Chapter 79
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Can't Hit It
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"What analysis..."
Kim Woo-jun, the Winners' leadoff hitter, muttered to himself as he stepped up to the plate.
The fans seemed to think the Winners' analytics team had cracked Cha Tae-hyun wide open just because they'd opened their mouths.
Pure hype.
The guy's only made two starts since debuting. What kind of "analysis" is there to do?
As far as Kim Woo-jun was concerned, the Winners' analytics team was just riding high on their fame and blabbing to the news outlets.
Well, still.
That nonsense did give some useful info for the first at-bat in the top of the first.
Even Kim Woo-jun was shocked when he heard it.
From high school to now, Cha Tae-hyun throws a four-seam fastball on the first pitch to the leadoff hitter 96% of the time.
Not figuratively—literally. And mostly right down the middle.
That half-baked analysis might actually shine in the very first at-bat of the first inning.
'Down the middle four-seam... Grip the bat long and full swing...'
—Crack!
?
'What the hell.'
Kim Woo-jun's thoughts froze for a moment.
He'd definitely been picturing a four-seam right down the middle and preparing for it.
"Striiike!"
When he came to, the ball was already sucked into the mitt.
Kim Woo-jun stared at the mitt in disbelief, and Shin Si-woo couldn't help but chuckle.
'Damn, slipped up on the leadoff.'
Fortunately, Kim Woo-jun was in no state to notice the laugh.
He was dealing with cognitive dissonance.
From just one pitch by Cha Tae-hyun.
Kim Woo-jun raised his bat again and thought as he saw Cha Tae-hyun's signature sly grin.
'...What analysis.'
This isn't...
—Whoosh!
—Crack!
'...something you can hit just because you know it's coming, fuck!'
"Striiike!"
"Hey! Kim Woo-jun! What the hell are you doing? Get your head in the game!"
Kim Woo-jun wanted to fire back at the manager screaming his lungs out.
—Whoosh!
—Crack!
If I could hit this from the first at-bat, do you think I'd be playing here...?
"Strike! Out!"
Looking strikeout.
Embarrassing for a hitter, but Kim Woo-jun didn't feel the least bit ashamed.
He just let out a silly chuckle and stepped away from the plate.
Why?
Because it was the obvious outcome.
At that moment, Kim Woo-jun was convinced his own analysis outshone the analytics team's. He decided to share the results with his teammates in the on-deck circle.
"Okay, analysis complete."
"Oh. So you figured something out?"
As his teammate's eyes lit up, Kim Woo-jun declared proudly.
"Can't hit it."
F*ck… Kim Woo-jun looking pissed but walking back giggling lmao
I'd be the same lol Our team so it's funny, but from opponent's view it's ridiculous lmao
Top-end 150s four-seam vs mid-160s? What do you expect lol
Aw too lazy to worship anymore. Honestly Ks alone don't cut it for worship now, right?
Agreed lmao. Need three straight Ks for that dopamine hit
Cha Tae-hyun already analyzed (actual quote)
Analysis complete (wrong)
Woo woo tlai tlata! (Cha Tae-hyun analysis complete!)
In baseball, the first inning is pretty crucial.
Hitters haven't adjusted to the pitcher yet, so hits are scarce. That's why the pitcher needs to seize control early. Momentum matters a ton in this game.
The Winners... well, they'd been perfectly dominated by Cha Tae-hyun, plain as day.
If they gave up runs to the Phoenix offense in this spot, the game could spiral into a bad flow.
'Better to pitch around Tae-hyun if we get a runner on...'
Jin Tae-hyun thought, but he couldn't say it out loud.
Intentional walk in the first? That bruises the pitcher's ego, and the Winners manager was old-school to a fault.
"Hyung, if Tae-hyun comes up, maybe play it super defensively with the pitch calls?"
That was Jin Tae-hyun's roundabout way of persuading him—his best shot.
Today's Winners starter, Shin Min-seok, scowled.
"Ha... You saying I'm hurt, Jin Tae-hyun? Huh? I'm Shin Min-seok, national team ace. Key to the Winners' championship. You think I'll get shelled in the first? Tsk."
He hadn't said anything like that, but Shin Min-seok was spinning his own persecution complex.
Jin Tae-hyun felt wronged but had to hold it in.
That was the reality for a rookie catcher dealing with a veteran pitcher.
"Sorry. It's just... Tae-hyun's been on fire lately."
