Chapter 81
Chapter 81
When the practice game against the Marines was confirmed, it felt like something inevitable had finally arrived. The Marines had set up camp in Okinawa, and judging from Lee Donghoon’s subtle reaction last time, I had already expected it.
“Aren’t you a bit too excited?”
“Me?”
I must have shown it without realizing.
To be precise, I wasn’t excited—I just thought it would be fun. Unless it was an intrasquad game, there was no chance to face them, and this year, with WBC preparations, I barely knew how my team was doing. Wouldn’t meeting like this help both sides?
“I don’t know. Will it really help?”
“If it doesn’t, it can’t be helped.”
“That’s not what I meant. How are they supposed to hit against you? Seojin and Jaehun aren’t even there.”
“Hmm. I wonder. But why leave Minseok out?”
“He’s… well.”
Either way, even back in the Phoenix days, I always looked forward to facing the Marines. Even when we lost, the games were always good.
“This is why guys like you are a problem. You only think from your own perspective.”
Senior Park Hyunwoo said he’d tell the Marines about my thoughts and headed back to the dorm first.
But I wasn’t the only one hoping I’d pitch.
“Siwoo, you’re playing against the Marines, right?”
“Wouldn’t the manager decide that?”
Every time I walked by, players kept asking if I’d pitch against the Marines.
When I heard why, I was a bit dumbfounded.
“So you’re saying the Marines need to taste what it’s like facing me?”
“Yeah. They’ve had it too easy. They need to feel it for themselves. Don’t go easy on them.”
They were even more eager than I was for the game. If I didn’t pitch, it felt like they’d march straight to the manager.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
“We’re pitching against our own teams?”
“Yeah. They want raw data. Mostly against players who haven’t faced us before.”
“I like it.”
Most players we’d face in the WBC hadn’t played against us. In the KBO, the only team like that was your own.
The first practice game was against Seoul Falcons, senior Heo Min’s team. He pitched three innings, allowing one run—solid, but he didn’t look happy.
“Well, we’ve been teammates for years. Of course he knew me. I rushed a bit.”
He gave up a home run to a catcher who would normally be his battery partner.
“Maybe that just shows how well you know each other?”
“Yeah, maybe. But watching him flip the bat after the homer is annoying.”
When Heo Min glared at the opposing dugout, the catcher immediately dropped to his knees.
Watching that, I suddenly got curious.
“If it were you, what would you look for against me?”
“Me? Against you? That’ll never happen.”
“Just for fun.”
“Siwoo, I’m scared. Don’t abandon me.”
You can’t even joke around with him.
Anyway, we won the first game cleanly.
Next was Seoul Friends, senior Oh Garam’s team. Even with four players missing, their lineup still fought hard, but Oh Garam shut things down with four scoreless innings, securing another win.
He kept coming to me every inning asking how his pitches looked, but if that kept his mentality stable, I didn’t mind.
Then we faced Gwangju Wolves and took our first loss.
“Their stuff is good.”
Yoon Chanhee pitched that game, but the lineup didn’t produce.
Record: 2 wins, 1 loss.
Then, finally, the Marines arrived.
“Siwoo! Long time no see!”
With Gale and Danny back, it was a full roster. Their expressions showed confidence. There were new faces too. Even without the six of us, they looked strong.
So I stayed focused—
“Siwoo.”
“Yes?”
“Go easy on us.”
“…What?”
“If you go all out, we’re dead.”
Kim Minki’s words caught me off guard, but I realized he was joking.
“Alright. I’ll take it easy.”
“Yeah. Please, seriously.”
…That was a joke, right?
The practice game began with the national team batting first.
The Marines’ starting pitcher was Lee Donghoon. He had volunteered for this matchup.
‘When else would I face Siwoo?’
This wasn’t a casual scrimmage—it was a real game. Opportunities like this didn’t come often.
And it wasn’t just him. Every Marines player was fired up. They knew better than anyone how incredible Siwoo was. They also knew the saying: any team with him becomes a championship contender.
‘It’s not wrong.’
‘Without Siwoo, we’d be…’
They didn’t deny it. But at the same time, they wanted to prove something—that they were strong too.
“Strike!”
Lee Donghoon started with a strike, steadying himself.
‘Starting from the top is suffocating.’
Even without Siwoo, the opponent was the best collection of players in Korea. One mistake could lead to disaster.
‘Calm down.’
He checked the sign and threw the second pitch.
