Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 67

– Ah, we’re ready for the interview. We’ll be talking with Jang Ju-ho, the MVP of today’s semi-playoff Game 1. Is Jang Ju-ho there?

– Ah… Yes, hello, this is Jang Ju-ho.

– Yes, nice to meet you. First of all, congratulations on being the MVP of the semi-playoff Game 1.

– Thank you.

– You came in as a pinch hitter in today’s game and hit a game-winning home run. Can you explain the situation at the time?

– Yes, well… rather than thinking I had to hit a home run, I was just trying to get on base somehow, and it led to a good result.

– So, your goal was to get on base rather than hit a home run?

– Yes. I tried not to lose my focus until the end, and I think I was lucky.

As soon as commentator Kwon Myung-hoon finished speaking, analyst Lee Young-jin’s question came flying in.

– All teams probably already know about Jang Ju-ho’s hitting ability. What do you consider important when hitting?

– What I think is important when hitting is… many people tell me that I have good power. Rather than trying to hit it hard, I think that if I hit it accurately, I can hit a big one if it goes well.

– Ah, that’s a good approach.

– Th-thank you!

Praise from a legendary home run king. As a junior player, the words “thank you” aren’t enough.

– I want to praise Jang Ju-ho’s fielding ability in today’s game, not just his hitting.

Commentator Kim Soo-chan continued the praise.

– I know that Jang Ju-ho’s fielding is usually lacking, but that wasn’t the case today at all. It was a defense that was no less than Moon Gyu-hak’s. I can see you’ve practiced a lot?

– Ah, yes. I practiced really hard.

Even amidst the awkwardness and embarrassment, he properly promoted himself. And he deserved to.

– What kind of practice did you mainly do?

– Battery coach Park Eun-jong ordered me to practice the catching part a lot, so I practiced that a lot, and I also focused on blocking.

– Catching and blocking?

– Yes. Other parts are still lacking a lot, but this part isn’t perfect yet, so I haven’t gotten to that point yet…….

Most of the abilities required for a catcher are focused on defense. Catching and blocking are both important, but it doesn’t end there. There’s still a long way to go.

– Do you have anything to say to those who helped you with your defensive training?

– First of all… Coach Park Eun-jong really helped me a lot, and Moon Gyu-hak and Kim Han-wool also gave me a lot of help.

– Ah, Kim Han-wool’s name comes up here too?

– Yes? Ah, yes. When I’m paired with him as a battery [a pair of players, typically a pitcher and catcher, who work closely together], Kim Han-wool usually leads, so… I’m learning a lot.

– I see. Lastly, what are your goals for this post-season?

– I hope I get to play in a lot of games, but I think that’ll be difficult. Haha… I just want to play the necessary role in the necessary parts, and I hope we win the Korean Series.

– Alright. Thank you for the interview today.

– Yes, thank you.

Ju-ho’s MVP interview video ended there.

Hehe, I smiled and went to find Ju-ho to show him the video.

Ah, no, I’m embarrassed! Seeing him run away while saying that made me quite happy.

Day of Game 2.

As always, our goal is to win. Setting victory as the goal is too obvious in this situation, but it’s even more obvious for our team.

We have to finish it within the 4th game.

Winning here isn’t the end; the playoffs with Dongsung are waiting for us.

If we go to the 5th game, Hyuk-joon will have to pitch, and then our starting lineup will be messed up from the start of the playoffs.

Han Gyu-jin.

Today’s Game 2 starter knows that atmosphere well, and he’s someone who knows how to live up to those expectations.

There was nothing special about the semi-playoffs or the post-season. The same routine as during the regular season.

Giggling, running a bit, pulling on the tubing, playing catch, giggling again, warming up, and pitching.

Play ball!

Sungwoon’s first batter is Woo-seok, unchanged. The pitcher is Gyu-jin hyung [older brother/friend]. From the start, a match between high school seniors and juniors was established.

“Haik!”

The scoreboard shows 148km [kilometers per hour]. A clean fastball that went right in took the count right away.

What kind of sign will Gyu-hak give here? What I can think of is an inside fastball,

“Haik!”

And wouldn’t he aim for a swing and miss with an outside changeup?

Tak―

“Foul!”

I was right up to that point, but Woo-seok’s at-bat was extended as it caught the end of the bat.

Fastball, curve, changeup.

Only three pitches for a starter? You might ask, but it’s okay if it’s Gyu-jin hyung. The curve is usable, and the changeup is a good pitch, but,

“Swing! Out!”

Surprisingly, Gyu-jin hyung’s finishing pitch is a fastball.

The unusual combination of a low height and an extreme overhand is something that hitters can’t get used to, even if they want to.

“Hiyaaaak!!”

