Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 38

A legitimate break had arrived.

Ten days.

The club had sent me down to the minors. Since this was the minimum period before I could be called back up to the first team, it seemed they planned to temporarily demote me and bring up a reliever from the minors.

Given my injury, the team didn’t particularly interfere.

Rest.

The club emphasized only rest. They told me to do absolutely nothing.

“Really, do absolutely nothing?”

“Yeah. Just relax and come back.”

“Not even a little catch?”

“I said rest, didn’t I?”

“Then, I’ll just do the rotator cuff exercises.”

“Rest.”

“Then… can I at least do some tubing [riding an inner tube on water]?”

“Please. Please just rest.”

“…….”

To be honest, I was a little worn out. The appearances themselves were manageable, but there were a lot of multi-inning games. There were times I pitched five innings over three days. It was enough to wear me down.

For the first time in a while, I cracked open a beer, tore into a chicken leg, and watched a baseball broadcast on screen instead of being at the field.

Thankfully, the starting lineup and fielders were still fine. Turning my attention to the bullpen, it seemed Senior Choi Eun-gu was cruising along with his hard-won pace.

The number of walks was still not exactly low, but it was at least tolerable compared to before. After all, they didn’t bring him in expecting pinpoint control.

While Tae-woong allowed five runs over seven innings, the batting lineup steadily accumulated points, scoring nine. When Senior Choi Eun-gu came up in the 8th, the commentators spoke with a slightly puzzled tone.

– Ah, Choi Eun-gu comes up in the 8th. Will he pitch two innings today? Kim Han-wool’s absence already seems significant.

Things like that. He allowed two walks after coming on in the 8th, but he also struck out batters in between, and the inning ended without the fielders having to do anything. After an attack, the bottom of the 9th began, and Senior Shin Kyung-seok came up.

– Could there have been a change in positions in the bullpen?

Only then did Senior Choi Eun-gu’s appearance in the 8th seem somewhat understandable. But the question that followed was about Senior Shin Kyung-seok, who appeared in the 9th.

Why?

Was his first closing appearance after the team transfer a burden?

After allowing a walk to Min Jong-hyun, the ninth batter, the next batter hit a double that went directly over the left fielder’s head, giving up one run in just five pitches.

The next batter was handled with a ground ball to the second baseman, but it was enough for the runner on second to reach third.

One out, runner on third. Hong Seok-jin, the third batter, calmly picked out three balls in a row before hitting a shallow right field fly, allowing an out.

It was impossible for the runner to re-tag and enter home, so the runner situation remained the same, and only one out count went up.

And then the problematic Park Hae-jin at-bat. The outside curve drifted too far and became a ball, and the sinker pulled on the second pitch became a foul that ran along the third base line.

And on the third pitch, he pulled a fastball that started inside and could have been called a ball, sending it over the left field fence.

A clean two-run homer. Adding the one run previously allowed, he gave up a total of three runs. The score became 9 to 8, a one-point difference.

The cheering section on the Sangsu side, which had been giving up a little, started to get heated up again, but the game ended with the next batter hitting a weak ground ball to the shortstop on the first pitch.

Should it be seen as a success, or a failure?

There’s a limit to watching on TV. Still, the fact that he handled two of the three counts with ground balls, which was typical of Senior Shin Kyung-seok, could be seen as encouraging.

They won the game. I felt a little guilty for just playing and eating at home, but since they won on the first day of my break, I felt relatively relieved.

Without even cleaning up the empty beer can and chicken box, I leaned back again.

Full and with the good energy of the alcohol slowly rising, I closed my eyes and felt sleepiness coming on. I’d be resting tomorrow anyway. I didn’t bother to resist the approaching sleep.

* * *

“Huff, huff…….”

Should I quit smoking?

With both hands on my knees, I breathed roughly. How long had it been since I ran this hard? My pounding heart wouldn’t calm down.

“Ugh, ugh…….”

I even felt like throwing up. I forced myself to calm the churning stomach and sat down on a nearby ledge.

I… I feel like I’m going to die.

