The Returned Catcher Seizes the Save in a Comeback Thriller
After Choi Seungtaek came up, the lower-order batters of the Magpies had failed to score even once.
By the time it was the ninth inning, Choi Seungtaek rushed into the dugout, suited up in his catcher gear, and headed back onto the field.
He stood at home plate waiting for the pitcher. The pitching coach’s suggestion had been accepted, and Manager Han Geunseong had brought Yoon Jeong-jin in as the closer.
“Good. We can hold this. Even a one-run lead is doable.”
“This is the right pitcher.”
Choi Seungtaek gave Yoon Jeong-jin a piercing look of admiration as he climbed the mound to face the pitcher he had brought up.
The left-handed reliever who had pitched calmly and quietly in the eighth inning now burned with veteran fire. Seungtaek was confident. Yoon Jeong-jin was confident too.
“Yes, senpai. Let’s win this game. The bottom of the order is easy prey.”
TAK!
- Second baseman Kwon Yong-gwan! Out at first!
- Magpies easily record the first out.
With Seungtaek’s lead, the Sparrows’ lower-order batters collapsed completely.
TAK!
- Shortstop Hwang Ganggyeong! Out at first!
- Ah! Hwang Ganggyeong dropped it again.
“A….”
Of course, there were always runners who tried to steal anyway.
- Sparrows runner on the move!
SHIIIIIK!
Choi Seungtaek fired to second.
Tag!
“Out!”
- As expected! Seungtaek catches it! Since learning the sit-and-throw from Jo Oosoo, he no longer gives runners second base!
The ninth batter of the Sparrows stepped into the box.
“He was supposed to be a strikeout pitch, but you gave him a ball because you thought he’d steal.”
Choi Seungtaek refocused on the game.
He recalled the opponent’s information. He could be the last batter if they got a hit.
“Left-handed batter. Weak on the outside.”
[Change-up down the middle]
From the very first pitch, Seungtaek called for a breaking ball.
Nod.
SWEEEEEK!
THWACK!
Strike!
[Straight four-seamer to the outside lower corner]
Nod.
SHIIIIIK!
THWACK!
Strike!
“Wow….”
Thanks to his precise control, the Sparrows’ seventh batter couldn’t swing.
“Good. Time to end it.”
[Slider that runs away to the outside lower corner]
Choi Seungtaek called the decisive pitch.
SWEEEEEK!
BOOM!
THWACK!
Strikeout! Game over!
“Good!”
“NICE!!!”
As the final out count was recorded, a massive roar erupted in the Magpies dugout.
“Magpies! Magpies!”
A home win felt electric.
The fans’ cheers thundered from the stands, and Choi Seungtaek high-fived veteran closer Yoon Jeong-jin before heading back to the dugout.
***
“Choi Seungtaek! You have to do an interview today!”
“Me?”
While still riding the high of victory, he had been called.
“You’re the MVP today. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Choi Seungtaek hurried off to do the interview.
“Choi Seungtaek, hello.”
“Yes! Hello.”
“Congratulations on the win today.”
“Thank you.”
Choi Seungtaek gave the bright, confident interview.
“If you could name one player who had a great performance today, who would it be?”
“Ah! Right!”
The broadcast station asked him for his opinion, and Choi Seungtaek’s mind spun at lightning speed.
“I should stick to the original plan.”
The original plan had been to hype Lee Chung-seong’s efforts and lure in a good deal. But the situation had changed. Even though the effect had weakened, he had called the pitches from the middle innings, so he could shift the perception from C to B.
“What if I add a lip service?”
“I think today’s MVP is senior Lee Chung-seong.”
“Ah! Really? Lee Chung-seong, you threw a lot of pitches today, right?”
The caster remembered Lee Chung-seong’s rigid expression from the fifth inning.
Even though it had looked like a punishment outing, his stuff had gradually improved and he had dominated the opponent, so the memory of the punishment faded quickly.
“Yes, that’s right. Thanks to senior Lee Chung-seong’s strong pitching through the seventh inning, everyone got the power they needed from those pitches and turned the game around.”
“Wow! Checking the records, he threw 174 pitches. Impressive.”
“He showed a little inconsistency at the start, but from the middle he completely recovered his command. Right now I’m thinking of Ryu Ga-jang, who left for the MLB.”
“Whoa, Seungtaek is right. He threw ten strikeouts. Really awesome.”
Choi Seungtaek had lifted Lee Chung-seong high, and the effect was enormous.
“Yeah, it was a little rough, but he did fine for what it was, right? Lee Chung-seong’s record isn’t bad. He’ll definitely be traded. I have to sell him no matter what.”
Though it grated on him, Seungtaek put maximum effort into his tongue.
***
“Hmm… What do you think of that?”
“Honestly, I was disappointed at first, but he’s been pretty good lately? He deserves a Magpies deal.”
The Gwangju Pigeons front office watched the Magpies-Sparrows game intently.
