Qualifications (2)
From a catcher's perspective, aces are notoriously hard to control. They're the incarnations of self-confidence, after all.
'No matter how much they pretend to be nice or respect the catcher...'
In the end, when it matters most, they trust only their own judgment.
'Shim Chando's probably the same.'
He had a rough idea why Kim Beomjun had gone to the mound. Either to tell him to walk me or to convince him to hand the mound over to another pitcher already.
'Whichever it was, Shim Chando wasn't about to just nod along.'
Well, he might go for the walk. In that case...
'I could just steal a base.'
I'm pretty fast on the basepaths too. But.
"Looks like the persuasion didn't work out, huh?"
Seeing Kim Beomjun's frustrated face, it didn't seem like he'd get a chance to show off his speed.
"...Shut up."
The Guardians' ace had chosen a head-on showdown with me.
'Ha... what a pain.'
Returning to home plate, Kim Beomjun couldn't hide his inner turmoil.
- "I'll only face Jin Yuha, just Jin Yuha. I know it's greedy, but if I come down now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
Shim Chando was being uncharacteristically greedy.
As the starting catcher for a full season, Kim Beomjun had gained some experience. He instinctively knew this was the timing for a pitcher change.
'Sanchez is already warming up...'
But.
"Hoo..."
What could he do? The team's ace wanted to battle Jin Yuha. He even said he'd regret it forever.
'That's why Jeong Hanseong said catchers should just receive the ball. ...Wait, wasn't that something Jin Yuha said?'
Kim Beomjun glanced at Jin Yuha standing in the batter's box.
Thud thud.
After tapping the edge of home plate, the pressure from his batting stance was immense.
'Just pitch quietly... why try to do everything yourself.'
Grumbling inwardly, Kim Beomjun extended his mitt. No need for a pitchcom sign.
Because.
- "I felt it in our first matchup. Jin Yuha's a tricky hitter for sure. So let's go with this for the first pitch."
Shim Chando had already decided what to throw first from the mound.
Whoosh~
Shim Chando released the ball.
"...What?"
For the first time since his first at-bat, Jin Yuha—who had been effortlessly composed—sounded flustered. His bat, which exploded out at anything in the zone, stayed still.
Thwack!!
"...Strike!"
Even though the ball, which looked unusually slow, crept into the strike zone.
"Ugh..."
Kim Beomjun barely caught it and let out a sigh of relief.
"...You didn't know Shim Chando could throw a knuckleball?"
Shim Chando, pushed to his limit, had pulled out his secret weapon against the tough Jin Yuha to gain an early count advantage.
A knuckleball.
"Kid, it's not 'Shim Chando,' call him 'senior.'"
And it had worked.
I'd said it before: pitchers with exceptional feel for the ball can throw almost any existing pitch. I could, and Shim Chando probably could too.
Of course, that's just about being able to throw it.
No pro pitcher—except today's Shim Chando—would throw a pitch they'd never used in a do-or-die Korean Series Game 5, against a batter who'd just crushed extra-base hits.
"Ha... how desperate is he?"
Yeah, I'd taken an unexpected hit in the first-pitch count battle. But it was just the first pitch.
"Haha, Yuha, you're finally the one looking rattled."
Which meant it wasn't time for Kim Beomjun to get cocky yet.
"Beomjun, the at-bat's not over."
It was surprising, sure. But.
I didn't think Shim Chando would throw the knuckleball again. Not because his knuckleball quality was bad.
"Shim Chando senior could probably survive as a knuckleballer even if he gets a nasty aging curve later."
Honestly, Shim Chando's knuckleball was pretty polished. Assuming "polish" even applies to that pitch.
The problem wasn't Shim Chando—it was the catcher behind home plate, Kim Beomjun.
'Most catchers can't even receive a knuckleball properly.'
A first-year pro, and an offensive-minded one at that, couldn't handle it cleanly. He wasn't Jeong Hanseong.
'That catch was shaky too.'
Still, it was a brilliant first-pitch gambit in the count game.
'All prior data on Shim Chando is meaningless now.'
Suddenly throwing a knuckleball first pitch? Anything could come next.
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath and focused.
'Since when have I played the count game from the batter's box?'
Of course I could. I had the eye and experience. But.
Whoosh!!
In the box, I was always more instinct than calculation. I had the vision and physical tools for it.
Crack!!
"Foul!"
The hefty foul shot sailed just outside the pole.
"Close one."
"Hoo..."
