Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 56

Slam!-

As soon as the bottom of the first inning began, the first pitch sailed over the left field fence. After a bat flip as cool as Sung-hyun’s, the batter sprinted around the bases, stomped on home plate, and high-fived Myung-gyu.

Next, Myung-gyu stepped up to the plate and, on the very first pitch, launched the ball over the right field fence.

Back-to-back home runs.

The two-point lead they’d gained from those home runs was immediately negated by two home runs in the same fashion.

*What is this? A slugfest?*

Just as I was thinking that, Park Dong-il struck out the next three batters and returned to the dugout. Two home runs allowed and three strikeouts. The first-inning performance of both teams’ starting pitchers mirrored each other, just with the order reversed.

The subsequent pattern was also eerily similar. Both starting pitchers held the opposing teams scoreless for the next two innings, each finishing with a “report card” of two runs allowed due to two home runs over three innings pitched.

*Is today the day?*

In the Eastern League, Sung-hyun and Park Hae-jin were the clear standouts, while in the Western League, Woo-seok and Myung-gyu dominated. Only these four were consistently noticeable. The remaining hitters didn’t contribute much.

Somewhat quiet stretches, followed by explosive bursts from the top of the batting order.

But even those explosive bursts didn’t guarantee runs. The performances of each team’s bullpen pitchers after the starters were pulled were dazzling. It made you wonder if this season really was as hitter-friendly as everyone claimed.

Then came the top of the 7th inning.

“Han-wool.”

“Ah, yes, Manager.”

“Can you pitch the 8th?”

I was chatting with Myung-jin when the manager approached me directly with the question. I glanced at the scoreboard and saw that we were trailing 4 to 3.

Myung-jin and I locked eyes. Sung-hyun was in the on-deck circle, so he wasn’t in his seat.

*Don’t go out there.*

Myung-jin’s eyes conveyed the message clearly. He seemed to remember the stories we’d shared in the car on the way to the stadium.

“Uh…….”

I hesitated, drawing out my answer slightly, and then shifted my gaze towards the field.

Wow-!!

Batting machine Kang!! Sung!! Hyun!!

It seemed the leadoff hitter had been retired, and Sung-hyun was now stepping up to the plate.

“You don’t have to go out if you’re not feeling up to it. That’s why I’m not ordering you to pitch, but asking if you can.”

The All-Star Game, with its strong exhibition-like atmosphere, isn’t particularly beneficial for pitchers, unlike hitters.

Moreover, considering how frequently I’d been pitching recently, the most sensible decision might be to take a break.

Besides, public opinion, or rather, my public image, was on my side.

No one would criticize me for opting out of pitching in the All-Star Game. Even being on the All-Star roster didn’t obligate me to play.

“Um… Manager.”

“Yes.”

*I’m sorry, I’ll rest.*

It would be so easy to say just those few words.

Slam!!

It’s gone! He did it again!!

“…….”

I watched Sung-hyun launch another first pitch over the left field fence.

“Don’t ask me if I can go out, just tell me to go out.”

My mouth uttered words that contradicted my brain’s intentions.

“Okay. I’m counting on you.”

Tap tap-

The manager patted me on the shoulder and returned to his seat.

“Hyung [older brother/term of endearment], just rest.”

“I want to rest, but…….”

“Is it because Sung-hyun will be mad?”

“No.”

Sung-hyun, who had already rounded the bases and entered the dugout, gave me a high-five, and I grabbed my glove.

“It’s just… I thought it would be a shame to just leave without pitching, since I came all this way.”

“Who would think that?”

“Those people.”

“…….”

I gestured with my chin towards the stands. Myung-jin didn’t seem to understand. I shrugged and headed towards the bullpen.

“Please take care of me.”

“Yes, please take care of me.”

A bullpen catcher I’d never seen before was waiting. Unlike last year’s bullpen catcher, he seemed experienced, greeting me casually before positioning himself behind home plate.

Watching him, I began my stretching routine.

One of the routines that had been a constant for 10 years. Thinking back, I realized I’d often skipped stretching when I was experiencing pain or recovering from an injury.

That memory lingered like PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder], compelling me to stretch meticulously.

Pop!

“Ah, nice ball!”

Although my body was naturally flexible, making injuries less likely, the lingering fear in my subconscious couldn’t be ignored.

“Ah!”

Pop!

