Chapter 61

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Translator: Wjin

Chapter: 61

Chapter Title: The Shattered Perfect Game

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The broadcast team, notorious for never shutting up, was utterly speechless at Cha ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-hyun's pitches.

The first one to snap out of it hurriedly chimed in.

"As you can see on screen, that last third pitch was a four-seam fastball clocking 160 km/h. Only three guys in KBO history had ever cracked that mark before. Now Cha Tae-hyun makes it four. And he's the youngest by far."

"Hahaha... This is truly astonishing. Honestly, I had my doubts. Sure, Cha Tae-hyun has high school pitching records, but today was his first pro start, right? I didn't expect him to come out firing 160 km/h from the first inning. Incredible! The future of Korean baseball looks brighter than ever."

"Hey, Lee Yoo-seung, you just gonna go without saying anything?"

The Dragons' No. 2 hitter grabbed Lee Yoo-seung, who was heading back to the dugout as he stepped up to the plate.

Usually, the previous batter would give the on-deck hitter a heads-up about the pitches, but Lee Yoo-seung was just bailing.

"Come on, at least tell me what the pitches were like."

Lee Yoo-seung smirked and gave a curt reply.

"What... is there to tell?"

"Huh? Hey! Lee Yoo-seung!"

Lee Yoo-seung coolly vanished into the dugout after that.

The No. 2 hitter clicked his tongue and headed to the plate.

He hadn't heard the pitch report, but from what he'd seen in the on-deck circle, it was plenty nasty.

Especially since it had hit 160 km/h.

No matter how advanced sports science was or how much Korean baseball had leveled up, 160 km/h wasn't symbolically big for nothing.

'Still... it's not un hittable.'

Sure, it had that symbolism, but it wasn't like no one ever touched that velocity.

Last season alone, someone had hit 163 km/h, shattering the KBO record.

'He can't have just fastballs... Gotta see the pitches first.'

Cha Tae-hyun went into his windup and fired.

-Pak!

The first pitch zipped in before he could blink. A four-seam tight inside.

Seeing it up close, the velocity was no joke. No wonder Lee Yoo-seung whiffed so easily.

'What...? Velocity's down?'

It felt the same as against Lee Yoo-seung, but the scoreboard read 156.

Still just the first inning, so probably pacing himself.

That was normal, but annoying that it started on his at-bat.

'Throw one like that again...'

Gritting his teeth, the hitter glared at Cha Tae-hyun as the next pitch came.

This one looked hittable enough. His bat swung out.

-Whoosh

"Striiike!"

The ball that seemed about to catch the bat broke in, forcing the bat to slice empty air.

"Ha..."

A hollow laugh escaped the hitter. A 160 four-seam and now a perfect slider?

Raising his bat again, he focused hard. No way he'd let himself go down 0-2.

'Two strikes, no balls. He's gotta nibble once... Just hold off no matter what.'

Cha Tae-hyun wound up and threw.

'There it is!'

The pitch came in noticeably slower. Might miss the zone or not, but count-wise, it screamed changeup.

-Whoosh.

"Huh...?"

It should have been...

The hitter's bat went out involuntarily, whiffing on the dropping pitch.

"Swinging strike three! Another three-pitch K. The Dragons are helpless against Cha Tae-hyun!"

'Feels like getting your nose slit in broad daylight...'

Shaking his head as he trudged back, the on-deck hitter called out.

"Hey, what were the pitches like?"

The hitter burst out laughing.

"Ah... So that's what it feels like. My bad."

"What? Just tell me about the pitches."

"Go stand in there yourself first."

He skipped saying "you'll strike out too" and headed to the dugout.

No absolutes in baseball, no need to crush the guy's spirit.

And soon enough, the umpire bellowed another out call.

"Tight inside four-seam! Strike three! Another K! K-K-K! Cha Tae-hyun strikes out the side on nine pitches to erase the Dragons' threat!"

"Wow, what a masterful inning on just nine pitches. Scoreless, right? That's rare. Cha Tae-hyun just notched his 16th scoreless inning. Two records in one frame. The more you watch, the more amazing he is!"

"Coach Gu... Honestly, I thought I was crazy too."

"Yeah. Starting a rookie on opening day is pretty insane. Especially a raw one with just a few spring training outings."

"No... It's not just spring training. He said he'd been steadily training his pitching even before joining, aiming to be a two-way guy."

"Still no real game experience."

Manager Lee Eun-seok nodded.

"True enough... Yeah. It was crazy. But... Cha Tae-hyun's a madman too. So it works out, right?"

Coach Gu nodded too.

A crazy strategy that seemed to be working would pay huge dividends.

If they contended for a title later, today's win would loom large.

That said...

"Manager, you think you can handle it?"

"Hm? What's that mean all of a sudden?"

Coach Gu Min-seung smirked and nodded toward Cha Tae-hyun returning to the dugout.

"You'll be stressing over salary negotiations starting next year."

"Don't know... I'll leave that to the chairman. He's loaded."

"What if he doesn't pay up and Tae-hyun dogs it?"

"Then I'll dog it too."

"Pardon...?"

Jin Taek-yong was famous for his perpetually sleepy eyes and blank expression—you could never tell if he was fired up or not.

