Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 100

Concentration.

It’s beneficial to spread your focus widely. If that’s challenging, concentrating on a single area is also effective.

Choice.

Ultimately, deciding where to invest your concentration in any given situation is a personal choice.

Bang-!

“Strike!”

Hyuk-joon focused intently on the batter.

Whether he threw a good pitch that resulted in a hit or a walk due to a mistake, Hyuk-joon only looked ahead.

He didn’t concern himself with the runners on first or second base, focusing solely on the batter.

“Swing, out.”

As a result, he allowed only one hit and one walk in seven innings. He even turned a double play, preventing any real crisis.

“…….”

I stared blankly at Hyuk-joon as he returned to the dugout after finishing the inning. It was clear he had given it his all.

Turning my head slightly, I saw his teammates welcoming the hardworking starting pitcher.

Seung-joo clapping enthusiastically.

Gyu-hak patting Hyuk-joon’s back and leading the way.

Myeong-jin coming in, waving his arms like a madman.

As always, the Wonha Challengers exuded a sense of camaraderie.

“Fastball.”

“Aye!”

I focused intently on Geon-yeong’s black catcher’s mitt. Low and outside for a right-handed batter.

The precise control a pitcher has over the ball, directing it where they intend, remains a mystery even to the pitcher themselves.

It’s easier to simply believe that if you aim, it will go there. Because then the next ball, and the one after that, will follow suit.

Thwack!

“Aye, good ball!”

“Ha! Curveball!”

A curveball thrown after snapping the wrist downward. It initially floated up to the batter’s eye level, then,

Bang!

Instead of dropping sharply, it curved down towards knee height.

“Sinker!”

A sinker, gripped slightly deeper than the standard two-seam grip.

Whack!

“Ugh, this is hard to catch, can’t hit it, can’t hit it!”

The increase in speed wasn’t significant, but the change in direction was dramatic. It was so difficult that even the catcher struggled to handle it.

“Slider!”

I finally succeeded in merging the slider I learned from Hyun-jin with the slider I had been developing since my ‘singularity’ [a period of rapid skill growth].

Bang!

The vertical movement is noticeable, but the horizontal break is even more surprising.

If we were to quantify the stats of the changeups, they’re only in the 70s now, but what kind of changes will they exhibit when they exceed 80, 90, and reach 100?

Thwack-!

But the funny thing is that batters still manage to hit these pitches. They desperately fight to survive.

When that situation arises, my course of action, what I should do, becomes clear.

“Han-wool, let’s go up.”

“Yes.”

I ran to the mound, thinking of my future self, struggling to survive. I fiddled with the rosin bag and stared at the scoreboard.

2 to 0. Starting with the 5th batter, Ha Hae-jin.

The justification for me to stop this 8th inning is exactly 2 points.

Dding-!

[Tie-breaking RBI]

– Pitch a scoreless inning (0/1)

– Reward – Changeup +2

…No, let’s just pitch a scoreless inning.

Turning my back on the quest displayed on the scoreboard, I stared at Gyu-hak. He was sitting wide, presenting his mitt as if telling me to throw whatever I wanted.

As the rough feeling in my fingers subsided, I was able to throw the fastball without any pressure.

Thwack-!

I glanced at the scoreboard before receiving the ball.

146km [approximately 91 mph].

A pretty fast speed was recorded without much effort. Am I really going to hit 150km [approximately 93 mph] soon?

Thinking about 150km when I was struggling with 130km [approximately 81 mph] motivated me in a strange way.

Thwack-!

Let’s win quickly,

Bang!

Accumulate stats,

“Play!”

And exceed 150km.

“Hoo….”

Ha Hae-jin, who entered the right-handed batter’s box, was similar to Park Hae-jin not only in name but also in his ready stance for hitting.

A stance with minimal movement, a grip positioned next to the right ear, and eyes that nonchalantly assessed the pitcher.

But there was one fundamentally different thing between the two batters. No, should I say two things?

One is hitting ability.

Thwack-!

“Swing-.”

And the other is the atmosphere.

Even now, as one of the top pitchers in the league, I’m still intimidated by Park Hae-jin. Once he gets a hit, it’s often a home run, and that pattern is hard to break.