Because there’s no pitcher who throws like that.

“Haaaaak!!”

After striking out all three batters in the top of the first inning, Gyu-jin hyung came down. The number of pitches was also very clean at 12. Soon after, Sungwoon’s second starter, Kim Tae-il, took the mound.

If yesterday’s starting matchup was the relativity of left and right, today’s can be called the matchup of up and down.

A pitcher who chose an extreme overhand despite being a small fry. And a pitcher who throws sidearm despite being a giant of 194cm [centimeters].

Kim Tae-il, who is much taller than me, who is quite tall, was swinging his long arm from the side.

The hardware is really powerful, but the speed is surprisingly slow.

“Haaaak!”

The fastball is 143km.

“Hiaaak!!”

The slider is roughly in the mid-120km range.

“Swing, swing!”

And the finishing pitch is a forkball.

Just like Sungwoon’s first three batters, our first three batters also retreated with three strikeouts.

Just as it’s impossible to get used to Gyu-jin hyung’s combination, Kim Tae-il’s movements were similar.

A pitcher that you can’t get used to, even if you want to.

Tak!

“Short! Shooot!”

“Okay, okay!!”

Myeong-jin caught Kim Myung-joon’s infield fly ball, and the top of the second inning was cleared in an instant.

Although leadoff hitter Oh Young-bin got a hit, Kim Tae-hoon immediately took a 5-4-3 double play, ending the inning with three batters again.

A pitching battle?

Ttaak―!

“Gattta!!”

“Park Jin-hyung! Park Jin-hyung! Park Jin-hyung!”

Ttaak!

“What’s with these guys.”

“Yoon Seung-ju! Yoon Seung-ju! Yoon Seung-ju!”

Jin-hyung and Seung-ju’s back-to-back home runs.

Although they are in the cleanup trio as the 4th and 5th batters, the two, who don’t have many home runs, hit home runs first and took a two-point lead.

The atmosphere was shifting little by little, but definitely to our side.

“Eun-gu!”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go out in the 7th!”

“Yes!”

No runs allowed through the top of the 5th. Only two hits allowed. No walks or hit-by-pitches, and the number of pitches is also very good at 78.

I wondered if Gyu-jin hyung wouldn’t pitch until the 7th, but the brains [coaching staff] seemed to think differently.

“Haik―!”

The top of the 6th inning started with number 8, Yoon Jae-kwan. Gyu-jin hyung continued to throw the ball calmly.

From the first pitch, a curve with a large angle was buried in Yoon Jae-kwan’s body, starting to earn a count.

Following that, a swing and miss on a changeup that fell to the outside. And,

“Swing, out!”

Another swing and miss on a fastball that looked high. 9 strikeouts in 5.1 innings. A truly overwhelming appearance.

After that, the 9th batter ridiculously swung and missed all three high fastballs, matching Gyu-jin hyung’s number of strikeouts to double digits.

A strange feeling came over me there.

Ah, his strength is running out.

Only then did I agree with the coach’s or manager’s choice. That’s not a swing and miss, or a fastball to make it look like he’s showing it. It’s just that the strength in his hand has run out, so it went in high.

It worked up to number 9, but will it work for Woo-seok? He struck out in both of the previous two at-bats. How, I wish hyung would just block him well.

“Ball!”

Again, the fastball floated high again.

Unlike the previous two batters who showed a futile reaction, Woo-seok leisurely leaned back slightly and picked it out.

“High ball.”

It was slightly lower than the previous ball, but the ruling was that it was still slightly higher than the zone.

The hyung, who had been calmly throwing the ball until now, stepped on the plate and was fiddling with the ball. As if organizing his thoughts.

Soon, he finished organizing and stepped on the plate again. He exchanged signs and put both hands on his lower abdomen.

“Haik―!”

In the end, the chosen ball was a 128km curve.

If the fastball is high, throw a curve.

He faithfully carried out the publicly spread saying and earned the first strike, but there is still a long way to go.

2-1, still the batter’s count.

What will he throw?

I watched quietly and wondered what I would throw. The first thing that came to mind was an outside changeup.

But I shook my head. In a situation where the ball keeps floating, even the changeup floats.

I’d rather give a ball than give a point.

Another curve? This might be better. Woo-seok might watch one more here.

Fastball, well. An overhand with a small height is unique, but it’s not a strength.

If I throw a fastball now that I’m out of strength, I might get hit with a big one.

Ttaak―!

“Relay―!! Two two! Second!!”

“Gi-sung, stick to the left!”

Like now.

A hit that pierces the center right. After falling exactly in the middle between Seong-hyun and Jin-hyung, it touches the fence of the wide Jamsil Stadium.

“Relay, turn three!!”

On top of that, the batter is fast. Second base? No way.

