Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Translator Wjin
Chapter 38
Meanwhile, in the New York Mets locker room, a player, observing Kim Ho-san’s expression, asked his teammate.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ho-san smile so happily. What’s he watching?”
“He’s watching the kids’ baseball World Cup.”
“Huh? Kids? Like the U-18 Baseball World Cup? He’s that happy watching that?”
“You’re new, so you probably don’t know. Ho-san is a huge patriot. He’s the kind of man who cries whether his country wins or loses in an international match.”
His teammate nodded in admiration. “Damn, what a cool guy.”
At that moment, Kim Ho-san, overhearing them, approached and held out his phone. “Take a look at this.”
His teammate took the phone and tilted his head. It seemed to be a home run clip from the Baseball World Cup.
'Honestly, showing something like this to us, major leaguers…'
He didn’t expect to be impressed, but the player’s swing was surprisingly clean.
“Wow… the pitch was better than I thought, but the batter’s swing is top-notch.”
“I agree. I don’t think you see such a clean swing even here…”
Kim Ho-san, his lips twitching into a grin at his teammates’ comments, held out his phone to another teammate, Bob.
Bob had joined the team around the same time as Kim Ho-san. Having been with him for a long time, he immediately knew what Ho-san wanted.
He took the phone, slapped his forehead, and exclaimed, “What…? What am I seeing? Damn it! A player with a swing like this is still 18 years old? Ho-san, what country is this monster from? It’s unbelievable!”
Kim Ho-san nodded repeatedly, a satisfied grin on his face.
“Cha Tae-hyun. A Korean player, and the man who will soon conquer the majors!”
“Damn it! Korea again? That country is so small, but why are there so many monsters? If a guy like Cha Tae-hyun comes, the US will be turned upside down again.”
“Hahaha! See? Bob has a good eye.”
“You’re the one, Ho-san. You should be a scout. All the Korean prospects you find are excellent.”
The other players, watching the two of them laugh boisterously, had similar thoughts.
'Is he really that good…?'
It was a clean swing, but wasn’t it a bit of an exaggeration to say he would conquer the majors? But no one said anything. The team’s ace, Kim Ho-san, was looking so happy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
“Wow! So there was a reason why everyone was talking about Cha Tae-hyun!”
“I know, right? Isn’t he a total monster?”
“Tae-hyun, want to transfer to our school? No, wait, I’m going pro soon, so if I get drafted, you should follow me. It would be so reassuring to have a shortstop like you.”
I expected this kind of reaction after hitting a home run…
“Just Tae-hyun-shin… I worship you.”
Jin Tae-hyun hadn’t given up his fanatic persona yet, and he was bowing with his hands clasped as if he were really worshipping me. What a strange guy.
Anyway, it was a bit strange for me to say this after hitting a home run, but Lin Hao was also a formidable pitcher.
There were some guys whose mentality never broke, who rather enjoyed the risk, and Lin Hao seemed to be one of them. His velocity hadn’t decreased even when the bases were loaded in my at-bat, and in fact, it had gotten even better.
“Strike—!”
And the pitch he threw after giving up a grand slam also had life. If he had had that velocity from the beginning, he wouldn’t have given up consecutive hits to the first three batters…
Crack!
Well… Lee Ji-ho was also a monster in his own right. A hit that easily cleared the shortstop’s head. Lee Ji-ho reached first base with ease.
For a pitcher, a grand slam followed by another hit was a nightmare. But Lin Hao just nodded silently, threw the next pitch with even better velocity…
Thwack!
“Strike—out!”
…and cleanly retired the 6th, 7th, and 8th batters.
“Cha Tae-hyun.”
At that moment, Lee Ji-ho, who had returned to the dugout, spoke to me.
It wasn’t strange for a teammate to speak to me, but… it had been a long time since this guy had spoken to me… or was it the first time? He smiled awkwardly.
“Nice home run.”
He said that and coolly went to get his glove.
“What’s up with him all of a sudden…?”
I instinctively looked for Jin Myung-hwan and clicked my tongue. To think I would miss Jin Myung-hwan…
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
In the bottom of the first inning, Kim Shin-hwa took the mound.