Crack!
“Foul!”
A swing came immediately on a slightly misplaced pitch, but the count was still in his favor.
He induced a groundout on the fourth pitch for one out.
Then Ha Seojin stepped up.
‘This won’t be easy.’
Everyone knew how good a hitter he was. The entire team watched him with tension.
‘If it weren’t for Siwoo, he might’ve left already.’
It wasn’t a secret that Ha Seojin once wanted to leave the Marines. But thanks to Siwoo, he rediscovered his commitment. This season was crucial for him. After this year, he’d be eligible for posting. Several teams were already interested, and he was considering MLB after winning with the Marines.
Crack!
“Unbelievable.”
Kim Minki muttered as the clean hit sent Seojin to first.
Then came Alex Rogers, the only MLB hitter. With limited information and a runner on base, it wasn’t easy.
‘Ignore the steal.’
In a practice game, stealing wasn’t expected.
But the moment the pitch came—
“Safe!”
Seojin had already stolen second. The timing was completely broken.
Lee Donghoon refocused and got Rogers out, two outs.
Next was Wolves’ slugger Park Munho.
“Out!”
Fly ball. Inning over.
As they returned, Kim Minki muttered to Seojin,
“You’ll get hurt like that.”
“I have to play seriously.”
‘Is he still holding a grudge?’
“Not just me.”
“Who else?”
“Siwoo.”
“…Didn’t he say he’d go easy on us?”
Seojin just smirked and walked off.
Then Siwoo appeared from the dugout.
Just walking to the mound.
But the pressure the Marines felt was overwhelming.
‘So this is what it feels like.’
‘No wonder they say we had it easy.’
Facing him directly was different. At the same time, being on his team was reassuring—but not today.
The first batter was Hwang Seojun.
“Hello.”
“Yeah.”
Minseok greeted him, but Seojun had no room to respond warmly.
The last time they faced each other was two years ago.
‘Back then, I got a hit.’
But this was a completely different pitcher now.
First pitch.
Thud!
“Strike!”
Inside fastball.
146 km/h. Nothing special.
‘He’s not fully built up yet.’
It was still February. Even with WBC prep, he couldn’t be at 100%.
Seojun swung at the second pitch—
“Strike!”
Hard knuckleball.
Same form as the fastball. Almost impossible to hit, especially for a lefty.
The count quickly turned unfavorable.
The Marines’ weakness was clear—they had no experience with knuckleballs.
A high-90s km/h knuckleball came in.
Seojun gave up mid-swing.
“Strikeout!”
An empty at-bat.
“…Man.”
Like all hitters who faced a knuckleball, he couldn’t even finish his sentence.
Next was Park Seunghyun.
“I joined this team to avoid facing him, and here we are.”
“I’ll ask him to go easy.”
“Yeah right.”
Having faced Siwoo before, he knew words meant nothing.
Three pitches.
Crack!
Groundout.
As he returned, he told the others,
“Not bad.”
“What?”
He got out in three pitches, yet said it was manageable.
“He’s mostly throwing knuckleballs. Either controlling tempo or not fully warmed up. This is manageable.”
Compared to adding a 160 km/h fastball and splitter, this was better.
But the third batter, unaware of this, was quickly out.
Bottom of the first ended three up, three down.
Top of the second, Lee Donghoon escaped without allowing a run. 0-0.
Siwoo returned to the mound.
Rex Graves stepped in.
“Strikeout!”
His big swing had no chance against the knuckleball.
Next, Lee Dohyun drew a walk—the first baserunner.
‘Ah, no challenges here.’
Siwoo tapped his cap awkwardly.
Then Kim Minki stepped in.
Having caught Siwoo’s pitches before, he stayed calm.
Crack!
A pushed fastball created a one-out, runners-on-first-and-second situation.
“Nice!”
“Let’s get one!”
Watching them celebrate, Siwoo smiled slightly under his glove.
He wasn’t going easy. This was simply what he could do right now.
And this chance? The Marines earned it.
He wanted them to do well too.
But when he lowered his glove, the smile was gone.
One out, runners on first and second.
Many teams had imagined scoring against him.
And that imagination usually ended the same way.
Thud!
“Strikeout!”
Thud!
“Strikeout!”
The Marines were no different.
Siwoo brought out the high-velocity fastball and splitter, ending the inning instantly.
“…Ha.”
For a first experience facing him, the reaction was surprisingly ordinary.