Cheongryonggi Game 2: The Clutch Changeup
I watched the game in a state of growing anxiety. In the end, our captain Lee Seok-hyeon, having thrown too many pitches, managed to limit the damage to just two runs but came down after the top of the fifth. Then Lee Ha-neul, the second-year pitcher, took the mound starting in the bottom of the fifth, but he gave up two straight hits and two runs. He couldn't find his rhythm in the seventh either, surrendering three more. The scoreboard read 5:7. A two-run deficit... Any more runs, and we'd be in real trouble...
The silver lining was that, surprisingly, our third-year hitters were holding their own pretty well.
"Coach, what about the eighth and ninth?"
The coach glanced at me for a moment before saying quietly, "Haah... You can pitch."
"Pardon?"
"You can throw. Your pitch count is low, so your mandatory rest day ends today. Cha Hyeon-jin can't go, but you can."
So it was possible after all? Why didn't he say so earlier...
"So I should get ready?"
"Yeah. I'll talk to the director. The schedule might get messy from here, but... no helping it. Better than losing now."
"Got it."
Before heading to the bullpen, I dashed to the locker room. There was a problem if I was going up right away. I quickly grabbed my phone. Right now, I couldn't rely on left-right strike zone pitches. The issue was that my slider, sinker, backdoor slider, and backdoor sinker all leaned heavily on the edges of the strike zone, so I had no choice but to adapt too.
In the end, I'd have to use the vertical plane. Damn... Should've practiced this more... A twinge of regret hit me, but no time for that. Mastering a four-seam fastball, then mixing in sliders and sinkers on short notice was tough enough.
I scrolled through searches for underhand pitchers' vertical zone pitches. Naturally, the first thing that popped up was the upshoot.
Upshoot. Unlike the rising fastball that just feels like it's climbing, an underhand pitch actually floats upward due to the arm angle. Sure, it starts dropping at the end from distance, but to the batter, it looks like it's rising the whole way.
"Curve grip to make it float up..."
Hmm... But I rarely used a curve grip, and "float up" didn't click at all. Too risky to try in a game right away. Not this one. Need something else.
Scrolling further, I hit the changeup explanation. "Grip it like a changeup and throw like a four-seam fastball." That caught my eye. It flies like a fastball but drops off with different timing to snag an out. This I can do. I pictured it perfectly: the ball getting sucked down below the catcher's mitt.
"Alright, this is it."
I headed straight to the bullpen. But first, I pulled aside Kim Na-seong from the dugout.
"What's up?"
"I'm probably going in for the bottom of the eighth. Mind catching one pitch while I loosen up?"
He nodded.
Whiiip!Pop!
"That's a fastball, right?"
"Five more. Gotta warm the shoulder. I'll ease into it, build intensity slow."
I threw a few four-seamers to loosen up. Then I gripped the changeup.
"Here it comes."
I eyed his mitt and let it fly. The first one felt off from release—dropped too early, bounced.
"Uh... Again."
Second pitch. Whiiip! This one floated up. Thwack! He yanked the mitt up, but it smacked the glove and popped out.
"Sorry."
Haah... Not easy. Of course not, on the fly like this...
I sighed softly and reset, focusing on a plain fastball feel. Whiiip! It hit low on the mitt right when it should have, then tumbled to the dirt. Kim Na-seong blinked blankly before looking up.
"Whoa? What was that? No way... changeup?"
"Yeah, that was the changeup."
"Felt like a fastball coming in, then it just dipped at the last second."
He spread his hand while crouched, demonstrating.
"Nice, it worked. Still not perfect feel, though. Few more?"
I fired again. My arm swing smoothed out, release point steady. Then a fastball mix-in. Thud! Heavy smack into the mitt.
Changeup next. Tracked the fastball's path almost exactly, then dropped with a plop at the end. Kim Na-seong gripped the mitt, exhaling.
"Batters are gonna eat this up."
Relief. A vertical card for when left-right was off-limits. Perfect.
Right then, the horn blared—end of our at-bats. Top of the eighth over. Score check: 7-7 tie. Great. Hold 'em now, no loss.
"Alright, time to go."
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the bullpen.
The moment I hit the mound, I called over catcher and vice-captain Hwang Jae-uk sunbae.
"Hyung, the left-right strike zone's super tight, right?"
"Yeah. Making it rough."
He nodded. I lowered my voice.
"So I whipped up a changeup quick. It'll come in one or two balls slower than the fastball, drop a bit low. Won't tail glove-side, so just block loose."
"What?"
His eyes widened briefly, staring. Adding a pitch mid-crisis? Shocking, apparently. But he smacked his mitt.
"Got it. Throw strikes. I'll keep up."
First batter up: Buma High's lineup starting at eight, righty. Test time. Had to see the zone myself.
First pitch: low-outside fastball. Felt right on track, but ump's hand stayed down.
Ball. Way tighter than I thought.
Oof... Feels totally different. Everyone's adjusting since ABS Zone came in? One ball off, anyway...
I nodded, recalibrating.
Second: changeup, aimed inside to look zone-bound. Whiiip! Dipped right before the mitt. Whoosh!
Batter swung like he timed it—whiffed air. Empty swing. Yes!
Conviction hit: this works.
Breathe. Third: fastball, low-outside for a strike. Whiiip! Pop!
"Strike!"
Clean embed, called strike. Count: 1-2 instant.
Nice...
Hwang Jae-uk dropped the mitt low. Nod. Fourth: changeup. Whiiip!Whoosh! Pop!
Batter swung quick for fastball, but it wilted low under the bat. Mitt snap, ump's hand up.
"Swinging! Strike three! You're out!"
Three pitches, K. Exhale...
Won't end easy.
Bottom of the ninth, back on the mound. Blessed top half—our team flipped it to 8-7. Just hold now.
Batter steps in. Hmm... Something's off?
Eyeing him, I sensed intent. No hard proof, just the glint—like he was hunting. They'd shared intel from prior at-bats, no doubt. My pitch chart circulating? Not fun.
Worse: top of their order—2-3-4. Tension spiked.
Deep breath, switch plans. They're keyed on changeup. Serve it up? Idiot move. Need different.
Lefty confirmed—sinker flashed. Worth a shot.
Shake off fastball/changeup signs. Nod to sinker.
First pitch: sinker. Whiiip!
As expected, changeup timing—beat by a hair, bat low. Ting! Foul off, but topped, rolls to short. Cool grab, throw to first. Out.
Exhale... Worked.
Sinker sinks vertically and tails—perfect vs. changeup hunters. Baited it, nailed.
Next: three-hole, righty. Outside fastball first. But read. Pushed clean, drops in front of right for hit. Damn... Mood heavy again.
Four-hole up: lefty. Fucking lefty. Homer here? Game over.
Pressure surged. Then Hwang Jae-uk nodded, hand signal: you good? Sensed my vibe? Sharp eyes...
Nod back. Sinker again. Whiiip!Thwack!
Changeup swing—hard contact, but grounder. Heart drops as it rockets low, but third baseman dives, sliding catch!
That!
Relay to second, then first. Double play. Outs stack. I unleashed it.
"Yes!"
Fist clenched, roar. Dugout erupts—"Nice!"—guys swarm.
Haah... Safe. Quarters secured. Odds of seeing Sera here just skyrocketed.
Whew, semis? We'll make it work.