Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Translator Wjin
Chapter 16
In the 2nd inning, the first batter for Hyeoksan High was Lee Ji-ho. He paused as he left the dugout.
'Teacher…?'
Wasn’t that his homeroom teacher, Lee Mi-yeon, sitting in the stands?
'She came all the way here to cheer for me…'
He had overcome his slump thanks to her advice, and now she was here to cheer him on. It was time to repay her. Lee Ji-ho, in his batting stance, focused intensely and made solid contact with the incoming ball.
Thwack!
A hard-hit ball soared over the second baseman's head and split the outfielders. Lee Ji-ho sprinted past first base and easily reached second. A clean double. It should have been a satisfying result, but his expression was displeased.
‘Cha Tae-hyun hit it over the fence with ease…’
The feeling of inferiority settled in his chest again. But he shook it off after a glance at the stands.
‘The teacher came to cheer for me. I shouldn't get lost in useless thoughts.’
Right, today, he just needed to focus on winning. But his resolve was in vain.
Thwack!
“Out!”
Thwack!
“Out!”
“Strike out!”
Two groundouts and a strikeout ended the 2nd inning.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
My next at-bat was in the 4th inning. That meant our team had barely managed to get any hits. In fact, except for Lee Ji-ho, everyone had grounded out or struck out. It was a moment where a home run was needed, regardless of my promise to Ms. Miyeon.
I grabbed my bat and left the dugout, but the coach followed me. He looked around to make sure no one was there and said in a small voice,
“Tae-hyun.”
“Yes.”
“Choke up on the bat.”
“What?”
“It's okay to strike out swinging three times. Just swing for the fences. No one else can score a run except you.”
He was telling me to aim for a home run, even if it meant striking out. Well…
“That was my plan all along.”
The coach chuckled and patted my shoulder.
"Right. That’s what you should do. Swing for the fences. It’s even better if you hit it.” I left the coach behind and stood at the plate. I heard Ms. Miyeon’s cheering.
Tae-hyun!! Another home run!!!
I smiled at her and then looked at the mound. Joo Ji-tae. Even after getting hit so hard in the first inning, his mentality hadn't shattered. He was a prime example of a good pitcher who threw even better. It was safe to say that he was having the ‘game of his life.’
Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to be a supporting actor in that game. Joo Ji-tae wound up and threw the first pitch.
Thud!
“Ball!”
A breaking ball that was a ball-width low. Even though it was a breaking ball, he had made sure it wasn’t hittable. He seemed to be conscious of the home run I had hit. Second pitch.
“Ball!”
Another ball, inside. He wasn’t intentionally walking me, but it was clear he wasn't going to give me anything good to hit. Then I just had to hit a bad ball. One of my nicknames was ‘bad-ball hitter.’
Joo Ji-tae then threw the third pitch. From his pitching form, it looked like a fastball, but… well. My senses, honed in the major leagues, told me it was a changeup.
A changeup that deceived the batter with a fastball-like pitching form and stole their timing. It was a great breaking ball, considered an essential pitch, but… as the ball slowed and dropped in front of my eyes, a corner of my lip curled up.
If you know it's coming, it's just a batting practice pitch.
Thwaaack—!
With an extreme uppercut swing, as if I were playing golf, I made solid contact with the ball. …This was a ball I shouldn't have hit, but was it going to go over?
I glanced at Joo Ji-tae. He was staring at the ball with his mouth agape. His face said, 'Is that going over?' I guess…
“It’s going over, isn’t it?”
That's two dinner dates with Ms. Miyeon. I happily threw the bat and ran towards the bases.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“This ball, scooped up as if playing golf…! Over the center fielder! Over the fence! Over the fence… it’s gone! Hahaha! What is this! What am I seeing! I can’t believe it!”
“That’s right! Honestly, that ball shouldn’t have gone over like that. I mean, look! That wasn't even a decoy pitch. It was practically a walk pitch! And he scoops it up like that? I think we’re witnessing the birth of a new star!”