"Go back. And he won't even come up anyway. No need to freak out."
The words Phoenix leads the league in team batting average, you know? nearly escaped, but Jin Tae-hyun bowed and headed to the plate.
"...These rookies nowadays have the worst mindset."
Muttering, Shin Min-seok irritably rubbed the rosin bag and started his delivery.
—Thwump
"Striiike!"
Jin Gyu-hyun swung hard, but Shin Min-seok's slider curved in perfectly.
The next pitch, a four-seam clipping the inside corner.
"Striiike!"
Whiff again.
Third pitch.
—Thwump
Shin Min-seok's splitter dropped sharply, inducing another whiff from Jin Gyu-hyun.
Clean three-pitch strikeout.
Shin Min-seok throwing well af
That fucker's national team pitcher... But he always balls out extra vs us, makes it worse
Not just him, most pitchers own last-place Nix, yeah. Obvious for a basement team 💀
Fact ban, you idiot
Wanna get sued for defamation?
—Thwack
[Lee Jun pushes the outside four-seam beautifully. Past first, to second. Clean double!]
'Not a Phoenix guy, huh? Tricky.'
Shin Min-seok gave up the double to Lee Jun but wasn't fazed. Known for top-tier crisis management, a runner on second was no big deal to him.
[Whiff K! Shin Min-seok calmly grabs the second out against No. 3 hitter Andy! Classic Shin Min-seok! Showing that velocity again this season!]
—Roooar!!
The cheers were deafening, making Shin Min-seok squint.
'What a joke...'
Did Cha Tae-hyun score already?
Judging by the reaction, you could swear he had.
Amid the roar, Cha Tae-hyun stepped to the plate.
"Long time no see."
"Oh..."
Jin Tae-hyun shut his mouth before replying.
'Can't win the mind games with this guy.'
Back in the Golden Lion tournament, he'd tried bantering back amateurishly and got crushed.
Better not to engage at all if you can't win.
"Cold..."
Cha Tae-hyun just meant he was glad to see an old friend, but...
'To face you, cold ain't enough.'
He needed ice-cold resolve, zero mercy, pure intent to dominate.
Jin Tae-hyun called for a big breaking waste pitch first pitch.
'That far off the plate first pitch?'
Shin Min-seok shook his head, scowling.
Jin Tae-hyun sighed.
They call the catcher the field general, but what good is a commander no one follows? Wish I'd get my reps faster...
No choice—change the sign.
Inside the zone but outer half, tough for homers. Hard to locate, but Shin Min-seok had the skills to match his dirty personality.
Shin Min-seok still looked grumpy but nodded.
—Whoosh
As the ball flew in, Jin Tae-hyun's eyes narrowed.
Way outer than called. blatant ball.
'Fine, better to waste one safely—'
Suddenly, Jin Tae-hyun's eyes widened.
'He's... swinging?'
The bat that shouldn't come forward did.
The ball that shouldn't be touched was about to be.
—Crack!!
The hit sound slammed his eardrums, confirming the surreal scene was real.
That familiar crack from thousands of at-bats screamed "not a single."
Cha Tae-hyun bolted to first; Jin Tae-hyun yanked off his mask in panic.
The liner sailed over the second baseman's head, screaming toward the gap. The speedy right fielder chased it down—almost too well.
[Right fielder Kim Hwan-myung dives with the glove out—but misses! It skips off! Off the glove toward the foul line! Runner scores! Cha Tae-hyun past first to second! Keeps going! To third!]
The right fielder scooped and fired desperately, but Cha Tae-hyun was already planted at third.
"Fuck yeah, Cha Tae-hyun kills it! I live because of you!"
"Love you Tae-hyun, marry me!"
Cha Tae-hyun smiled and waved to the packed Phoenix fans in the away stands at third.
"Tae-hyun, look here once!"
A voice caught his ear by chance; Cha Tae-hyun turned.
"Hyun-soo! Hyun-soo! Look, Cha Tae-hyun's looking at our Hyun-soo!"
A kindergarten-aged kid giggled, arms up in a V.
'Cute.'
Cha Tae-hyun chuckled and mimicked the silly V; the kid jumped for joy.
Onlookers smiled warmly.
But...
'Ha... these rookie punks are insane...?'
Shin Min-seok, missing the kid, took it as showboating and twisted his face.
"Ha, fuck..."
Shin Min-seok finally flipped the bird, caught perfectly by the camera.
