Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 143

#142. Something Other Than Baseball at the Ballpark

[Discrimination based on skin color is unacceptable.]

When Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in Major League Baseball, debuted, the rejection and hostility he faced from white people are almost unimaginable today.

Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers organization received countless threatening letters promising to kill him. Even some Dodgers players plotted a strike, leaving him isolated with few allies.

On Jackie Robinson’s debut day in the major leagues,

As the stadium atmosphere grew toxic with jeers and racist remarks, Pee Wee Reese, the white Dodgers’ shortstop, walked over to him and, without a word, hugged Jackie Robinson.

This act shocked the American baseball world, which had resisted accepting Black players.

Pee Wee Reese famously said: “It’s not the color of your skin that matters, but your skill.”

And he left these words:

“There can be many reasons why one person hates another. But skin color cannot be one of them.”

I’d like to rephrase that slightly.

What matters on the field isn’t where you went to school, but your skill.

There can be many reasons why one person dislikes another. But the school you came from cannot be one of them.

Hmm, am I being a little too meddlesome?

I was just thinking about this while preparing for the game.

After both teams finished their training and the players were finalizing their preparations, shouting erupted from the Titans’ dugout.

“You cocky bastard, who do you think you are? Acting so recklessly!”

“Hyung [older brother or senior colleague], please wait. I’ll handle this. Hey, Juho hyung. I think you’ve gone too far. Apologize to Kyungdo hyung.”

Actually, it wasn’t our business. And it was hard to know exactly what had happened.

All we could tell was that there was an argument among the Titans players, and one of them was the veteran Kim Juho.

However, when I stepped into the batter’s box in the top of the first inning, I realized the situation was more serious than I initially thought.

Our Warriors lineup exploded from the first inning against the Titans’ second-year pitcher, Lee Gyumin, who was starting today.

Seo Hyungju, the lead-off hitter, eventually walked after drawing ten pitches from the opposing pitcher.

Lee Gyumin, a Busan native who had been pampered even in the minor leagues, was flushed red.

Each game is crucial for securing a spot in the major leagues.

But a problem had already arisen while facing the first batter.

He had allowed the Warriors’ lead-off hitter, who was competing for the most stolen bases this season, to reach first base.

Of course, Seo Hyungju, once on first, kept moving around, disrupting the pitcher’s concentration.

“Safe!”

“Boo!”

Lee Gyumin’s shoulders tensed up as Seo Hyungju kept testing him, feinting steals.

It might have been better to concede the stolen base to second cleanly.

However, Seo Hyungju didn’t steal, and Lee Gyumin, his control shaken, walked the next batter, Choi Minseok.

No outs, runners on first and second.

When Jo Sungoh’s hit flew between first and second base, everyone anticipated the Titans’ downfall.

But luckily, the second baseman caught the hit, resulting in an advancement hit instead of a timely hit.

A situation arose with one out and runners on second and third.

Although I had dropped to 6th in the batting order, the Warriors’ lineup had great cohesion.

Thwack!

Walter Smith, batting cleanup, swung at Lee Gyumin’s first pitch.

The powerful hit soared at a 45-degree angle towards the outfield.

“Second! Second!”

Fortunately, the high launch angle prevented it from going over the fence.

But was that really fortunate? Would a home run have been better, allowing them to start over?

Lee Gyumin, who allowed Walter a two-RBI double, was already mentally defeated.

Ahn Chiwook hammered the final nail in the coffin.

Thwack

Ahn Chiwook’s signature bullet-like hit went between first and second.

This time, fortune abandoned Lee Gyumin.

The hit grazed the second baseman’s glove and rolled into the outfield. Walter Smith, despite his size, ran desperately towards home.

The Titans’ right fielder, Choi Inseon, rushed towards the ball. He could have tried for a play at home if he made a quick throw.

However, Choi Inseon, whose motto was to avoid standing out, calmly threw the ball to second base instead of home. Walter scored, making it 3-0.

“Haa…….”

A deep sigh came from the Titans’ dugout.

Eventually, the Titans’ pitching coach went to the mound, and the fielders gathered around him.

“It’s okay, Gyumin. Why are you so scared over this? Don’t be afraid! You won’t be sent back to the minors because of this. I’ll protect you!”