“Good, good! Ah, I like it!”

*Do catchers even practice that kind of cheering?*

They certainly had a knack for making the pitcher feel good. When you feel good, your body naturally performs better.

He wasn’t the type to offer technical advice about shoulder rotation or elbow angles, but,

Pop!

“Yeah, great! Can’t hit that! Good ball, good ball!!”

It felt like adding another layer of confidence to my mental game.

“Han-wool, let’s go up.”

“Yes.”

The pitching coach was Kim Sun-gon, the only pitching出身 [pitching background] among the Eastern League managers and the manager of Hanseong Winners.

He opened the green door of the bullpen and informed me that it was my turn to get ready.

While ascending the four steps, Manager Kim Sun-gon blocked the doorway with his back, allowing me to exit the bullpen comfortably.

After thanking him, I instinctively turned my head towards the scoreboard.

The screen, which had been displaying cheerleaders dancing energetically to boost the fans’ morale during the mid-inning break, went dark, and the number 4, with a red background and white border, appeared prominently on the black screen.

– Your love is a wildcard, Folding is the hard part―

Simultaneously, my entrance song, “Wildcard,” reverberated throughout the stadium. In the space where the number had been, a video of my face and my cringe-worthy pitching form, which I never seemed to get used to seeing, played.

– I don’t know if you’ll hold me, Or leave me here feelin’ lonely―

Wowwww!!

Wow-!

It’s here!!

By the time the cheers and applause, as loud as, or even louder than, those for other players, erupted, the video on the scoreboard had finished, and the words “Kim Han-wool 4” and my profile picture were displayed.

*Yolove is a wal! Card! Can let this go to pa!! I don’t know if you’ll hold me!* [Misheard lyrics from the song]

Rustle-

“Ah.”

I was so caught up in the excitement that I’d arrived at the pitcher’s mound without even realizing it. I only noticed after stepping on the rosin bag placed behind the plate.

*I must be really high on something.*

The rosin bag I’d accidentally stepped on had been torn by my spikes. It seemed there wasn’t much powder left in it to begin with, so I held up the torn bag towards the dugout.

Soon, the ball boy ran from the dugout with a fresh rosin bag.

“Thanks, thanks.”

I emptied the rosin from the plastic bag and handed the empty bag back to the ball boy. After thanking him, I began applying the rosin, bouncing it in my hands.

*Ah, this is why I use rosin.*

The white powder billowed everywhere. I thought I’d applied a bit too much, so I blew on it, causing the white powder to spread even further. *I like it.*

“Hyeong [older brother/term of endearment].”

“What? Is that you?”

“Is that you?”

“Wow, Director Kim Seok-ju is protecting his own. A little disappointing.”

“Whatever.”

I was just teasing. Shin Heon-cheol was building a successful career for himself.

The fact that he was the starting catcher and batting 6th for the Sangsoo Tigers, who were dominating the league, spoke volumes.

He was a year younger than me, and we’d been battery partners [pitcher and catcher duo] since elementary school. In terms of how long we’d known each other, he’d been around even longer than Hyung Gyu-jin.

“Long time no see.”

“It’s been about 15 years.”

“I’m nervous. I never imagined I’d be catching your pitches at the All-Star Game.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“Ah, I’ve been caught.”

“Get lost, quickly.”

“What are you going to throw?”

“I’ll throw and see. Let’s just throw good stuff.”

“We’ll use the signs from middle school. Remember?”

“I’ll remember…….”

*Ah.*

“…it.”

“Okay.”

Heon-cheol jogged to home plate. During that time, I took a moment to scan the crowd.

Soon, my gaze settled on one particular spot, slightly above and to the side of our team’s dugout.

*Han-wool ssi!* [Mr./Ms. Han-wool]

It looked like Min-young ssi was shouting that. Her father, standing next to her, was nodding with a pleased expression.

I raised my hand once in their direction, and then it was time for Heon-cheol to settle behind home plate.

Ding!

[Memory Correction]

– Pitch one inning without allowing a run with a pitch containing past memories. (0/1)

– Reward ― Changeup +2

*Memories…….*

Yangahn Elementary School and Yangahn Middle School, where Heon-cheol and I played together, were truly invincible.

I didn’t give up a single run, and Heon-cheol was hitting home runs from the 4th spot in the lineup, so we couldn’t lose even if we tried.

