Bicycles Anytime
Starting pitcher Zack was a classic dice-roll type of pitcher.
On days when he felt good, he looked nearly untouchable. On the opposite kind of day, he threw as if he were only half-trying.
Fortunately, today he at least showed something around a “5” on the dice.
Honestly, with a Schrodinger’s-cat kind of usage like this, the smart move would have been to replace him quickly. But the Suwon Wizards front office chose to stick with him instead.
I honestly had no idea why. Maybe they figured gambling with Zack every single game was better than gambling an entire season on a replacement.
And the batting side had already lost their own gamble once. Homesickness in a foreign worker? Might as well call it an incurable disease.
I’d heard that if the mound condition was even a little off, his mood tanked just as fast.
Does that even make sense?
As a hitter, I found the whole thing hard to understand.
“Pitchers are nobility, outfielders are merchants, infielders are serfs, and catchers are beggars.”
Some catcher had supposedly said that a long time ago. Maybe it was just the aristocratic mindset of pitchers.
But why are outfielders the merchants…?
There were plenty of good-hitting outfielders, but good-hitting shortstops and good-hitting catchers were extremely rare. And the ones who always hit the massive FA jackpots were the latter.
The guy who said that… his own numbers were…
Of course, he hadn’t been talking about money. Anyway.
Manager Kim Tae-sik was the type who understood Zack’s pickiness. Maybe pitchers just got each other—some kind of pitcher sensitivity.
“Don’t you think so?”
I asked the veteran beggar sitting behind home plate.
“Think what?”
“That pitchers are ridiculously high-maintenance.”
The catcher who had made over ten billion won across two free-agent contracts shook his head.
“Better high-maintenance than spouting weird crap like you.”
The sincerity in his tone actually stung a little. So I said:
“Before I start crying in the batter’s box, please give me something down the middle.”
“Heh heh…”
Thwack!
“Ball.”
A lefty sidearmer. First time I’d ever seen one in person. A guy who had basically staked his entire career on being a lefty one-point specialist.
He was definitely tricky. The ball looked like it was flying straight at my back before it cut in close to the zone.
“I’m disappointed.”
“You’re not even nervous right now?”
“Well…”
Honestly.
“I figure today’s results were mostly luck, so I’m not exactly holding out for a hit for the cycle.”
Really. I’d only felt a tiny bit jealous of Ryu Hyun-seo for a second. Just a second.
“Luck, huh… you hit everything except the triple…”
I didn’t usually say things like that, but facts were facts.
The double and the home run had been the product of perfect swings, even by my own standards. But the single in my second at-bat had been pure luck.
A rare left-side ball for me, and it dropped into the most exquisite little gap. Even Ryu Hyun-seo, whose range was the best in the league, couldn’t get to it. Watching him almost snag it had given me a real scare.
“Well, isn’t that just baseball?”
Clean contact was the foundation. But the result was always partly left up to luck. That was the sport.
“Haa… so I guess I’m hitless because I’m unlucky.”
“Want to come pick up trash with me?”
Ah.
“Senior, you’re the Irons catcher. Trying to trick me like that…”
“…”
Tick!
“Foul!”
Yeah, the trajectory was still a little nasty.
“I figured you’d start singing that song the moment you stepped in this at-bat.”
To you, I’m like the sunset at dusk~
“Senior. You’re not much of a singer, are you?”
“…”
What a pure-hearted senior. Late thirties, a catcher, and still able to blush that easily.
Same as the first at-bat…
“I’m really not thinking about the cycle.”
Hit for the cycle. Or cycling hit.
I figured the reason it became such a big deal was simply because it was rare and weird.
Of course a four-hit game is impressive on its own…
Add the triple and it becomes even more so.
Whoooosh!!
The whip-like trajectory was cutting toward the low inside corner, just barely in the zone.
Not a great pitch to hit…
If I were hunting a triple, this was a pitch I should take. But then again—
When have I ever swung while thinking about that?
It was a tough pitch to match the swing path to. But was it some kind of magic ball I couldn’t hit just because it was in the zone? Absolutely not.
A little hard, sure. But if it was a pitch I could hit, I always attacked it aggressively and made something happen.
That was the value of the player named Gong Ji-hoo, as far as I was concerned.
CRAAACK!!
I naturally dropped one knee and drove it. The ball rocketed past first base and raced down the line.
“…As long as we win, it’s not really that disappointing, right?”
I could always hop on a bicycle again sometime.
The Gwangju Irons had come into the fall classic riding a massive wave of momentum and consecutive wins, so the broadcast crew and most fans had expected a bloody, hard-fought playoff series.
Instead, the two games in Suwon both ended in Suwon Wizards victories.
The second game finished 6–3.
Caster Lee Han-young and commentator Kim Jung-up were waiting for one player.
Today’s MVP: Gong Ji-hoo.
“Yes! Let’s meet today’s player of the game, Gong Ji-hoo!”
A four-hit game including a home run. Of the six runs the Suwon Wizards scored, Gong Ji-hoo had driven in four by himself. He was, without question, the hero of the night.
And then—
“I’m sorry!!”
Just when the broadcast team thought everything would proceed smoothly, the hero bowed his head the moment the interview began.
