Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 91

Thwack—

“He’s up to bat from the very first pitch, and this ball! It falls into the gap in right-center field, ending the game! Kim Ki-beom with a walk-off hit!”

“He’s repaying Director Lee Han-joo’s faith in him like this!”

A walk-off hit.

Raising the game’s climax with all his might, ending the game by striking the hearts of those watching.

The swing came before the memory of the previous three strikeouts and the awkward double play he hit from a bad count could resurface.

It felt more like he was pushed into hitting it rather than intentionally pushing it, but so what? We won.

I arrived at the stadium a little earlier than expected and checked the highlights of yesterday’s game without getting out of the car.

“Yo, walk-off man.”

“Maaan.”

He seems to be in a pretty good mood. I greeted Ki-beom, who bumped elbows with me as soon as we met, and we had a brief chat.

“So, you’re starting again today?”

“I hope Myung-jin keeps not showing up.”

“You’re such a thug?”

“I’m a bit of a thug.”

Something like that. I sent my friend off with a grin and headed to the bullpen.

Thwack!

“No, stay still.”

Thwack!

“I told you not to move, didn’t I?”

Bang—

“Should I tie your hands?”

“Ah, no!”

Bang!

“That’s right. You should. Think about why Han-wool’s slider was called a ball yesterday.”

My name suddenly came up, so I wondered what was going on and checked to see Ju-ho was busy catching.

“Coach, should I throw?”

“Oh, you’re here. Never mind, you’ll hurt your shoulder.”

Touched. Overwhelmingly touched.

I felt touched by something trivial and started some light stretching.

Pulling my shoulder forward, tying bands to the net and doing tubing exercises.

By the time my whole body felt limp, Ju-ho’s training was over. He stood up, dusting off his thighs as if they were numb from squatting, and I felt proud.

“Ah, Senior.”

“Yeah.”

I turned away from the net and faced the inside of the bullpen to do tubing when Ju-ho started asking questions.

“Um… about yesterday.”

“Yesterday when? When I was pitching?”

“Yes. You didn’t shake your head even once….”

“Ah, that.”

I couldn’t help it because of the quest.

“Does that mean my leading has gotten better?”

His eyes are sparkling with the desire to be recognized. I feel too bad to shatter it.

“It’s just like a test.”

Let’s put it indirectly.

“A test?”

“A test to see how much our Ju-ho’s leading has improved…”

“Oh, how was it?”

Um…….

In that moment, my brain spun rapidly. How should I tell him the facts so that Ju-ho wouldn’t feel bad while still acknowledging his shortcomings?

“So-so.”

Oh, well.

“Didn’t the coach say anything about your leading?”

“He did give me some feedback on a few things.”

In fact, yesterday’s process included my quest. So, it’s not appropriate to unconditionally judge who did well or who did wrong.

“Think positively. There’s no right answer to ball distribution. You might throw the reverse of the reverse because you’re afraid they’ll aim for the opposite, or even the reverse of the reverse of the reverse.”

“Huh?”

“You can do well even if you throw randomly. Don’t worry too much if your leading doesn’t work.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

“Thanks for what.”

I sent Ju-ho off after he finished his basic training and continued banding.

* * *

[Exclusive] Premier 12 Preliminary Roster of 60 Announced

On August 20th, after the 2019 season, the preliminary roster for the Premier 12 tournament was announced.

In addition to existing national team aces such as Lee Hyun-jin (Dongseong), Park Dong-il (Sangsu), and Hwang Hyuk-joon (Wonha), first-timers such as Kim Han-wool (Wonha), Lee Song-in (Seongun), and Im Jae-hyuk (KP) were also included.

In the lineup, Park Hae-jin (Sangsu), Kang Seong-hyun (Wonha), Choi Woo-seok (Seongun), Shin Heon-cheol (Sangsu), and Jo Tae-pung (Hanseong), as well as Moon Gyu-hak (Wonha) and Kwak Myung-gyu (Seongun), passed the first hurdle to potentially wear the Taegeukgi [South Korean flag] for the first time.

The preliminary roster consists of a total of 60 players: 28 pitchers, 5 catchers, 15 infielders, and 12 outfielders.

The final roster of 28 players for the 2019 Premier 12 is scheduled to be finalized on October 2nd.

―dkss***

└? Kim Han-wool is included?

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―dnjs****

└Wonha has so many lol [laugh out loud]

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―rlawl****

└Good luck to all the players

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* * *

The Premier 12 to be held after the season. The reason why games were not postponed as much as possible during this season’s rainy season was precisely this.