“Our Gyumin is scared. Oh my, that guy. Okay, let’s finish the game quickly and go have some *mulhoe* [spicy raw fish soup] with *hyung*.”

The seniors, Lee Gyumin’s alumni and core members of the Titans, surrounded him, offering comfort.

However, Kim Juho, the third baseman who had clashed with the team’s mainstream faction in the dugout before the game, remained isolated.

For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off him while in the on-deck circle.

From Kim Juho’s lonely figure, unable to join the others and circling around.

Watching him from the batter’s box, I realized again how much power regionalism and school ties hold in Korean baseball.

Well, the Warriors only achieved their current form after I took over the club and got rid of the tenured manager, coaches, front office staff, and the rotten elements like Hwang Sungmin, so there’s no need to elaborate on other clubs.

According to Sunghoon *hyung*, some players and front office staff are still trying to form factions.

When I told him to get rid of them all, Sunghoon *hyung* said:

“Suhyuk, Korean people can’t help it. When they meet, they ask about their hometown, what school they went to, and try to take care of people who have even a little connection. That’s just how this society is. No need to criticize it too much. Just control it so it doesn’t cross the line.”

I said I understood for now. Like *hyung* said, I know that fish can’t live in water that’s too clean.

Anyway, that Titans team seems more rotten than I thought.

To ostracize a player who has spent nearly 15 years on the team, including time as a free agent, and who is also the vice-captain, so visibly.

What is Kim Juho thinking right now?

I know who that player is.

I don’t know what kind of player he is in Korea, but I remember a Korean player who was almost forty challenging the minor leagues in my past life, and that player’s name was Kim Juho.

He never played a full season in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], and his challenge to the big leagues, where he had been a journeyman, changing teams every year since his mid-thirties, was featured on American television.

He has dedicated himself to the team without holding back, but he is now spending the last year of his contract with the Titans, struggling every year due to frequent injuries that started at some point.

Well, I don’t know exactly what he’s thinking right now.

I don’t know what he’s thinking as he protects third base for the Titans, abandoned by everyone, a non-mainstream player in Korean baseball, and what he’s thinking as he watches his teammates ignore him.

However, one thing is certain: the act of forming gangs just because they went to the same high school and ostracizing colleagues outside that mainstream is getting on my nerves.

“Suhyuk, how have you been? Today, let’s have some *hoe* [raw fish dish] with *hyung*…….”

“Senior.”

“Oh, Suhyuk. Why? Did you finally decide to have a drink with *hyung*? Good thinking. I was already…….”

“What is baseball, after all?”

“Huh? What are you talking about, what is baseball? Isn’t it about throwing, hitting, and catching the ball?”

“Is it?”

I know.

I know that this player named Koo Jaehyun, who is looking at me blankly while wearing a catcher’s mask, isn’t at fault.

He’s from Jinseo High School, considered a true blue within the team, but this nice guy gets along with everyone regardless.

That’s why my words weren’t directed at him.

The words forming in my heart were directed elsewhere, and Koo Jaehyun just happened to be there.

“I think I’ll have to play some baseball today.”

“What? Hey, if what you’ve been doing so far isn’t baseball, then what…….”

At that moment, Lee Gyumin, who had barely regained his composure, threw the first pitch at me.

The control of Lee Gyumin’s slider, which had allowed him to endure on the major league stage, wavered and entered the zone a little more than he had intended.

Whoosh

Thwaaaaaack!

I swung at that ball with all my might in a slightly awkward posture. It was a ball I would normally let go, but I felt compelled to swing.

“Waaaaaa!”

“Han Suhyuk!”

“Suhyuk-ah!”

The ball soared high into the sky, flying powerfully towards the right fence of Sajik Baseball Stadium.

Choi Inseon, one of the true blues who played a key role in isolating Kim Juho, waddled his heavy body and chased after the ball.

But the ball didn’t fall; it kept flying.

Instead of throwing the bat away, I slammed it into the ground and watched the ball as if leaning on the bat like a cane.

After a moment, the ball landed on the top of the right stands of Sajik Baseball Stadium.

“Kyaaaaaa!”