Chapter 43
Chapter 43
“Strikeout!”
Park Si-woo extended his consecutive strikeout record to twelve as the bottom of the seventh ended.
Pitch count: 101.
He had reached the limit Manager Kwak Gu-beom had set, but
“Shall we pull him?”
“Yes. Are you suggesting a change too? Didn’t know you were aiming for the manager’s seat,” Kwak Gu-beom joked back at Pitching Coach Park Seung-hyuk.
Half a joke, half serious.
Right now, the only person who could take Park Si-woo out was Park Si-woo himself.
“Have Hyun-woo and Jeong-won on standby.”
In the top of the eighth, the Wolves’ attack started with their sixth batter, Ahn Joo-won, while Park Si-woo still held the mound.
Park Si-woo had already broken the Korean record. One more strikeout would tie the world record, two more would make history.
“Forget about the record. It’ll only get broken if someone reaches base. Wipe it from your mind.”
Manager Lee Jeong-hwan warned his Wolves hitters not to focus on the record. Winning the game mattered more than breaking records.
A single run difference.
They could bring in a new pitcher and still manage to score a run.
The approach shouldn’t be about swinging to break the record, but aiming higher.
But the leadoff hitter, Ahn Joo-won, betrayed the manager’s expectation.
Swing strikeout! The umpire called it directly. Park Si-woo tied the world record with thirteen consecutive strikeouts.
Lee Jeong-hwan stormed out, protesting why the first-base umpire hadn’t been consulted.
He needed to disrupt this flow.
But as he saw Park Si-woo’s expression returning to the dugout, he thought, ‘...It’s over.’
Even with a record in sight, he didn’t flinch.
The knuckleball danced again, evading every attempt by the batter.
“Strikeouuuut!”
Fifteenth strikeout of the game, fourteenth consecutive strikeout. Fourteen batters had returned to the dugout without even reaching first base.
The streak ended at fourteen. A short grip on the bat led to a simple grounder right to the pitcher.
Park Si-woo fielded it cleanly and threw to first, finishing the inning himself.
Fans, sensing this might be Park Si-woo’s last appearance of the day, rose and shouted the ace’s name.
“Park Si-woo! Park Si-woo! Park Si-woo!”
In the bottom of the ninth, Park Jeong-won came in to preserve the one-run lead. He executed the closer’s role flawlessly, finishing the game.
“Did you see yesterday?”
“Wow, Park Si-woo was insane.”
The next day, anyone with even a passing interest in baseball was talking about Park Si-woo.
Everyone expected the streak to end eventually, but no one predicted he’d set another record immediately.
April ended with Park Si-woo playing seven games, seven wins, 62 innings, one earned run, 77 strikeouts, ERA 0.15.
Monthly MVP was inevitable.
Five consecutive shutouts, no-hit no-runs, 56 2/3 innings scoreless, fourteen consecutive strikeouts in just over a month—these were monumental achievements.
Yet analysts pointed out one thing:
“Remember the third inning, not just the perfect fourth.”
They noted the struggle during the third inning in rainy Honam and its possible effect on the knuckleball.
Even the rain-affected pitching wasn’t disastrous, but it showed Park Si-woo wasn’t invincible in wet conditions.
“Why is it sunny only on his starts?”
Fans joked about reverse rain luck. Park Si-woo’s starts seemed to magically avoid bad weather.
In May, he added two more wins with 8 innings, one run, and 7 innings, zero runs.
During that period, the Marines went 7-6 in thirteen games.
April finished with them in first place, but the start of the season wasn’t dominant. Excluding Park Si-woo’s wins, the team was below .500.
Seoul Friends and Daejeon Phoenix were performing better, though, taking advantage of Wolves’ slump.
Still, the Marines’ morale remained high.
A small shadow darted across Sajik Stadium.
“Hailey, hello.”
“Hi!”
Hailey paused, saluted with her belly, and continued running around the stadium. Everyone watching couldn’t help but smile at her antics.
Soon, she spotted Park Si-woo and leaped into his arms with a joyful scream.
He caught her effortlessly, patted her head, and greeted Danny, who had followed.
“Danny, you came?”
“Sorry, Si-woo. I told Hailey not to run like that!”
Hailey buried her face in Park Si-woo’s chest. People watching were delighted at the wholesome sight.