Thwack-!

“Strike!”

But even if that cycle is broken, the ‘absolute’ image itself doesn’t change.

Even if he’s a batter who provides solid support from behind, ensuring Park Hae-jin isn’t easily walked,

Even if he’s capable of holding his own as the 6th or 7th batter in the national team,

Thwack-!

He can’t even compare to Park Hae-jin.

147km, 145km, 148km.

After easily retiring Ha Hae-jin with three fastballs, Heon-cheol stepped into the batter’s box. I didn’t avoid Heon-cheol’s gaze, who was looking at me with a strange expression.

What, you punk.

I smiled and threw a slider on the first pitch.

Bang!

“Strike!”

The batter flinched at the ball heading towards his body, but the trajectory quickly curved towards the plate, resulting in a strike call.

Watching him talk to Gyu-hak, seemingly quite surprised, I thought,

“This is it. This is it, this is it.”

I felt something akin to exhilaration.

Was that slider I threw for real? It makes my heart swell.

As the batter showed an ambiguous reaction to the slider, I suddenly thought of a location I wanted to try.

Think quickly, act even faster.

After finishing the calculation for the thought, I didn’t even start the calculation for the action, and I poked my left elbow with my thumb and index finger.

Gyu-hak, who nodded, also made a similar gesture with his fingers and signaled his approval.

What I want to throw is a slider that breaks away to the outside. But that location is different from what people commonly expect.

“…Eup!”

If I continue the movement right after the release, it’s a trajectory that will land in the center of the strike zone.

Ah, no?

The bat, which had already started its swing, quickly tried to retract after seeing the ball break away to the outside.

Tick!

But if that were possible, it wouldn’t be human.

The ball, hit off the end of the bat, slowly rolled back at a moderate speed. I stepped slightly to the right to watch the ball rolling in with a consistent bounce, and then,

Thwack!

I snatched it with my glove.

“Throw to first-.”

“Slowly, slowly, hyung [older brother/respected senior] has plenty of time!”

The place where I’m standing now is right in front of the mound. I glanced at the batter, who was gritting his teeth and running towards first base.

Rather than running and doing an underhand toss,

Bang-!

“Out-.”

It’s much easier to throw with a light snap throw.

“Two outs, two outs!”

“Aye, two outs!”

As soon as he heard the call, Ki-sung took his foot off the base and threw the ball to his only same-age teammate among the infielders.

Myeong-jin, who received the ball, quickly took the ball out of his glove and tossed it to Sung-moon, and Sung-moon threw it back to Sung-hoon hyung, who was the farthest away.

“Two outs.”

“Yay!”

Hung-hoon hyung showed the ball held with only his middle and ring fingers, emphasizing once again that it was two outs. I nodded with a smiling face and received the rounded ball.

I put the baseball in my glove, bent down, and picked up the rosin bag. I repainted the inside of my index finger, which had uniquely returned to flesh color, and waited for the next batter.

7th batter, Shin Tae-beom.

The emotionless announcement from the stadium announcer. Tomorrow, another announcer will cheer for their team in a loud voice.

With the overall balance being good now, Gyu-hak requested a sinker that would break to the outside of the left-handed batter from the first pitch.

I could feel his mindset of wanting to end the inning with as few pitches as possible and prepare for tomorrow’s game.

Good, let’s finish quickly and go in!

Thwack-!

“…Ball!”

Ah.

Gyu-hak’s mitt twitched really fast like light, but it seems the umpire saw it. I could feel his disappointment as he straightened his back after a moment of thought.

I gently fiddled with the returned ball and thought about how to end it quickly.

Outside curve? Outside fastball? Slider to the outside?

I didn’t like the fact that I wanted to end it quickly but kept going around in circles. With that energy, I pointed to my glove with my index finger.

“Hoo!”

After a brief deep breath, the ball left my fingertips through a series of processes. The shape and rotation were the same as a fastball.

The target point is low and inside.

Thwack-!

If the power is good, it feels like a full pitch even if it’s not a perfectly full pitch. In a similar sense, a full pitch can feel like it’s missing.