└ lol, is he playing golf? lolol
└ Wow, it’s like watching him crush a curveball in the Chinese league, damn
└ That pitcher is so pitiful lol
└ Look at his expression lololol he’s completely dumbfounded lol
└ As expected of our Daejeon Volcanos shortstop
└ If the Volcanos want to covet Cha Tae-hyun, they should get below us in the standings first
└ It wouldn’t be impossible, right? Let’s go, Kkolkeinos lol
└Shin Tae-hyun
└I just worship him g.o.a.t
└Come to think of it, those Kkolnix bastards are funny, right? What makes you think Cha Tae-hyun is yours?
└So who do you think will be last this year?
└Sorry ;;
└ As expected, that’s Kkolpyeong logic lol
└ Last year it was Lee Seung-tae, this year it’s Cha Tae-hyun. That’s why they finished last.
└ The Great Hwangnix will definitely win the championship within two years. That’s crazy.
└ I’m finally going to see the Hwangnix win the championship. I’m tearing up.
└ Crazy bastards, talking big about players who haven’t even joined yet lol
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lee Seung-tae was also in great form today. He hadn’t allowed a single runner on base so far. In other words, he was pitching a perfect game. I wish the game would end like this…
Thwack!
Ilmyeong High’s cleanup hitter, Kang Dae-han, pulled a fastball and hit it over the fence. It was about time he got hit. In fact, it was amazing that he hadn't given up a single hit to Kang Dae-han until now.
If Lee Seung-tae was the top prospect among pitchers, Kang Dae-han was considered the top prospect among fielders. Lee Seung-tae knew that and continued to pitch calmly.
“Strike out!”
He immediately struck out the next batter. Although he had given up a home run, at the end of the 7th inning, we were still leading 2 to 1. In the 8th inning, Lee Seung-tae, who had a pitch count limit, came off the mound.
In fact, you could say the real game started from now. Last year, Lee Seung-tae had held them off until the 8th inning, but the bullpen had blown it and the game had gotten strange. And this was Hwang Gwang-hyun’s first time starting in a big game like this.
Would he be okay? At least he didn't look nervous. Hwang Gwang-hyun threw the first pitch.
Thwack!
A mishit ball that flew between third and short. I caught it and handled it. Hwang Gwang-hyun smiled and gave me a thumbs up. The next, 8th batter was…
Thud!
“Strike out!”
A strikeout with a clean delivery. Hwang Gwang-hyun clenched his fist. The next, 9th batter.
Thwack
It was hit well, but it was right at the pitcher. Hwang Gwang-hyun quickly moved his glove and caught the ball.
“Ugh… ugh, ah!!!”
Hwang Gwang-hyun looked at the ball in his glove once, then slumped down as if his strength had left him and cried out for a moment. He had been hiding it, but he must have been incredibly nervous.
Anyway, we got through the 8th inning safely. Now, if we just held them off in the 9th, we would win. As everyone was heading to the dugout, I turned around.
“Hey. Where are you going?”
“The bullpen.”
“What…? The bullpen? Why are you going there?”
“Myung-hwan, why do people go to the bullpen?”
“To warm up before pitching?”
“Right. You know, so why are you asking?”
I walked past the dazed Jin Myung-hwan and entered the bullpen.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The coach made a rather drastic player change. He brought in the shortstop, Cha Tae-hyun, as the closer and put Lee Chang-soo in his place. Of course, it wasn't his sole decision.
No sane coach would bring in a shortstop as a closer in the bottom of the 9th with a one-run lead. It was a change that Cha Tae-hyun had requested in the 8th inning.
Of course, the coach had initially refused, saying it was absurd, but he had changed his mind after seeing the look in Cha Tae-hyun’s eyes.
‘His eyes were full of conviction.’
That confident gaze that said he could definitely hold them off. It was a look he had seen occasionally in his decades of coaching. The guys who had that look had always proved their conviction.
“Seung-tae, do you think I’m crazy?”
“...Honestly, yes.”
“I can’t deny it. But Seung-tae… am I the only one who feels like that kid, Cha Tae-hyun… can hold them off without any problem?”
Lee Seung-tae thought for a moment, then smiled as if he remembered something.
“Now that you mention it… so do I.”
Soon, the moment Cha Tae-hyun stepped onto the mound, a huge commotion erupted in the stadium and the chat window.
