Chapter 58
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Bullpen Breakdown
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“Wow... This is truly an amazing defensive play no matter how many times you watch it. Just making the catch was impressive enough, but to attempt a glove toss for a double play from there? No one could have imagined it.”
“Absolutely. Cha Tae-hyun's defense was textbook clean, but Andy John showed some real instincts too, right? Barehand catch of Cha Tae-hyun's throw and firing it over! Without that, the double play probably wouldn't have happened. Compared to last year, the Phoenix infield feels way more stable now!”
Whoa... they saved it
Is this... really the Phoenix infield...?
I can't believe it!
Last year it would've been a double advancement instead of a double play
For real lol, they wouldn't have gotten anyone out, total egg on their face lol
But tbh it wasn't an error, it was an uncatchable hit that Tae-hyun God snagged
Damn, can one rookie really change the vibe this much?
The Volcanoes pitcher who took the mound in the bottom of the first was Lee Su-bin, drafted in the first round last year.
He was a rookie just stepping into pro ball, but he'd posted solid numbers in spring training, drawing all the expectations from Volcanoes fans.
Still, a rookie was a rookie—he wasn't some pushover pitcher.
Of course, to the fans, he was just another newbie. Not many bothered watching spring games.
'If he gets hit around, he's gonna eat shit from the fans...'
Leadoff hitter Jin Gyu-hyun lifted his bat.
Lee Su-bin went into his windup and fired the first pitch—a fastball inside that was well-placed, but Jin Gyu-hyun reacted quickly.
-Crack!
Clean contact. The ball rocketed off the bat.
It had hit-behind-the-head speed, the kind that usually finds grass, but unfortunately for him, it was right at shortstop.
“Out!”
After retiring the first batter cleanly, Lee Su-bin subtly curled one corner of his mouth, and the cameras caught it perfectly.
“Haha! Lee Su-bin is showing some real confidence there.”
“That's rookie swagger for you. He just fired that fastball right past Jin Gyu-hyun with conviction, didn't he? These young guns are scary these days.”
Arrogant prick?
Look at this cocky rookie tsk tsk
These guys say Cha Tae-hyun smirking is cool but this is hypocrisy lol
Tae-hyun God actually is cool tho
What;;
Next up was No. 2 hitter Lee Jun.
'Gotta be careful with Senior Lee Jun...'
Sure, he had no championship rings and nicknames like the Ringless King or Two-Ring Ghost that weren't funny at all, but second place was still second. Not a low rank by any means.
Lee Su-bin mixed in breaking balls and battled Lee Jun relentlessly.
“Strike—out!”
After a full-count showdown, he sealed it with a changeup, striking out Lee Jun too.
Sigh, our bats are screwed today
Getting owned by a rookie? Fml
Guys, lineup hasn't even come full circle yet, chill?
Is it right for an 8 billion won guy to K against a rookie?
For real, Lee Jun has so many whiffs, isn't he a Winners spy?
Busted lol Lee JunJun
F off
The Sajik crowd, still buzzing from Cha Tae-hyun's great defense, started twisting into angry Chihuahuas—right then.
-Crack!
No. 3 hitter Andy cleanly pushed an outside fastball for a hit.
“Andy! Andy! Andy!”
The fans' faces bloomed into smiles again as they chanted Andy's name.
Andy raised his fist and roared.
“This! Is! Andy!!!”
'Acting like he just went deep...'
Lee Su-bin shook his head at Andy throwing uppercuts toward the stands.
-Woooaaah!!
When No. 4 hitter Cha Tae-hyun stepped in, deafening cheers erupted, rattling ears.
“Man... With popularity like that, you'd never guess he's a rookie. Chang-hyun, that's your junior, right?”
As his senior approached, Kim Chang-hyun hurriedly wiped the smile from his face and nodded.
“Is he any good? Su-bin's stuff looks filthy today, if you ask me.”
Kim Chang-hyun snorted involuntarily before catching himself and clearing his throat.
“Ahem... Sorry, sudden sneeze. Anyway, Su-bin's got great stuff, but I don't think it'll be enough against Cha Tae-hyun.”
His senior tilted his head.
“Hmm? Aren't you hyping your fellow rookie a bit much? You saw Su-bin's pitches today. He got Lee Jun too. Sure, the merc got one, but that's just a meatball anyone can cough up once.”
“Even so, I don't think it'll work on Cha Tae-hyun.”
His senior should've backed off by now, but Kim Chang-hyun was firm.
“Wanna bet? Loser buys team dinner.”
Team dinner wouldn't include the whole first-team squad, but even just the pitchers would be over ten guys. A hefty bet for rookie Kim Chang-hyun.
“You're on. I'll take Cha Tae-hyun hits.”
Kim Chang-hyun bet confidently on Cha Tae-hyun.
“For real? You said it.”
“Yes. Dead serious. Watch.”
He gazed calmly at the mound.
The old him might've been sweating bullets thinking, 'Please hit it, Cha Tae-hyun!' But not anymore.
Soon, Lee Su-bin wound up and unleashed.
A packed inside fastball, easily topping 150 km/h, screamed into the mitt—a nasty pitch even vets struggled with.
-Craaack!
Cha Tae-hyun met it effortlessly, smoothly flicking it off the bat.
“Wha... What?”