If you add the league’s top-level framing to that, the fastball becomes even more deceptive for the batter.

“Strike-!”

Shin Tae-beom stepped back, seemingly seeing it as inside, and approached the umpire to argue. He didn’t gain much ground and came back to the plate.

I started with a ball on the first pitch, but I took the lead properly on the second pitch and gained the initiative. From here, it becomes easier to draw a picture that you can play with, in colloquial terms.

Even if I didn’t express my intention, Gyu-hak sent me a sign for an inside sinker.

That’s right, that’s it.

My former teacher once told me.

“…Hiccup!”

Han-wool, you don’t really need a strike on the inside.

Whack-!

Shin Tae-beom, surprised by the ball that was digging in deeply and quickly returning, hurriedly swung his bat, but he only managed to hit the bat’s neck.

The baseball, which had properly smashed the inside, returned at a slower speed than when Heon-cheol was at bat.

But if there’s one obstacle,

“Hyung, bat!”

The bat’s head, sharing the trajectory with the batted ball.

Should I avoid it?

I quickly dismissed the thought that came to my mind in a very short moment. If I can’t handle it, it will eventually become an infield hit.

If I can’t handle it, senior Shin Kyung-seok, who will finish this game, will have to face at least the 9th batter.

“No, my!”

Team play?

After dodging about two steps to the side, I waited for the debris to pass first, and then I saw the baseball rolling in with the debris.

Quickly!

It was a batted ball that still had spin left, but when I grabbed it tightly with my bare hand, it died down. The step for the throw is enough with the left foot next to me as I catch the ball.

“Heup!”

A posture similar to kneeling on one knee, and because the ground is low, an arm angle almost like a sidearm was formed.

Therefore, the erected axis of rotation adjusted the flying ball to curl slightly to the right from my perspective.

Bang!

“Out!”

Ki-sung simply secured the three outs by stretching out his left foot.

Dding-!

[Tie-breaking RBI]

– Pitch a scoreless inning (1/1)

– Reward – Changeup +2

Control – Top

Power – High

Stamina – Medium

Four-seam – 81

Curve – 76

Slider – 73

Splitter – 72

Changeup – 74

Sinker – 75

Traits

Detachment – I’m okay with any batted ball or situation.

Discomfort – Makes the opposing batter uncomfortable when they look at the pitcher in the batter’s box.

Comfort – Those who look at me feel comfortable.

Concentration – The number of targets you can concentrate on increases.

Ki-sung, who completed the three outs, ran straight towards me instead of heading behind me.

“Hyung, your fingers? Are they scratched?”

“I’m fine, look.”

Because my fingers are covered in white rosin, any blood would be even more noticeable.

Everyone on the team who gathered around was relieved to see my clean fingers without any injuries.

“Hyung, be careful.”

“I was surprised, Han-wool.”

“Aye.”

I went back to the dugout, receiving a lot of concern from my teammates. I glanced at the bullpen while high-fiving, and senior Kyung-seok was warming up to finish the game.

Even when I returned to the dugout, when our team’s offense ended with three batters, and when our team’s closer went to the mound, I couldn’t take my eyes off senior Kyung-seok.

Senior, I even made a hustle play because of you. So please retire them with three batters, don’t make my heart race.

The specific thoughts might vary from person to person, but everyone related to the Wonha Challengers would have felt the same way about the underlying sentiment.

They were disappointed when senior Kyung-seok threw a ball, happy when he threw a strike, and cheered when he recorded an out.

“Senior, let’s go!!”

“Kyung-seok, ah, I love you!!”

After repeating this three times, exactly three times, the Wonha Challengers were able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sangsoo Tigers once again.

Waah-!!

Shin Kyung-seok! Shin Kyung-seok! Shin Kyung-seok!

Ooh-!

Joint first place in the league. And the remaining game in the regular season is one game against that opponent.

“Ah, this is so burdensome.”

“If hyung collapses tomorrow, you’ll really become a traitor. Be careful.”

“Fuck.”

Everyone around me believed that we would be able to secure first place in the regular season when tomorrow’s game, which Gyujin hyung will pitch, is over.