All I remember from that time is a feeling of overwhelming dominance.

Hiss, I chuckled. As if curious, Heon-cheol flashed a sign, even though it was just a practice pitch. It was his sign, not mine.

Pinky finger.

Pop!

Outside fastball.

Index and middle finger.

Bang!

Outside curveball.

Index and pinky finger.

Thud!

Bouncing splitter.

Middle, ring, and pinky finger.

Clap!

Falling changeup.

Only thumb.

Pop!

Sinker.

After that, Heon-cheol gave a slider sign with his index and thumb spread out. *Hmm*, I thought, and threw it for now.

It had been a while since I’d thrown it, but it hadn’t gotten any worse. It hadn’t gotten any better either, just the same as before.

“Ah, good!”

The practice pitches were over. Kim Seok-ho, who had been replaced earlier and was now responsible for the center field area in Dongseong, stepped up to the plate instead of the 9th batter, Jo Hong-gyu.

I nodded at the lonely pinky finger, positioned myself close to the right side of the plate, and settled my mitt.

*Interesting.*

“Stu-rike!”

*Oh, still the same.*

Heon-cheol’s expression seemed to convey that sentiment. *Then can you do this too?* With that expression, he flashed the index and middle fingers.

“Stu-rike, two!”

*Totally possible.*

*Then this?*

The pinky finger spun around in place several times.

“High ball-!”

A high fastball for a swing or setup pitch. I threw it as he wanted, but it only elicited a reaction from the batter and didn’t induce a swing.

*He hits pretty well. Let’s try this too.*

The fingers except for the thumb and index finger were spread out. In a way, it could be considered a classic ball combination, but,

Tic-

“Out!”

The stale stuff is good stuff.

The ball, which was weakly hit on the outside changeup, rolled towards the shortstop, resulting in an easy out.

Soon, the first baseman threw the ball back to the shortstop, and the rounding began, with the first baseman ultimately catching the ball again. Looking at his face, it wasn’t Park Hae-jin, but Ahn Byung-guk from KP.

I exchanged a brief greeting and returned to the pitcher’s mound…….

*It’s you again.*

Woo-seok appeared. *Ah, that’s right. Then is Myung-gyu next?* I glanced at the scoreboard and confirmed that it was indeed true. Unless a pinch hitter was brought in for Myung-gyu’s at-bat, I was destined to face Myung-gyu as well.

Looking back at home plate, Woo-seok and Heon-cheol were engaged in conversation.

*Ah, I’ve gotten old.*

Heon-cheol gives the sign, I throw, Myung-gyu catches and throws to first base, or Woo-seok catches and throws home.

That’s how it was 15 years ago. Half my age.

“Hehe, ahahaha.”

Woo-seok, having finished his conversation, provoked me, who was laughing like a madman, by beckoning with his finger.

In response, I pointed at him with the index finger of my right hand, which was holding the ball.

Suddenly, I considered giving a fastball sign and repeating what I did last year, but I didn’t think I had the stamina for it now. And there was also the quest to consider.

Again, the pinky finger. Woo-seok was surprisingly vulnerable to low outside fastballs.

Tic-

“Foul!”

I received the ball from the umpire and walked back to the mound, checking the scoreboard.

Even so, the speed, which should be at least 140km/h [kilometers per hour], was hovering around 135km/h.

There was a reason why I was throwing weakly, but I was still dissatisfied.

*You asked me if I remembered the signs, didn’t you, you bastard.*

With a sly expression, I placed my index finger on my shoulder. Woo-seok, caught off guard, sat on the outside with a dumbfounded expression and put on his mitt.

*I, is this right, hyung?* [older brother/term of endearment]

It felt like the catcher, who wasn’t even in another position, was providing audio support, making me want to tease him.

*If I throw a splitter on the inside instead of an outside sinker here, how will that guy react?*

Tic-

But I lacked the confidence to actually do it, so I threw the pitch as signed and got another foul.

*Okay, what’s next?*

Heon-cheol glanced at Woo-seok and spread out three fingers. It didn’t seem bad, but it didn’t seem plausible either, so I shook my head.

Then, the pinky finger spun around as before. *That’s good.*

I didn’t expect to induce a swing or a fly ball from a guy like Woo-seok with this pitch. Let’s use it as an opportunity cost for the setup pitch.

“Ball-!”