National team.

Those four letters that make the hearts of Koreans beat faster. A few specific people are used to wearing the Taegeukgi on their chests every year, but,

“Ooh….”

For someone who is going to such a stage for the first time, well. Wouldn’t everyone be amazed?

I was one of those people. It was still a preliminary roster, twice the size of the official roster, but just having my name on it felt somehow amazing.

“Yo, 551 national team man.”

“Yesss, I am national team maaan.”

But the reality was that a significant portion of the dissatisfaction from those who saw the roster was directed at me.

In the 2019 KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] season, where pitching is generally stronger than hitting, my current stats are roughly a 5.51 ERA [Earned Run Average] over 31 innings.

Perhaps because my early-season struggles were so severe, my ERA is not returning to an average level.

People naturally have questions.

A 5.51 ERA guy going to the national team in a pitching-dominated league?

Those who defend me say this:

But his ERA for the subsequent 20 and 2/3 innings is only 1.30! That’s enough!

“How does it feel?”

“It’s refreshing.”

“Do you want to go?”

If you ask me if I want to go to the national team in an environment where public opinion about me isn’t very good,

“I want to go. Of course.”

Of course, I want to go.

Not just talking about the experience of waving the Taegeukgi once or throwing a ball in a foreign stadium,

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], how did you feel when you went?”

“Um… there was something that made me feel choked up.”

“Choked up?”

“Wow. I’ve really come to a place like this. I really feel the weight on my shoulders.”

I want to experience that burden in a good way.

“Go if you can. It’s not like you don’t have the skills. If you were going with your early-season form, I would have been the first to criticize you, but not now.”

“That’s right.”

My stats haven’t returned to average, but my skills have. No, even beyond that.

My fastball’s top speed is 147km [kilometers per hour].

It feels like just yesterday I was struggling to throw 127km.

That’s why I’ve been through so many doping tests. I want to stop pulling down my pants in front of the supervisors.

“I’m telling you this just in case.”

“Huh?”

“That’s a long way off. Don’t get all excited from now on and go, ‘Wow! National team! Wow!’ Don’t do that.”

“What do you take me for….”

“Aren’t you?”

“…….”

How did he know?

“Focus on today’s game first.”

“Ah… Sangsu won yesterday.”

“That’s right.”

A 2-game difference.

We are currently ranked 3rd in the league, quite a distance from Seongun. A whopping 4.5-game difference.

So, we don’t have to worry too much about the teams below us, but the problem is the teams above us. The gap with Sangsu just doesn’t seem to close.

When we win, they win too, and when we lose, they either lose or win.

In that imbalance, they are stubbornly maintaining the gap. It would be easier to give up if they felt far away, but it seems like we can catch up… it’s really driving me crazy.

“Try to pitch well today. We have to win.”

“…We have to win.”

Coincidentally, our opponent for this week’s 3-game series is Sangsu Tigers. The opposing team, which uses the same Jamsil Stadium as their home, has already taken the lead.

Gyu-jin hyung, who is scheduled to start today, pressed the ball in his hand tightly.

Thwack-!

Thwack-!!

I stared blankly at Park Hae-jin, who was practicing batting. It’s practice batting where they throw for him to hit, but every ball he hits lands in the upper stands of the Jamsil audience seats.

Before the national team or anything else, there’s the Korean Series. And before that, there’s the regular season.

Play!

My heart was the same as Gyu-jin hyung’s.

Bang!

“Strike-!”

153km.

Bang-!

“Strike!!”

152km.

“Strike!”

155km.

His appearance of striking out the first batter by throwing three fastballs in a row,

Bang!

“Strike!”

122km.

Tick!

“Short! Short, short!!”

“Oh no, oh no!!”

His ability to handle the second batter with two pitches and turn it into an infield fly,

Bang!

“Strike!”

151km.

Bang!

“Strike!!”

152km.

Bang!

“Swing, out!”

136km.

His ability to strike out the third batter was all perfect.

Even though he’s about 20cm shorter than me, the way he walks past third base and into the dugout looks really,

“Hyung, did you get taller?”

“Do you want to die?”

He looked bigger.

The fierce battle between the two teams’ second starters. If you put aside the current situation of the two teams and watch, it’s quite enjoyable.

Pitches over hits? No,

“Strike!”

The pitchers are just amazing.

A rare sight unfolded where neither team allowed a single runner to reach base until the 5th inning. The time required until the end of the 5th inning was only about an hour.

During the cleaning time [between innings], which was slightly longer than average, Gyu-jin hyung covered his head with a towel and bowed his head deeply.