I took out my phone and checked the distance I had run. 3km. It might not be a long distance for an athlete to run, but if I ran continuously at a speed similar to a full sprint, wouldn’t that warrant some consideration?

I wasn’t exactly a pitcher who ran a lot. Lower body, lower body, lower body, it’s a part that can’t be emphasized enough for a pitcher, but… not really? It’s not that I wasn’t interested in my lower body, but rather that there were many other things to worry about.

Running like crazy like this, when the club is preventing running, is a bit concerning, but I can’t help it. I have to run.

My teammates are fighting hard, shedding blood and sweat, but I’m just sitting here doing nothing! I can’t stand it!

It’s not the same conscientious story.

Of course, I know. As much as I’m missing, our team will have a hard time. But even if I run to the club right now and say, “Please let me fight again!” they’ll just say, “Buzz off.”

Fortunately, Senior Shin Kyung-seok’s soft landing as a closer seems to be heading towards success.

What I told the pitching coach seemed to have worked to some extent. In the three games after his first appearance as a closer, he secured two saves over three innings.

He blew one save, but the batting lineup won with a walk-off hit, so he also got a win.

Thanks to that, I thought I’d relax a bit… and logged into Full Count. As soon as I logged in, I saw an update notification on the banner.

Oh… what’s this?

In this game, now called a relic or an old man’s game, they boasted about a system update, not a special update. Even if I wasn’t a heavy user, I became interested. Naturally, I clicked.

To briefly summarize the lengthy content, it was simpler than I thought.

Introduction of a training system. A system that allows you to increase stats or abilities required for hitters or pitchers without in-game items.

Training.

Yes, this game named this system the Training System. I think it’s a pretty good naming.

First, I entered the training center. I roughly ignored the NPC [Non-Player Character] who appeared and said something, and a screen appeared asking me to select the character I wanted. Of course, I chose ‘me,’ who has now become my main character.

There were a total of five stats that could be trained here. Velocity, Control, Breaking Ball, Velo, Stamina. To prevent the inflation of this crazy capital, the maximum number of times a player could train was limited to three.

But this money-crazed game group, or rather, as it now felt natural, demanded money for this training system. 10,000 won [approximately $7.50 USD].

Not 10,000 won in game money, but 10,000 won in game cash, which has the same exchange rate as real money.

The justification was this. What was it, the cost of hiring equipment or professional manpower for each training occurs, blah blah blah… But what’s funny is that you can’t choose the training you want to do.

Random!

Yes, the stat to be trained is randomly determined from those five.

Even this is great, but you can add game cash to the basic 10,000 won to increase the probability of training the stat you want.

From a minimum of 2,000 won to a maximum of 8,000 won. Even that 8,000 won is not 100%, but 80% of 8,000 won.

This crazy game!

Still, since I visited the training center for the first time, they said they would give me the first try for free.

However, they warned that once training has been carried out, it cannot be initialized, and you cannot use the method of increasing the probability when proceeding for free.

Would you like to train Kim Han-wool?

What the heck, I pressed ‘Yes’ as soon as I did, and the character was running hard on the field. Stamina was selected.

Damn it.

I should have gotten velocity.

Even if it’s free, I feel regret. The character who finished the training hard cheered, happy that his stats had increased.

Soon I turned off the game and turned off the computer.

I turned off the computer, so the monitor should be dark, but it’s not dark, and there’s a quest window floating there.

Ding―!

And a sound effect.

[Pitchers need lower bodies! Lower bodies need running!]

– Run 3km. (0/3)

– Reward ― Stamina +1

What the f***!

Is this how they feel when they fail a gacha [a type of vending machine-dispensed capsule toy popular in Japan]? If I had known this would happen, I would have just fully charged the money and poured it into velocity!

“Ah… crazy.”

Naturally, my expression soured.

And you want me to run in person?

Well, that’s where it is. Still, it’s only 3km, so I changed my clothes lightly.

I left the house, checked the place that was around 3km, and ran slowly.

[Pitchers need lower bodies! Lower bodies need running!]