I expected it to be a ball in the first place, so there was no harm done, but it seemed like there was some damage from the ball flying higher than expected.

It was a bad ball to begin with, so this setup wasn’t 100% effective. *Um, then…….*

First, I waited for the sign. When I saw the index and pinky fingers, I shook my head.

After that, one finger was added, and three fingers were spread out. I nodded and looked at the mitt.

He seemed to expect it to fall from the low outside fastball, so he positioned his mitt a little lower than that.

The ring finger slowly began to push up from the grip that had been holding the fastball.

Fall!

The ball, which initially had to fly similarly to the low outside fastball, was concentrated. It started heading straight to the center of the strike zone as if saying, “Please hit me~”.

*Here it comes!*

The batter, encountering what he thought was a mistake, eagerly extended his bat. But soon, he realized that it wasn’t a simple gift, but an assassin disguised as a fastball, and stopped his swing.

That was the batter’s mistake.

Pop!

“Stu-rike, out!”

The falling changeup itself, not the one trying to disguise itself, naturally passed through the strike zone.

After being struck out looking, Woo-seok approached Myung-gyu. *Ah, Myung-gyu is coming out as is. I see.*

But instead of coming out quickly, I didn’t like the fact that the two of them were looking at me and whispering something.

*You bastards. What are you plotting?*

Myung-gyu, having finished talking, stood in the batter’s box where Woo-seok had been standing. Come to think of it, that’s three consecutive left-handed batters.

I faced two left-handed batters in a row and used almost the same ball combination.

Three consecutive bunts are also a coincidence, if you’re going to come to the All-Star Game, you’ll take that into account, right?

The outside sinker came out again on the first pitch, but I shook my head. Even after shaking my head two or three times, I couldn’t get a sign I liked, so I ended up giving the sign myself.

I wanted to go a little bolder. I touched my glove, shoulder, glove, elbow, hat, and shoulder with my index and middle fingers spread out. I nodded and positioned myself closer to Myung-gyu again.

“Low ball-!”

Tsk.

I felt a strange regret that Gyu-hak might have caught it if he had been catching. I turned around, feeling a strange regret.

After that, the outside sinker sign came out again. I thought it would be okay to have one, so I nodded.

Tic-

“Foul-!”

*That’s right. They’re watching the outside.*

As the suspicion turned into certainty, the next action was swift. The deciding pitch is on the inside. But one more ball is needed to get to the deciding pitch.

What should I throw? I kept shaking my head at the catcher’s sign and thinking, but I couldn’t come up with a good idea. *Ah, it would be convenient to have a slider at times like this.*

In the end, I watched the fastball and changeup that were taken out to the outside, and it became 3-1.

I thought I couldn’t continue like this, so I watched the curveball in the middle that I forced in and quickly stole a strike.

*Okay.*

As soon as I thought it was enough, a smile was about to escape, but I suppressed it. I thought I would get caught if I smiled. I gritted my teeth and held back my laughter, and continued to filter out the catcher’s signs.

It didn’t come out, so I ended up giving the sign again.

*Heon-cheol, don’t get nervous. You’re also a 10-year debut catcher.*

As soon as the sign was exchanged, I went into the windup without hesitation. I took a deep breath with both hands behind my head.

With a bang! My knee came up, and my body shot forward quickly with the reaction.

Bang!

“Stu-rike, out!”

Myung-gyu stood frozen, watching the inside fastball without moving. *Ma [Hey/Look], this is ball combination!* [A play on words, emphasizing the cleverness of the pitch sequence]

Ding!

[Memory Correction]

– Pitch one inning without allowing a run with a pitch containing past memories. (1/1)

– Reward ― Changeup +2

Control ― Top

Power ― Medium

Stamina ― Medium

Four-seam ― 59

Curve ― 51

Slider ― 35

Splitter ― 41

Chain ― 46+2=48

Sinker ― 46

Characteristic

Enlightenment ― I’m okay with any batted ball or situation.

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

Comfort ― Those who look at me feel comfortable.

I headed to the dugout, listening to the pleasant system sounds of the quest being completed and the stats increasing.

After shouting, “Ma, this is ball combination!” to Heon-cheol, who came up to me and chattered excitedly, I turned around and provoked Myung-gyu with my expression.

*Ma! This is ball combination, you know!*

He also released his fool mode, smiled, and returned to his dugout.