Chwaak―

“Safe!”

After 찍-ing [forcefully touching] third base with a bent slide for a sudden stop, he got up from his seat using inertia.

The dugout right next to him is his own dugout. He points to his teammates with both index fingers and shows off his fighting spirit.

Time―

Time was called right away. The manager, not the pitching coach, went up himself. He patted Gyu-jin hyung on the shoulder and encouraged him briefly, and the expression on his face as he came down was not as dark as I thought.

From the beginning, it didn’t seem like he was going to change. It’s slowly connecting to the upper batting line, but Kim Seong-hoon, the second batter, has the worst batting average among them.

It’s not really the timing for a tactic, but Gyu-hak blocked the front of the home plate and gave signs to the infielders.

Mitt, mask, elbow, mitt, shoulder, mask, shoulder,

There’s nothing special, just pull the corner a little.

“Haik!”

The first pitch is a changeup at an ambiguous height on the outside.

Why didn’t he hit it? It was such an ambiguous ball. I thought it was okay just to see this far.

Strictly speaking, it’s a ball that falls into the category of a mistake in the current situation.

“Low ball―”

The next ball is a curve.

Gyu-hak tried to scoop it up hard, but the referee resolutely straightened his back.

The battery didn’t have any regrets, so they continued with the next sign. The curve was once again floating high as soon as it was thrown.

Chwak!

“Ah, first! Plenty of time, slowly!”

Seong-moon caught the batted ball that was trying to get on second base by sliding. Gi-sung slowly relayed the situation next to him and received the ball, and the inning ended.

“Ah, Seong-moon is cool!”

“Seong-moon hyung, take me!”

“Hooooooo!!”

As expected of Seong-moon, who has a slightly introverted personality, he returned to the dugout with an embarrassed ehehet, ehehet [nervous laughter]. Our defensive players followed Seong-moon.

The atmosphere is good.

“Gyu-jin is done here. Eun-gu will go up.”

“Ah… yes.”

After being notified of the 강판 [removal from the game], Gyu-jin hyung immediately went inside the dugout to ice his shoulder.

I patted him on the back to mean he had worked hard and turned my body to the ground. Kim Tae-il was out again and was practicing pitching.

Two points? Or even one point.

I felt like it would be quite easy if I could get just one more point somehow. I conveyed this feeling to Hoon, who was standing next to the plate and swinging the bat. Hoon, hit it for me.

Number 9 batter, Yoo-ooo!! Hoo-hoon!!

Yoo Hoon, Yoo Hoo-hoon! Yoo Hoon, Yoo Hoo-hoon!

The audience went wild as Hoon, who had been hidden by the fence, revealed himself.

Along with the cheering song, he was flapping his hands, and it was a bit scary to see thousands or tens of thousands of people doing that.

Play!

Puk!

“Ah!”

At the same time as the start, Hoon was hit in the back with a ball. The sound of being hit was heard loudly even in the dugout, so it seems like it will hurt quite a bit.

The manager and trainer immediately came out of the dugout. Kim Tae-il is seen fidgeting around the plate.

The manager also turned his eyes and saw that, and rather reassured the opposing pitcher.

It wasn’t on purpose.

Fortunately, Hoon got up from his seat because the shock was only temporary.

He apologized to Kim Tae-il, who was sorry and took off his hat, waved his hand to say it was okay, and 설설 [gingerly] ran to step on first base.

Now, we’ve given up a runner for free, so we have to get the price for it.

Myeong-jin predicted the hardships ahead by putting down his bat before the start.

“Back!”

Check from the start.

He 맞춘 [hit] him in the body, but the game is the game.

“Bbaek!!”

It’s normal for the runner to bother the pitcher, but Kim Tae-il was refusing that flow.

He was bothering the runner by throwing only checks three times in a row without even throwing the first pitch.

Good?

He’s an opposing team, but I sympathized as the same pitcher.

“Haik!”

Finally, the first pitch, a slider that was 깔리는 [sinking] low, was seen as 빠지는 [going out], so he took the bat out, but a strike went up with the ruling that it came in.

Myeong-jin’s unique sullen expression. He prepared for the next ball with that look.

“Back!”

Not forgetting to check in the middle.

“Ball!”

At the same time as the pitch, he pulled the bat and waited to hit, but he didn’t bother to hit it because it was a ball.

A very fierce battle of nerves was active not only on the ground but also in both team dugouts.

The manager, base running coach, and battery coach all moved their hands busily as if they were 추는 칼군무 [performing a synchronized dance].

Only after the last sign from the opposing catcher was over did Kim Tae-il enter the set position again.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, and his left foot fell.

“Kkoo!”

Tung!

He pushed it away as it is without pulling the bat and ran hard to first base.