“Uh, Gong Ji-hoo? Why exactly are you apologizing…?”
Lee Han-young, already used to Gong Ji-hoo’s habit of doing the unexpected, felt a mild headache coming on.
“I heard that the ceremony I did the day before caused a lot of people concern. It’s a complete misunderstanding! But I still wanted to apologize for creating that misunderstanding in the first place!”
There was a controversy?
Kim Jung-up, who wasn’t exactly internet-savvy, had no idea what Gong Ji-hoo was talking about. Lee Han-young, however, did.
“Ah, right, there was that whole thing! In that case, before we start the real interview, would you mind explaining the meaning behind the ceremony as a bit of clarification?”
Lee Han-young aimed for fan-friendly broadcasts and regularly checked each team’s communities, so he knew exactly what the issue had been.
“Yes! Thank you!”
Gong Ji-hoo’s face lit up at the invitation.
“It actually has a pretty deep meaning… Park Ji-han was getting way too conscious of senior Ryu Hyun-seo, so I wanted to say that number 22—me—could do twice as well as number 2, senior Ryu…”
Listening to that, Lee Han-young thought:
This might start another controversy…
Writing coherently and speaking coherently were two completely different skills. The gods had given Gong Ji-hoo outstanding baseball talent and a decent way with written words, but they had not given him smooth oratory.
“So! It was a ceremony for Park Ji-han? Meaning he doesn’t need to worry about a great player like Ryu Hyun-seo—we’re all excellent players, so just play our own game?”
Because he personally liked the kid, Lee Han-young did everything he could to keep Gong Ji-hoo’s words from getting twisted.
“Exactly! You’re truly the best caster in Korea! I’ve been waiting so long to clear this up…”
Gong Ji-hoo nodded vigorously, clearly moved.
“Hahaha! So today’s game must have been especially important to you compared to other games!”
It was just a light remark meant to reset the mood before the real interview.
Gong Ji-hoo answered:
“Ah, no, it wasn’t.”
“Every single game is equally precious and important to me. Whether it’s fall baseball or just another regular-season game. Especially for someone who spent forever bouncing around the second team. However.”
There had been plenty of ways he could have explained himself. Open a personal SNS account. Post directly on a fan community. Worst case, stick a notice on the novel he was serializing.
The reason Gong Ji-hoo hadn’t done any of that was simple.
“A lot of jobs are like this, but I believe a baseball player is a profession that always has to prove itself. And the way we prove ourselves—”
Had to be baseball.
“The same goes for clearing up a controversy. That’s why I really wanted to perform well today in particular.”
Ah, and this isn’t some “I’ll repay you with baseball” speech! It’s purely about clearing up a misunderstanding!
That was how Gong Ji-hoo finished.
“I see. That was a cool thing to say, Gong Ji-hoo.”
At the broadcast team’s praise, Gong Ji-hoo scratched his head with an embarrassed look.
“Uh… this is kind of awkward…”
“Alright! Shall we move on to the interview about today’s game?”
.
.
.
Whatever early chaos there had been, the interview flowed smoothly after that.
“Your final at-bat today was a little disappointing. The ball rolled all the way to the wall along the line, but it only ended up a double. One more base and it would have been a hit for the cycle.”
“I told senior Han Seong-gon in the box… I think today’s results had a lot of luck involved. So I wasn’t really thinking about the triple.”
“Even though it was a ball you could have stretched for third if you’d pushed a little?”
“Yes… it was a hit I made from an unstable stance, so there wasn’t much choice. If I’d tried for third and gotten thrown out, I’d just be losing a runner in scoring position. I never even considered third.”
Of course, he never actually scored either.
Gong Ji-hoo gave a sheepish smile.
The broadcast team looked at him fondly and asked the final question.
“Then can we look forward to this same incredible hitting going forward, Gong Ji-hoo?”
Gong Ji-hoo’s answer was clear.
“Our goal is higher than this. We’ll do everything we can to clinch the Korean Series berth in Gwangju so we never have to come back to Suwon again!”
“Yes! That was today’s game MVP, Gong Ji-hoo! We’ll see you next in Gwangju! Thank you for watching!”
Most fans were already starting to forget the ceremony controversy. Online controversies usually worked that way.
In the middle of that, Gong Ji-hoo’s interview—where he deliberately brought the issue back up—didn’t reopen an old wound. Instead, it produced the opposite effect.
The edited interview clip racked up massive views and even climbed onto the trending videos list. A pretty positive aftershock, all things considered.
Of course, he had never actually been on the verge of release, had never once claimed he was a genius, and had not shed a single tear during the interview.
And so Gong Ji-hoo, who had unintentionally become the star of a heartfelt baseball pure-love story, arrived in Gwangju with the rest of the Suwon Wizards.
To clinch a Korean Series berth.
“I heard Gwangju has a ton of good restaurants. Ji-han, can you ask senior Ryu Hyun-seo for a list of the best spots?”
(Photo of Gong Ji-hoo holding a bat)
He was MVP today so it’s fine
Everyone shut up
After waiting for Ryu Hyun-seo—who wouldn’t even pick up the phone—until I got tired of it, I just ate at the hotel. Then I checked the community for a bit and thought:
“This really isn’t easy. Not easy at all…”