They had been especially interested in Lee Chung-seong. Unfortunately, the one-and-one regional draft system had been abolished that year, so they hadn’t been able to select him.
But a trade request for Lee Chung-seong had come in from the Magpies recently, so they had been watching.
Just like Busan, Gwangju was a baseball-mad city. Regional loyalty still ran deep, and they found Lee Chung-seong, a native son, very attractive.
Plus, the current Gwangju Pigeons manager was also a native of Gwangju, so recruiting him purely because he came from the same high school as the manager made perfect sense.
“What will the general manager do?”
The Gwangju Pigeons GM felt a slight pang when he saw Lee Chung-seong’s performance.
Even today he had allowed seven runs through the fourth inning, showing he wasn’t up to the task. But suddenly he woke up and threw like a monster after giving up seven runs.
“Hng… He did pitch well today. A few runs, but still.”
Lee Chung-seong gave up seven runs in seven innings. On paper that looked average. One run per inning isn’t impressive for a starter.
But the ten-strikeout marathon he threw in the final four, five, six, and seventh innings was impossible to forget.
“Ha… The guy who can’t do it but somehow does…”
“Our pitching coaches say they can fix him if he gets a little work.”
“Plus, looking at the pitch count, it’s artistic.”
Another hook was that he had started strong even though they thought it was Han Geunseong’s punishment outing. The ball had gotten stronger and stronger, and even at 170 pitches in the seventh he had kept throwing strikes.
One of a starter’s most important traits is stamina.
He had maintained normal velocity and command for 170 pitches, so as a starter he was definitely qualified.
“And the pitches themselves were good.”
“That’s right.”
In the sixth and seventh innings the Magpies’ top batters had put up great contact every time, turning into tense at-bats of seven or eight pitches.
But Lee Chung-seong’s pinpoint command kept harassing the Magpies hitters’ weaknesses, and he eventually struck out every single one.
“We can’t stall any longer. We have to act now.”
The Gwangju Pigeons GM called the Magpies GM.
***
The news spread faster than anyone expected.
“Hey, Choi Seungtaek!”
“Yes! Coach!”
“Lee Chung-seong is going to Gwangju Pigeons.”
“Gwangju?”
Choi Seungtaek didn’t sound surprised; he was just repeating the question.
“I knew it, right?”
“The regional connection, right?”
“Yeah. The pitching staff there was shaky too.”
The future hadn’t changed much.
“As expected, regional ties matter a lot. Well, the only place worth paying his value for is the Gwangju Pigeons anyway.”
“So how exactly did the trade go?”
“One-for-one trade.”
“One-for-one?”
Previously the trade for Lee Chung-seong had been a four-for-three deal.
Of course that was possible; both teams exchanged one key player and one player short on a needed position.
From the Magpies’ side, Lee Chung-seong was the key player. From the Gwangju side, Lee Seung-gi was the key player.
“But one-for-one? What happened?”
“What do you mean?”
Choi Seungtaek complained to the pitching coach about the changed situation.
“Hey, when someone goes, someone usually comes, right? Who’s coming from Gwangju?”
“Hmm… Secret? I can’t tell you that yet. Hold on a little longer.”
“You’re saying a new pitcher is coming!”
Choi Seungtaek’s curiosity was about to explode, so the pitching coach panicked and tried to calm him down.
“Hey man, lower your voice. You’re scaring the kid. What the hell is this?”
“I’m the starting catcher. I have to adapt quickly. We’re trading one top-tier pitcher for another. I know far less about other players.”
“Hng…”
The pitching coach, who had been called a “starting catcher” by name, began to think.
“You’re right. I agree.”
The pitching coach nodded at Seungtaek’s words.
“Who could it be? I put maximum effort into lifting him, so I hope it’s a good one.”
Choi Seungtaek’s expression showed how desperate he was for information, so the pitching coach deliberately toyed with him.
“Hmm… You really are curious, aren’t you? Who do you think it is?”
Choi Seungtaek rattled off the first name that came to mind.
“Lee Seung-gi!”
“Lee Seung-gi? Wrong.”
“Eh? No? Then who?”
Of course he would be disappointed if it had been Lee Seung-gi. Seungtaek had raised his value with the poop-show antics, so it would have been an equal swap.
“Who do you think it is? Filsama is coming.”
“Filsama?”
Choi Seungtaek’s expression showed he was dying of curiosity when the pitching coach finally told him.
“Who was it again?”
Choi Seungtaek racked his brain to recall.
“Wait….”
Filsama was a Zainichi Korean….
“He’s… quite old, isn’t he?”
“That’s right.”
“Our senior Yoon Jeong-jin is 76, so he’s forty this year. The age bracket is similar, right?”
“Born in ’74. My age. And after ten years with the Magpies he went to the Cranes, so he basically came back.”
“Wait… but they gave a ’92 player and took a ’74 player? Seriously….”
Choi Seungtaek’s head spun from the Magpies’ pathetic negotiation skills.