of the ninth.
Score still 1-0.
"...Hoo."
Manager Andonghwa had given his all. So the relief was...
"This sucks."
Nonexistent, naturally.
"Feels so unfair."
More precisely.
"Relieved but unfair."
A mix of both.
"No more facing Jin Yuha—relief. But feeling relieved pisses me off."
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
The blue-eyed ace on the mound casually notched another K.
This was our year...
Until the high-school-grad "rookie" natural disaster swept the league.
...Mercs all leave next season.
The Rhinos' strong season owed much to their imports. With KBO success, they'd all chase bigger deals abroad.
- "Tch, we'll try to keep at least one, but honestly? Tough."
The GM had tsked as much.
"All Jin Yuha's fault..."
Andonghwa wasn't lashing at innocents.
- "Big-league clubs are eyeing KBO hard this year. Probably 'cause of that kid."
It was Yuha.
- "Front office thinks scouting new mercs now is the realistic move."
Rhinos were merc legends, but landing all-stars like this year? Not easy.
Crack!!
"...Oh!"
The screamer cleared the infield. Andonghwa stood, hopeful, tracking it.
"Out!"
Jeong Suyeong snagged it on a hop in center.
"Ha..."
The end neared.
Thwack!!
"Strike!"
160+ four-seam lasers the high zone.
Whoosh!!
"Strike!"
First curve of the game evades the bat.
Crack!!
"Foul!"
Batter barely clips the sharp splitter.
Whoosh!!
But.
Whoosh!!
His fire.
Thwack!!
"Swinging strike three!"
Just padded Yuha's pitch count by one.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"...Fine. You guys eat it all up. While you're at it, win the Korean Series too."
Andonghwa desperately hoped this Championship Series would be their "honorable death."
Beep! Beep! Beep!