During the training camp, Kim Chang-hyun had shown slightly superior skills, but since Taiwan was a team with a high percentage of left-handed batters, the left-handed Kim Shin-hwa, who was advantageous against them, got the start.
We’ve got a four-run lead, so pitch with an easy mind!
It was Jin Tae-hyun’s words, but the Taiwanese batter in the box had a look of determination, so it wouldn’t be an easy pitch.
‘It won’t be that easy…’
Kim Shin-hwa rolled the ball in his glove a couple of times and threw the first pitch. A fast fastball that jammed the inside.
Swoosh
The Taiwanese batter swung and missed, and the ball went into the mitt.
“Strike—!”
Next, a slider that broke away outside.
Clack!
The batter, a beat late, pushed the well-broken slider.
“Foul!”
‘The batters are definitely high-level…’
Although it was a foul, the fact that he was already timing the pitches from his first at-bat meant he was no easy opponent. As the report had said, Taiwan’s strength was their hitting.
He threw the third pitch and clicked his tongue the moment the ball left his fingertips. It wasn't a complete mistake, but the ball didn't break as much as he wanted.
Clack!
The batter didn’t miss the flat pitch and immediately swung, and the ball rolled past the second baseman and into center field. A clean double.
The few Taiwanese fans in the stands stood up and cheered, and the Taiwanese dugout also shouted, raising the atmosphere.
‘He was lucky… Taiwan. If I had held onto the rosin bag for one more second, he wouldn’t have been able to hit it.’
Although Kim Shin-hwa had a strange way of thinking, his mentality didn’t waver because of it, and…
“Strike—out!”
“Strike—out!”
He cleanly struck out the 2nd and 3rd batters. As the next Taiwanese 4th batter came up, the Taiwanese fans who had been quiet for a while stood up and shouted again.
‘Was it Wang Jian Hao? I need to be careful with this guy.’
He was the player who was marked as the one to watch out for in the scouting report. A highly touted prospect who had participated in the Baseball World Cup since his freshman year.
Jin Tae-hyun, considering that, called for a waste pitch outside. However, Kim Shin-hwa immediately shook his head.
‘Wang Hao or whatever, he’s not Cha Tae-hyun…’
Jin Tae-hyun tried to persuade him a couple of times but eventually gave up, and Kim Shin-hwa pitched with confidence. A fastball that jammed the inside.
The control was a little off, but the velocity and command were quite good. He thought it would definitely be a strike if it passed through the zone.
Crack!
But just as life doesn't always go as planned, so it was with pitching. Wang Jian Hao’s bat swung at a terrifying speed, and the ball, hit right on the sweet spot, flew in a straight line.
Kim Shin-hwa quickly followed the ball with his head, and the Taiwanese fans jumped up and down, anticipating a timely hit.
A single…? No, considering the speed of the ball, it was a hit that could even lead to a run. The Taiwanese commentator also threw his microphone and stood up, and the chat was also busy scrolling.
At that moment… Cha Tae-hyun ran. He raised his arm high and caught the ball that shouldn’t have been caught, as if snatching it from the air.
Cha Tae-hyun, who stumbled slightly as he landed, showed his glove to the umpire, and the dazed umpire belatedly shouted,
“...Out!”
└ Crazy lol, what was that lol
└ Jumping catch, holy shit lol
└ Was the manga a realistic depiction of reality…?
└ It happens once in a while in pro baseball… but to see it in an international match…
└ Yeah, surprisingly, jumping catches exist in reality, but they're rare in international matches lol
└ The Taiwanese fans were given false hope lol
└ No, are the Taiwanese commentators statues? They're just frozen? lol
└ Real-time Taiwan chat: Brothers, I think that Cha Tae-hyun guy needs to be drug tested.
└ These bastards are starting to slander Tae-hyun-shin now lol
└ But after seeing that defense, I get it lol. What was that? lol
Kim Shin-hwa looked at Cha Tae-hyun, let out a few hollow laughs, and muttered, "Cha Tae-hyun… I really like him as a teammate."
He uncharacteristically, or perhaps for the first time, gave Cha Tae-hyun a thumbs up with 100% pure respect.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
Although Taiwan, a hitting team, showed a tenacious side, there was a limit to what they could do with sheer grit.