After watching games with Park Si-woo, Hailey gradually regained her age-appropriate behavior. She no longer blamed herself for losses and sometimes joined fans in K-pop dances in the stadium.
“Hailey, come on.”
Obedient to Danny’s voice, Hailey reluctantly got down.
“Bye….”
“I’ll see you later.”
Park Si-woo patted her head again and headed to the bullpen for pregame warmups.
The Marines’ strength lay in their strong starting rotation: Park Si-woo, Gale Davis, Danny Jones, Lee Dong-hoon, Oh Kyung-soo. All rated a level above other teams’ starters.
However, in the previous two games, Lee Dong-hoon and Oh Kyung-soo hadn’t lasted five innings, straining the already thin bullpen. The importance of today’s game was immense.
[Si-woo, sorry.]
[Just one more time… I’ll even buy a uniform if you do.]
Fans’ nervousness grew. What if Park Si-woo lost here? The Marines’ supporters had experienced it countless times—a sudden collapse despite a good start.
Even Choi Seo-ha, visiting Sajik Stadium for the first time in a while, felt anxious.
“They barely got tickets, don’t make them nervous…”
Getting tickets for Park Si-woo’s starts was almost impossible. Seo-ha managed to get two outfield seats.
“Mom, are you ready?”
“I’m not going.”
Her mother hesitated, recalling her streak of eight or nine losses while attending games.
Seo-ha reassured her confidently.
“It’s fine. Lately, it’s trendy to show you’ve escaped losing streaks watching Park Si-woo.”
“Don’t blame me if we lose.”
“Got it. Let’s go. It’s crowded.”
On the way, her mother asked curiously:
“Seo-ha, does he really live there? Getting that energy must be why he’s doing so well.”
Park Si-woo lived in the house previously occupied by Seo-ha.
“Didn’t you give him a gift? Tradition says so. You received it too.”
Seo-ha froze. That gift was just a simple charm.
‘If I could go back, I’d do more…’
Her mother pressed for details, but Seo-ha stayed silent.
They arrived safely at Sajik Stadium. Clear skies.
“Waaah!”
Merely warming up, Park Si-woo electrified the stadium.
He shut down the first inning perfectly, and the crowd went wild.
Even Seoul Falcons’ second starter was suppressed by Park Si-woo before throwing a single pitch.
“Out!”
“Si-woo-ya!”
“Life’s great because of you! You’re the best!”
Park Si-woo ended the second inning in just five pitches, leaving no room for the opponent.
The Falcons’ pitcher tried aggressive pitching in the second inning but couldn’t match the energy.
Left-fielder Rex’s three-run homer in the second inning gave the Marines a comfortable lead, letting fans enjoy the game. Seo-ha and her mother cheered wildly.
“Unbelievable. How does the ball curve like that?”
“It’s because the Magnus effect isn’t happening.”
“Don’t care about that. Amazing! Park Si-woo! Park Si-woo!”
Even Seo-ha got caught up in the cheering.
In the ninth, Park Si-woo returned to the mound to a standing ovation. His season 10th win and sixth complete-game shutout rendered jinxes, bullpen fatigue, and even the losing streak curse powerless.
On the way home, Seo-ha’s mother, now wearing a Park Si-woo jersey, asked hesitantly:
“Seo-ha… should we contact the previous tenant?”
“Mommmmm!”
[When will Choi Myeong-jun get his first win?]
Fans noted that despite a four-week injury, his luck was terrible.
“Just like Park Si-woo, try a shutout,” one joked.
“Even if Myeong-jun did that, his bat can’t score, game goes to extras,” another added.
Rumors spread among Phoenix fans that Myeong-jun’s injury was due to losing his temper, and they weren’t kind.
Meanwhile, Myeong-jun sought the person spreading the rumor.
“...You didn’t find them?”
“Yes. Focus on the game.”
He gritted his teeth in frustration.
He ignored the warnings and lashed out, leaving only skill to rely on.
Even his performance wavered; errors from teammates or missed scoring chances showed his frustration on the mound.
O Gyu-jin, who orchestrated the rumor, realized it was crucial to cut ties with Myeong-jun before his connection with Park Si-woo came to light.
‘Next Myeong-jun start… against Park Si-woo.’
The rematch in Daejeon could be the perfect chance to sever Myeong-jun.