Shim Chando watched the screaming liner and exhaled softly in relief.
It had been inches from a home run. Even he, usually calm on the mound, felt his heart drop.
After disorienting the batter with a knuckleball, he'd followed with a four-seam just grazing the outer edge. Yet Jin Yuha reacted sharply.
'Not easy, as expected.'
But crucially, he'd jumped to 0-2.
That's why they say "foul homer followed by three soft tosses." At two strikes, the batter's at a huge disadvantage in the count battle.
But Jin Yuha was an ace as a pitcher—and no pushover as a hitter either.
Thwack!!
"Ball."
Not even to a changeup barely missing the zone.
Thwack!!
"Ball."
Nor to a high curve that ABS forced a reaction to.
'He won't chase these?'
No swing at all.
"..."
For a moment, Shim Chando felt like his eyes met Jin Yuha's in the box. No—it was real.
Jin Yuha's blue eyes pierced him on the mound. It felt like being dissected.
'Ha. I must be struggling. Feeling pressure from a batter.'
Thud thud.
Two strikes, two balls.
- Changeup
The pitchcom sign was spot-on.
'Still one more count to play with...'
Whoosh!!
From release to home plate, the changeup was indistinguishable from a four-seam.
'...Got him!'
Shim Chando cheered inwardly.
A bit higher than ideal, but hard for the batter to square up.
...Bwoom!!
He saw Jin Yuha's bat swing late. But.
'Reacting late to a ball dropping below the zone...?'
Jin Yuha's bat accelerated explosively.
Crack!!
And launched Shim Chando's changeup powerfully.
Whoosh!
Jin Yuha flung the bat with pitcher-unbelievable perfection.
"...Ha."
Shim Chando hung his head.
Crack!!
All eyes in New Sajik Stadium locked onto the towering fly ball.
The center fielder, tracking it slowly, soon stopped.
No chance to catch it anyway.
The drive cleared the center-field wall, farthest from home plate.
- ...
A moment of silence fell.
- WAAAAAAAAA!!!
Then the stadium erupted like it was collapsing.
Thump thump! Clap!
Jin Yuha's entrance music played as he rounded the bases slowly.
Thump thump! Clap!
Titans fans stomped and clapped in rhythm.
"...Sorry."
Shim Chando said as he stepped down from the mound.
"Fuck."
Kim Beomjun muttered under his breath. Not at Shim Chando, who'd allowed two runs but shown true grit.
"Jin Yuha! Jin Yuha! Jin Yuha is a god!"
It was just hard watching the Titans dugout go wild for the homer-hitting Jin Yuha.
Grind.
Kim Beomjun clenched his teeth, eyeing the hyped-up Jeong Hanseong slapping Jin Yuha's back and the rest of the Titans.
"Hey, Beomjun, calm down. The game's not over yet."
As Eric Sanchez, next on the mound after Shim Chando, said—the game wasn't finished.
The game grew fiercer.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
The Guardians' second hurler, Eric Sanchez, attacked aggressively.
Bwoom!!
"Swinging strike three!"
Titans starter James Gilbert remained solid.
But the hitters fought back.
Crack!!
Crack!!
Carpenter and Kim Beomjun went back-to-back, putting the Guardians ahead and shifting momentum.
But.
Crack!!
Kang Gihoo crushed Sanchez's mistake for a go-ahead two-run homer. Top of the 7th.
Score: 4-3, Titans still up by one.
Following James Gilbert, Titans' fifth starter from the regular season, Kwak Jae-woong, took the mound.
Crack!!
He yielded hits to the stubborn Guardians lineup, but.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
Steadily piled up outs.
Thud!!
"Ugh!"
Even after taking a liner to the gut.
"Out!"
He threw to first for the final out of the inning, showing guts.
Desperation wasn't just for the cornered Guardians. The Titans—especially—burned with it.
- Clap clap clap!
Amid home fans' applause, Kwak Jae-woong left the mound, supported by staff.
Top of the 8th.
Closer Jo Yong-jin stepped up as the Titans' third arm.
Whoosh!!
Despite the bullpen's season-long woes, Jo Yong-jin—with 25 saves—jammed strikes fearlessly, ignoring the one-run lead.
"...These guys wouldn't dare."
Guardians manager Won Sang-chul, watching from the visitors' dugout, furrowed his brow at the sudden thought. He quickly checked the Titans' bullpen.
Thwack!!
Thwack!!
There, their DH—who was 3-for-3 with two hits and a homer today—was throwing.