– Run 3km. (0/3)

– Reward ― Stamina +1

But the count doesn’t go up.

What, is it a bug?

I ran one more time.

[Pitchers need lower bodies! Lower bodies need running!]

– Run 3km. (0/3)

– Reward ― Stamina +1

The count still doesn’t go up.

Am I running too slowly? This time I ran a little harder.

[Pitchers need lower bodies! Lower bodies need running!]

– Run 3km. (0/3)

– Reward ― Stamina +1

– Warning! If you run half-heartedly, you will not be trained!

The count still doesn’t go up. And an additional note.

Inevitably, this time I sprinted 3km.

[Pitchers need lower bodies! Lower bodies need running!]

– Run 3km. (1/3)

– Reward ― Stamina +1

The count finally goes up.

I can’t do this.

The first day, running a total of 9km, ended there. Now that I’m 30, my stamina is not what it used to be.

And the next day, I ran 3km again. I felt a little better because I warmed up to some extent, so I tried again, and now I’ve reached this point.

[Pitchers need lower bodies! Lower bodies need running!]

– Run 3km. (3/3)

– Reward ― Stamina +1

Control ― Best

Velo ― Medium

Stamina ― Low+1=Medium

Four-seam ― 57

Curve ― 48

Slider ― 34

Splitter ― 40

Changeup ― 45

Sinker ― 43

Traits

Detachment ― I take any hit or situation with a grain of salt.

Discomfort ― Makes the opposing batter feel uncomfortable when looking at the pitcher on the plate.

Wow! Stamina went up!

But rejoicing that the stats went up was only temporary, and my body, which felt like it was dying, was still the same.

“…Ugh, ugh!”

Even sitting down, I gasped and calmed down for a few minutes, and when I felt a little better, I got up. I ran 3km once and then ran once more in the opposite direction, so I was near my house.

“…Oh?”

As I went up the stairs to my house, I felt a bit of ease. It’s only the 3rd floor, but my legs, which used to feel a bit uncomfortable when I got home after walking up the stairs, were fine. Has the stat already been applied?

I went straight to the bathroom and took a shower. My body, which was covered in sweat, became fluffy and I felt good.

Hyung-nim [Korean honorific for older brother or respected male figure], do you know what Song Hae [a famous South Korean TV host] says after taking a shower? Fluffy!

“Pfft…….”

Ah, my pride is hurt.

Suddenly, I remembered the nonsense that Myung-jin used to say. When I was serious in front of him, he said it would be funny if I thought about it later, and he was right. I suddenly missed Myung-jin. The guy who said “Hyung-nim, hyung-nim” in a slightly lisping voice was quite cute.

“Whoa, time flies…….”

It’s already been 10 days. I spent the previous week lying around and playing hard, and then I worked out hard for the last two days.

Stamina, maybe it’s related to the number of pitches. Or maybe my ability to pitch in succession has improved.

Anyway, it’ll be good. If I keep doing this, maybe I’ll be a starter later.

During the ten days I was out, the team played 8 games and made a decent record of 5 wins and 3 losses. Considering that we’re a team with a winning rate of around 30%, it means we’re rebounding quite a bit.

Hanseong Winners, who were one step above us, seem to be slowly finding their place, and the game difference, which was 5 games, has narrowed to 1 game.

In the process of our team repeating losses and the 1st place Sangsu Tigers creating a season that is even more legendary than last year, a temporary win inflation occurred between other teams.

Up to 3rd place is fine, but the game difference between each team from 4th to 8th place is not that big. Right now, the game difference between 4th place and us is only 10 games.

We can do it.

This season’s goal is 3rd place. Since we were 4th last year, we have to grow by one step.

It’s slowly approaching the middle of May. There’s still a long way to go until the end of the season. It’s definitely doable. But I don’t look too far ahead. I just do what I can do right now.

Tomorrow, a home 3-game series against Hanseong Winners, who are only 1 game behind us. We’ll sweep them and go straight up to 7th place. That’s how our comeback will begin.