No one approaches him to avoid disturbing the pitcher’s focus. Feeling sorry for Gyu-jin hyung, who is lonely by himself, I went next to him and sat down gently.

“Hyung.”

“…What.”

A pitcher who is pitching a perfect game for only 5 innings. An unwritten rule that no one should bother him when a great record is being made.

It’s okay, he’s not the kind of person who would collapse from something like that.

“You’re doing well.”

“I have to do well.”

I don’t know how others would react because I don’t have much experience with this. But true to Gyu-jin hyung’s style, he didn’t seem to care much.

“Ah, I miss Myung-jin.”

Ki-beom, who has defense and base running instead of offense. Heon-hee, who has offense instead of defense.

Even if they have a lot of one stat, they can’t keep up with Myung-jin, who has both stats high.

Ki-beom is starting as shortstop today. A lineup focused on stability rather than variables.

The ball itself didn’t really go to the shortstop position. In hindsight, I wonder if it would have been better if Heon-hee had started.

“I wish we could score some runs.”

“We’ll do well. If hyung pitches a 9-inning perfect game, we’ll score at least one run during that time.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

Seeing him laugh, I feel more relieved.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“Get ready to go up in the 8th. I think the 7th inning will be the last. Or he might come down even earlier.”

The number of pitches recorded up to the 5th inning is 71. He could possibly go up to the 8th inning if he pushes himself a little more.

But this game is not just a simple game. This 3-game series is, yes, the postseason. We have to approach it the same way as the Korean Series.

It’s not about having to win, but about not being allowed to lose.

“Where did your ambition to pitch a perfect game go?”

“When did I say something like that?”

“In high school.”

“…You’re still spouting nonsense from over 10 years ago.”

“Do you think I’ll forget? When you gave me shit for giving up the first hit in the 8th inning during the elite league, huh?”

“You crazy bastard.”

Seeing him chuckle, I guess he’s completely relaxed.

“How should I pitch for 2 innings?”

“Really hard. Then I’ll take care of the rest.”

“…Call.”

A prerequisite for that. We have to score first.

Thwack-!

“Turn! Two, two!!”

In the top of the 6th inning, Seong-hoon hyung, who came up as the lead batter, ran hard to second base to satisfy the prerequisite.

Looking at him running to second base with gritted teeth in the distance,

“Nice baaaaat!!!”

My heart’s humidity naturally breaks through 100%. I grabbed the dugout railing and shouted at the top of my lungs.

Ki-beom, who came up as the next batter.

Rather than awkwardly returning in a situation where there are no outs and a runner on second base, let’s advance him one base. That was our dugout’s strategy.

Tick!

“Foul!”

The ball hit the end of the bat and went outside the first base line. Looking at the Sangsu infielders rushing in fiercely, I could imagine how Ki-beom must be feeling right now.

He took his left foot out of the batter’s box and exchanged glances and signals with the third base coach.

If we translate the third base coach’s gestures into Korean,

Tick!

“Thr…first base!”

“Fiiirst!!”

Just keep bunting.

The second pitch was a very nice bunt. Third baseman Ha Hae-jin caught it and glanced at third base, but Seong-hoon hyung had already stepped on third base.

“He’s executing the play well!”

“I’m MacArthur!”

“Kim Ki-beom! Kim Ki-beom! Kim Ki-beom!”

In some ways, one bunt was more valuable than a simple hit. Of course, countless requests for handshakes followed as a matter of course.

Pinch hitter, Jang Ju-ho.

Pinch hitter card activated here.

Hoon dropped out and Ju-ho entered the batter’s box. The way he stomped towards the batter’s box with his huge physique was like,

“Ju-ho, let’s goooo!!”

“Knock it out of hereee!”

It felt like he could do it. It felt like he would do it.

The first pitch was a ball, and the second pitch was also a ball.

At the point where he had two balls, he should naturally throw a strike, but,

Intentional walk.

Since it has come to this, they just walk him.

Ju-ho, who is slow on his feet, was immediately replaced by Byung-cheon, an outfielder backup. The time to loosen his hip joint while standing on first base was further lengthened by the opposing catcher’s time request.

Sung-moon’s first pitch after the Sangsu catcher sat back down on home plate.

“Swing-.”

He swings with all his might, but he’s way too late for the powerful fastball. He comfortably watches the changeup bouncing low and meets the third pitch.

Thwack—

“It went…!”

The ball, which he timed and swung with his eyes tightly closed, soared high into the sky.