Did that fucker just flip off?
Aw that boomer gonna rage over rookie ceremony again
That guy’s straight-up human trash, yeah. Would’ve been canceled if he wasn’t good at baseball 💀
Was smiling warmly at mom and Tae-hyun God mimicking kid's V, then mood killed af
Maybe Shin Min-seok didn't see it? Then it's kinda fucked. That was legit showboating level
Winners spy? Ceremony or not, bitching about it is boomer
Busted hehe… Lee Jun-jun 💀
Aw fuck thought he was gone, sneaks back in, gtfo!
"Phew..."
Jin Tae-hyun took a deep breath before stepping in.
As pitcher, Cha Tae-hyun had three straight Ks.
As hitter, he'd allowed a triple and a first-inning run.
Winners dominated by Cha Tae-hyun from the jump, but Jin Tae-hyun didn't care.
Honestly, the highlight for him today was this moment—facing Cha Tae-hyun at the plate.
Since that final at-bat K in the Golden Lion finals, he'd burned to rematch.
Hearing Cha Tae-hyun stayed in KBO instead of MLB? His heart raced; he even did extra batting practice alone.
Not revenge, of course.
Pure desire to surpass him. That goal.
Living for baseball a full year...
And now he was Korea's top catcher.
'I wouldn't be who I am without you, Cha Tae-hyun.'
You, whom I'm grateful for—and respect.
Today,
I, Jin Tae-hyun,
will dare
to beat Cha Tae-hyun.
"You and our Jin Tae-hyun are buds, right? Nickname 'Fake Tae-hyun' means you hit well... but official marked ball ain't easy?"
Shin Si-woo's amateur mind game—inspired by last night's trash-talk MLB domination flick—fell on deaf ears.
Jin Tae-hyun's maxed focus locked only on the mound and Cha Tae-hyun atop it.
In his silent world, the lone breathing Cha Tae-hyun went into his windup.
Jin Tae-hyun raised his bat slightly.
—Cha Tae-hyun barely throws breaking stuff. 80% four-seams until two strikes. Simple locations too. Target first and second pitch—you can handle him!
The analytics tip flashed by.
But Jin Tae-hyun knew.
Such simple sequencing eyes the opponent subtly.
And he trusted.
He wouldn't look like a hitter Shin Min-seok could take with basics.
—Whoosh!
—Crack!
"Ha!"
The catch sounded like it shredded the mitt; Jin Tae-hyun exhaled held breath.
"Ball!"
164 km/h four-seam grazed the zone edge—but ump called ball.
"Ha ha..."
Jin Tae-hyun chuckled and nodded.
Classic Cha Tae-hyun. He regretted trying to track with eyes.
This wasn't eye-trackable. Animal instinct... beyond, sixth sense territory.
—Thwack!
Grinding teeth, Jin Tae-hyun swung hard; finally, Cha Tae-hyun's pitch met bat today.
"Ngh!"
But the two-seam diving inside hit low on the bat. Groan escaped Jin Tae-hyun.
Amid pain, he marveled at the two-seam's insane path.
'Yeah... this is Cha Tae-hyun. Beyond imagination.'
Jin Tae-hyun reset.
—Thwack!
"Foul!"
—Thwack!
[Foul! Another foul! Wow, Jin Tae-hyun's incredible—hitting Korea's toughest fastball! As expected from the guy with 6 HRs in 6 games!]
Jin Tae-hyun was timing up better, adapting—but the waiting pitch was specific.
'Fork... definitely fork as finisher.'
He was sure: that day's fork—even knowing it came—proved Cha Tae-hyun's out pitch.
And instinct screamed now: timing for it.
[One ball, two strikes. Cha Tae-hyun windup.]
Jin Tae-hyun's gut was right.
This pitch flying in? Pure strikeout finisher.
But not fork.
'Cut it at least...!'
Too fast outward for fork. Startled, Jin Tae-hyun thrust the bat anyway.
Make contact, get another shot.
Lucky.
Tip of bat connected. One more look—
—Crunch!
"Uh...?"
Not hit crack—wood splintering hit his ears.
Pop-up high.
But not far.
Jin Tae-hyun's head followed the arc up, then down as it dropped.
Cha Tae-hyun stood there, glove raised.
"Out!"
—Roooar!!!!
Amid cheers, Jin Tae-hyun stared at the bat handle, muttering emptily.
"......The finisher was the cutter, not fork."