└?????
└Did I see that right? Pitcher Cha Tae-hyun?
└??? Can the gallery owner pitch too?
└ Well, there’s no data to look up lol
└ So he was a two-way player? That’s crazy lol
└ I’m starting to like this Cha Tae-hyun bastard more and more
└ What? Bastard? Is Cha Tae-hyun-nim-nim-nim your buddy or something?
└ The coach is insane lol Bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead, what is this?
└ He must have a plan. Don’t you know there are a lot of two-way players in high school baseball?
└ If he can pitch well too, what’s going to happen to his value…?
└ What do you mean, what’s going to happen? He’s going straight to Mars lol
└Then he’ll probably go to the major leagues instead of the Kkolnix?
└Damn, you’re right. Please don’t pitch well…
└Protect our shortstop, damn it;;
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The distance from the bullpen to the mound. The short time it took to walk this short distance. Yes, I had missed this moment. The appropriate exhilaration. The adrenaline rushing through my body.
Savoring all of this, I stood on the mound. The sound of cheers for me… unfortunately, of course, there was none. This wasn't the World Series; it was the Golden Lion Flag.
“Tae-hyun! Do your best!!”
But Ms. Miyeon’s cheer, who had come all this way for me, was more than enough. I stealthily lowered the corners of my lips, which had curled up without me realizing it. It was just my belief, but a pitcher’s number one priority was to strictly follow his own routine.
Even a minor expression needed to be corrected according to the routine. The batter had an annoyed expression. He was probably hurt that a shortstop had come up to pitch in such an important situation.
Then… I had to protect that pride. I slowly lifted my knee, tilted my head back, and took a big step forward with my pivot foot, taking advantage of my height, which was over 185 cm.
At that moment, I shifted my weight to my pivot foot, fixed it, and swung my raised hand down hard and strong from above. The feeling of the seams on my fingertips. I threw it as hard as I could, as if I were striking a match.
The first pitch.
Thwack—!!
A fastball on the inside corner.
“S-Strike!”
The umpire’s call was a little late, but that was okay. The batter was completely frozen. Feeling a little more relaxed, I glanced at the scoreboard.
[155km/h]
“...My speed isn’t quite there yet.”
Was my body not fully warmed up? As I got back into my stance, senior Ji Chang-seop gave me a sign. Index and ring fingers. According to our prior agreement, it was a curveball. I had said I would follow his lead, but… 155 was a little disappointing.
I threw the second pitch with all my might, without changing my grip.
Thwack!
“Str-ike!”
It was the same pitch, the same location, but the batter was still frozen.
[156km/h]
Next, the third pitch. Again, with the same pitch, the same location.
[157km/h]
“S…trike out…!”
I sent the batter back. Next, the third batter.
Thud!
“Strike!”
Thud
“Strike!”
Thud
“Strike - out!”
I sent him back with three fastballs as well. As the cleanup hitter, Kang Dae-han, stepped into the box, senior Ji Chang-seop called time.
“Tae-hyun… your pitches are good. Wow, really… It’s unbelievable. I admit it. But… that’s Kang Dae-han, you know? Huh? You saw it too, right? Seung-tae getting hit for a home run. So let’s not be so predictable.”
In short, he was telling me not to throw three four-seam fastballs in the same location.
“Of course.”
“R-Right? Right? You think so too, right? I believe in you, Tae-hyun.”
After senior Chang-seop returned, I changed my grip as he had earnestly requested. A cut fastball. The word ‘fastball’ was still there, but since ‘cut’ was in front, it wasn’t a lie. I wound up and threw with all my remaining strength.
The feeling on my fingertips was more than good; it was exhilarating. It was a feeling I had never felt even in my prime. The ball also broke sharply towards the batter’s body.
Oh? Kang Dae-han’s bat adjusted its trajectory to the movement of the ball and made solid contact. Senior Ji Chang-seop’s mouth fell open, and a smile appeared on Kang Dae-han’s lips, but…
Crack!
The bat shattered, and the ball popped up weakly. I slowly walked over and placed my glove where the ball was falling.
Thud.
“...Out! Game set!”
I got the last out.