His senior hustled to the dugout rail, craning to track the ball as it sailed deep... and cleared the fence.
Cha Tae-hyun tossed his bat and trotted to first as fans surged like waves, screaming his name wildly.
Watching, Kim Chang-hyun smirked involuntarily, then shot to his feet.
“That's it!! Cha—”
“Cha...?”
He faced his biggest crisis since going pro.
With all eyes on him, his mind blanked, and he blurted something incomprehensible.
“Cha...—gown reality is what Su-bin needs to grasp to become an ace...”
The Volcanoes dugout went ice cold.
Unless a rookie's a stud, there's always a reason they're stuck in Double-A developing.
The massive gap between high school and pro leagues, playing in front of huge crowds—plenty of factors.
But mentality is huge.
In unfamiliar territory with little experience, one shake-up can spiral. Especially for mentally fragile pitchers.
So Lee Su-bin coughing up hits and runs after my first-pitch homer, failing to snag an out and surrendering five more before getting yanked? Not weird at all.
“This scary bastard... Same rookie, but he didn't just take the lead—he straight-up murdered him.”
Well, yeah, I shook his mentality fair and square.
“Wasn't it you who finished him off, Si-woo? I'd wanna die too after giving you a hit.”
“Wha... What?”
Even if he looked that shocked, facts were facts.
Shin Si-woo had batted just .210 in spring training, upholding Phoenix catchers' proud tradition of being answerless at the plate.
“But if I got the kill shot, doesn't that mean I contributed too? So I did good.”
“Yeah... Congrats, but don't relax yet. Game ain't over.”
“Huh...? We scored 7 in the first?”
I leaned close to Shin Si-woo and whispered.
“You know nothing about our bullpen?”
His eyes snapped wide as realization hit; he clamped his mouth, grabbed his mitt, and prepped for relief.
We didn't score after the Volcanoes changed pitchers, but neither did they.
“Great job, Ibo!!”
Lee Ro-woon senior kept demanding that weird Double Cross Ceremony—which was pretty embarrassing—but he held the line through the fourth from the dugout,
and replacement foreign pitcher Shaun White kept the shutout into the seventh.
-Busan Phoenix~ Busan Phoenix~ We'll burn bright!
The clean ballgame drew out the rare team fight song, heating up Sajik's atmosphere.
It'd be nice if this festival vibe lasted to the end, but...
“Hey! You think that's pro ball?!”
“This make any sense?!”
“Stop throwing balls and spot some strikes!”
“Does Cha Si-hwan even know how to pitch?!”
Si-hwan senior, making his first-team debut, got two quick outs before his control went haywire, spraying balls everywhere.
He ended up walking in runs, and the next reliever wasn't much better.
Ball, ball, ball... They gave up 5 in the eighth alone.
With a 9-run cushion, no lead change.
Fans stuck around... which was the problem.
The ninth... well...
Even now, it's shocking.
“Aaaargh!! Two grand slams in one inning? How is this possible?!”
Shin Ha-yoon, staring at the Rapsodo data analyzer, suddenly screamed.
I got her freakout: fans were one step from rioting, and she was dissecting every pitch for coaching insights. How could she stay sane?
“But you knew that the Phoenix bullpen is hopeless.”
Shin Ha-yoon sighed deeply.
“Yeah... I knew, but... we were winning. And there were usable arms. He just didn't use 'em.”
Fair point. The closer setup mostly injured, but resources like Gu Min-seung or others existed.
Not great, but not two-grand-slams-in-an-inning disaster level.
That's why Manager Lee Eun-seok went from Diamond Stone, Lee Gold Stone, Lee Yellow Stone nicknames to Lee Shit Stone and Lee Mud Stone.
I understood the fans' rage, but I respected the manager's call.
“If not spring training, when do you test?”
The yanked relievers were all Double-A callups or bullpen candidates.
Sensing the current pen was hopeless, he was testing for diamonds in the rough.
“True... yeah. So I jotted some feedback while watching.”
The paper Shin Ha-yoon handed over was crammed like a notebook.
That reminded me: Coach-aspirant Shin Ha-yoon had passion and talent in spades.
Time to get her hired by Phoenix...
“Anyway, make sure to pass that along... and, uh... you heading home now?”
“Yeah, home. Where else?”
Shin Ha-yoon fidgeted, mumbling.
“If you need a favor, just say it. I owe you tons already.”
“Yeah... I know it's a hassle since I'm unpaid. Could you come to my place instead?”
“I offered to pay you, but you refused.”
“True... okay, just a favor then. Can you come over?”
After all she'd done for free? No biggie.
She'd tweaked my swing and given game feedback today.
“Sure, why not. What's up?”
“Mom's birthday is today, and I haven't done much for her... I want it special. She's due home soon.”
“Alright. Let's go.”
“Huh?”
Shin Ha-yoon's eyes went wide.
“Your mom likes me, right? That's the ask?”
“Uh... yeah.”
I chuckled.
“Perfect then. Why the face? C'mon. I felt bad exploiting your passion-pay anyway.”
Shin Ha-yoon smiled slyly, nodded, and grabbed my hand, tugging.
I asked why the sudden hand-hold; she said I didn't know the way, so she'd guide me...
Ridiculous, but her excited face made me follow quietly.