Even he was grinning ear to ear today.

His heart raced.

This level of excitement hadn't hit since facing Kang Woo-cheol, Korea's top slugger.

"Gonna be a hell of a hitter too."

His instincts screamed it. The rookie glaring at him from the plate was no ordinary guy.

'No letting up.'

A rare matchup like this... had to savor it.

'Let's test his eyes.'

If he had good vision, they could battle full count for that thrill.

Curveball, aimed just below the strike zone.

Hoping deep down Cha Tae-hyun would lay off, Jin Taek-yong unleashed it.

The ball arced beautifully down into the mitt—but Cha Tae-hyun offered at it like he was gonna crush it.

'...Eyes aren't great. Or is it confidence he can turn contact into a hit?'

The moment he thought it wouldn't be easy—

-Crack!!!

A vicious rip assaulted Jin Taek-yong's eardrums.

'Hit that better than expected... Could go to center easy. Maybe the wall...'

Wall...

Off the wall...

"It's over the wall!!! Jin Taek-yong's gorgeous curve met an uppercut uppercut and sent it out!"

It wasn't crushed perfectly, barely cleared, but a homer was a homer. First pitch too.

Yet Jin Taek-yong's grin didn't fade—in fact, it widened.

'At least won't be boring till ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the majors.'

He looked like a kid with a shiny new toy.

"You good?"

The Dragons catcher, now up, clapped Jin Taek-yong's shoulder.

"What?"

The catcher chuckled dryly.

First-pitch homer to a rookie should've rattled him, but classic Jin Taek-yong.

"Fine if you're good."

Lee Kang-cheol headed back to the plate, and Jin Taek-yong, unfazed—maybe even sharper—racked up three clean outs.

Baseball's called a data sport for a reason—almost everything's quantifiable.

Weak zones, pitch types, even situational flaws—all data-driven. Pitchers too.

So in this game, no data exposed? That's a major weapon.

Now imagine a pitcher with zero data throwing like a vet...

"Strike three! Another K from Cha Tae-hyun! Incredible! He's up to 16 strikeouts, closing in on history!"

"How... no hits through eight innings...?"

"Rival fan here, but Cha Tae-hyun's straight-up insane..."

A perfect game through eight with 16 Ks? Miracles happen.

But calling it mere miracle...

-Pak!

"Striiike!"

Cha Tae-hyun's pace mix was veteran-smooth. No worse than six-year vet Jin Taek-yong.

Even in a tight 1-0 game bottom eight, fans seemed less focused on the score.

"No way... perfect game's on?"

"Doubt it... but kinda feels like it."

Perfect game.

Never happened in KBO history. Who cares about win/loss with that on the line?

Even some Dragons fans secretly hoped to witness it.

"Daddy, daddy! If that big bro gets this out, we win?"

"No, there's the ninth. Needs three more after this."

"Again? Isn't that too much? He's already got so many!"

"He'll get 'em! Let's cheer!"

"Yeah!"

The kid who'd whined about watching earlier now jumped up, waving wildly.

"You can do it, you can do it... Tae-hyun can do it!"

Lee Mi-yeon clasped her hands tight, chanting like a spell for Cha Tae-hyun's perfect game.

Bottom eight, two outs, everyone's hopes converging—

The No. 6 hitter started fouling off Cha Tae-hyun's pitches stubbornly.

-Crack!

"Ah?"

"Ohhh!"

The liner hooked foul near the line—fans leaped up in shock.

"Foul!"

Breaths held till it veered safe.

Next pitch connected again.

-Crack!

Hearts sank at the sound, but the weak grounder straight at short—fans jumped, roaring.

Except diehards like Lee Mi-yeon.

"No... no!"

Cha Tae-hyun's heat pushed the bat way off-line. Right at Ji Chan-woo, easy play—but she screamed.

"Not Ji Chan-woo!!"

And soon her scream proved prophetic.

"Oh! What's this? Ji Chan-woo's glove swallows the ball but it pops out! It slips! Quick pickup and throw... safe, safe at first. Yes... Cha Tae-hyun's perfect game ends like this."

"......"

Lee Mi-yeon stood frozen, staring at the mound, fists trembling...

"Just retire!! You call that pro play!!!"

Rare for her.

Pure vitriol.

First time since becoming a Phoenix fan.

The perfect game was broken.

Hmm... How to put it. Feels worse than expected.

Thought I wasn't hoping, but guess I was a bit.

No. A lot, apparently. Curses bubbling up to my throat.

Won't say it out loud, but glaring at short...

No, a slightly hurt look should be fine.

Turned my head with that thought.

And deflated instantly.

"Sorry, Tae-hyun..."

His face screamed regret without words.

Eh... Yeah. Shit happens.

"It's fine. Happens."

Gave Chan-woo hyung a quick wave and stepped back on the rubber.

If I can't shrug this off, how'll we win it all?

Right. Shake it off. Forget and focus. Ninth left. Pace myself.

Deep breath, fired.

-Pak!!!

Yeah. Happens. Childish to rage over this.

-Pak!!

Don't overthrow, stay calm... Next inning too.

-Pak!!

"Strike three!"

Yeah. Gotta hold it together.