In the 7th inning, the score was 10:4, and they were barely avoiding a called game. This inning started with the 3rd batter, Jin Tae-hyun, but for some reason, he struck out without a fight.
As I was going to the batter's box, the returning Jin Tae-hyun said to me quietly, “I’m sorry… And don’t ever look at the first base stands.”
Although it was sudden, his words were quite serious. As if I really shouldn't look. But humans are creatures who are born with the instinct to do what they are told not to.
It's normal to want to press a red button that says "Do Not Press." This was Jin Tae-hyun’s fault.
Aha…?
As soon as I looked at the first base stands, I immediately understood why he had said that and why he had struck out so easily.
A cute little kid, wearing a baseball cap bigger than his head, was looking at me with watery eyes. This was definitely… a Jin Tae-hyun counter.
He was already an emotional guy, and those big, bright eyes were sending a look as if to say, 'Are you going to hit a home run…? Please don’t…' Let’s see… the score is now 10:4, with a runner on second.
So if we score just one more run, and Taiwan doesn't score, it’s a called game. Thinking that, my heart softened a little. They must have come all the way here with their families, with high expectations, and it would be so disappointing if it was a called game.
Still… I’m sorry, kid. We also have a lot of people in Korea cheering for us. Especially Ms. Mi-yeon.
Craaaack!!
I adjusted the trajectory of my bat to match the curveball that was dropping down and hit it with all my might. As soon as it was hit, I had a feeling it was a home run, and I glanced at the stands.
“Oh.”
“Waaaaah!!!”
I was met with the face of a crying child, being comforted by his family. I carefully put down the bat I was about to flip out of habit and ran the bases as if to escape.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇;
“As expected of Shin Tae-hyun… I worship you. That strict swing, which doesn’t waver even when faced with the eyes of a child…”
“I saw him too. He’s really amazing, Tae-hyun. You just crushed that cute kid’s dreams and hopes.”
“That was excellent, Cha Tae-hyun. The world of baseball is a cruel one. If I were a batter instead of a pitcher, I would have done the same.”
As we were talking nonsense after happily ending the Taiwan game with a called game…
“Hey… isn’t that the family of that kid from earlier…?”
As Kim Yu-bin said, the kid’s family was approaching us.
“Do you speak English?”
“Ah, yes, I do.”
Then she smiled brightly and took off the kid’s cap, holding it out with a marker.
“My son seems to have become a fan of you, player. Could you please sign this?”
“Yes? Me?”
I was momentarily flustered. He had become my fan after I had ended the game with a called game…
“Ah, my son is still young, so he doesn’t even know which team is our country’s team. He just likes the person who hits well the most.”
“Ah.”
He was that young. Then was he just crying out of emotion? Anyway, I felt good seeing this cute kid smiling at me.
I took the cap and marker, signed it, and put the cap on the kid’s head. The kid jumped up and down excitedly. I looked at him with a warm smile and had a good idea.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
I opened my bag, took out a bat, signed it, and handed it to the kid. He couldn’t lift it because it was heavy, but he hugged it and smiled shyly.
“Are you really giving this to us? Are you sure? It seems to be one of your bats.”
I only brought one spare bat, so it was a bit of a dilemma, but if I ran out, I could just steal Jin Tae-hyun’s bat. And most importantly…
“It’s okay. I just wanted to give it to him. It’s a gift to commemorate my first overseas fan.”
I thought that if he received this bat today, it would remain in his memory for the rest of his life. It was a cheap price to pay for a memory. The kid’s parents thanked me profusely.
I allowed them to post it on social media and even took a picture with them. Finally, the little boy, showing his small front teeth, smiled, bowed, and left.
I had been worried about him crying earlier, but now I felt relieved.
“As expected of Cha Tae-hyun… his character is like the heavens…”
“This bastard is pretty cool.”
“To win the game and even get a good image, that mindset of never losing is amazing. I’ll acknowledge you this time, Cha Tae-hyun.”
“...Don’t ruin the heartwarming atmosphere, Shin-hwa.”
Jin Tae-hyun and Kim Yu-bin burst out laughing at my words. The first day in Osaka, on a hot summer day, was passing by.