Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 139

Baseball is a team sport, but within it lies the individual duel of pitcher versus batter, a one-on-one battle.

Because of this, nemesis relationships are very common between pitchers and batters.

This commonality is quite interesting.

A batter who spends his time in the minor leagues might hit a home run against a dominant pitcher who commands the league.

A pitcher who is grateful for any chance to pitch might strike out a leading hitter in the league.

As a baseball player, I, too, have formed nemesis relationships with several players.

Players I easily devour include Bae Deok-hyun, the cleanup hitter for Visco; Woo Seok, the leadoff hitter for the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization]; and Kang Dae-hyun, standing right in front of me.

All of them are players who are quite formidable elsewhere, but

Whack-!

“Shhh-whack!”

They freeze up when they face me. They just stand there, watching the ball whiz past them.

Not wanting to lose like this, they occasionally swing their bats,

Whoosh—

“Swing—”

Once a nemesis relationship is established, it’s not easily shaken off by individual effort alone unless there’s a very special opportunity.

Well, then,

Tap-!

“Swing, swing-!”

That’s how it goes.

Ding-!

[I Only Target One Guy]

– Strike out a batter with absolute dominance with three pitches. (1/1)

– Reward – Four-seam fastball +1

Control – Top

Power – High

Stamina – Medium

Four-seam fastball – 91+1=92

Curveball – 85

Slider – 82

Splitter – 83

Changeup – 83

Sinker – 84

Traits

Detachment – Accepts any batted ball or situation with equanimity.

Discomfort – Makes the batter feel uneasy when they see the pitcher on the mound.

Comfort – Those who watch me feel at ease.

Focus – The number of targets I can focus on increases.

After easily striking out Kang Dae-hyun, I quickly returned to the dugout to prepare to watch the top of the 9th inning.

The batters worked hard to score two more runs, and although Seung-jin allowed one run in the bottom of the 9th, he managed to hold on, ending the game.

Clap clap clap—

“Good work, everyone!”

“Great job, everyone!”

Another day neatly wrapped up before heading home. What a beautifully ending day.

* * *

Having widened the gap to four games against the Sangsoo Tigers, I couldn’t feel more at ease.

Doesn’t it take about a month to close a three-game gap?

Now that we’ve entered June, according to this calculation, we’ve entered early July first, while Sangsoo is still stuck in late May.

Relax, relax.

Besides, who was starting today? Following Hyuk-joon, it was Kyu-jin hyung [older brother/close friend], who would surely secure the victory.

With the intention of widening the gap with Sangsoo to six games, we slightly adjusted the starting lineup.

Sangsoo, not wanting to give up the momentum, also made slight adjustments to their starting lineup.

The result was Park Dong-il, the Sangsoo Tigers’ second starter, pitching on the mound.

He was originally the Sangsoo Tigers’ first starter, but this season, he had been strangely faltering from the start, swapping places with Sung Sang-jin, who was originally the second starter.

“Dong-il really sharpened his knife….”

He might think he can’t lose as a starter representing the team, but it seemed more like a display of resentment for being demoted to the second starter.

‘I’ll reclaim my spot, I’ll return to my position,’ he seemed to be thinking.

Park Dong-il gritted his teeth and faced Myung-jin, Sung-hyun, and Ki-sung.

But there’s that famous saying in baseball,

Thwack-!

“Wow, Ki-sung is really fierce.”

Relax, take the power out. You can’t do better if you tense up.

Ki-sung and Park Dong-il each showed the hopeful and despairing sides of baseball proverbs.

“Yessss!!”

“Ki-nam, Ki-nam!!”

“Ki-sung, take it easy, you’re scary.”

Ki-sung, who cleared the Jamsil Stadium fence for the second consecutive day, couldn’t hide his joy. He made even more of a fuss, running around and celebrating.

He’s so happy.

It’s enjoyable to watch, but seeing him dance an incomprehensible dance with Myung-jin made me wonder if the ’91 liners [players born in 1991] were strange for a moment.

The Wonha Challengers, who scored five runs from the start with Ki-sung’s three-run home run and Seung-joo’s two-run shot, took the field for the bottom of the 1st inning with much lighter hearts.

Lighter hearts?

I hoped this word would also apply to today’s starting pitcher.

“Hyung, relax.”

“I know.”

Kyu-jin hyung, who visibly tenses up whenever he faces Sangsoo, continued his comfortable pitching as we had briefly discussed.

He struck out leadoff hitter Go Dong-wook, induced a ground ball to the pitcher from second hitter Kang Dae-hyun, and although he allowed a double to third hitter Lee Yong-ho, he struck out Park Hae-jin once more to end the inning.

“Ah, damn it, seriously!”

Even though he finished the first inning relatively cleanly, Kyu-jin hyung cursed loudly as soon as he returned to the bullpen.

The reason, well…….

“Who is that bastard?”

It’s because of Lee Yong-ho.

“Was it a mistake?”

“No, it went right to the outside, but he pulled it.”

Nemesis.

I don’t want to admit it, and Kyu-jin hyung himself wants to admit it even less than anyone else, but it seems that a relationship has been established between Kyu-jin hyung and Lee Yong-ho.

I hoped my guess was wrong, but

Thwack-!

“…Crazy.”

In the bottom of the 4th, Lee Yong-ho, leading off, skillfully pushed the first pitch and sent it over the right field fence of Jamsil Stadium.

With both hands on his hips, Kyu-jin hyung stared silently at the area where the ball disappeared.

‘Hyung, you have to admit it,’ I thought.

Lee Yong-ho, running past our dugout, blocked Kyu-jin hyung’s view.

Regardless of Kyu-jin hyung, Lee Yong-ho, filled with the good feeling and energy from hitting a home run, high-fived Park Hae-jin.

From 5 to 0, it became 5 to 1, so he probably wanted Park Hae-jin, the best hitter in the league, to hit another one and close the gap to just three points.

But a nemesis relationship isn’t always about me being devoured or devouring someone.

Whack-!

“Strike!”

If Lee Yong-ho is Kyu-jin hyung’s nemesis,

Bang-!

“Strike!”

Kyu-jin hyung is Park Hae-jin’s nemesis.

Whack-!

“Strike, out!”

Whether the umpire threw a flamboyant right hook or not, Kyu-jin hyung didn’t pay any attention. Just like during the bottom of the 1st inning,

“Damn….”

He returned to the dugout and quietly added a spoonful of curses.

“Don’t worry too much, hyung. It’s all give and take.”

“It sucks. I wouldn’t care if it was someone else, but why does it have to be Lee Yong-ho, damn it.”

He must be in a really bad mood.

In Kyu-jin hyung’s voice, spewing out complaints like a machine gun, there was more desperation than anger or annoyance.

When you want to show a guy who made you feel like crap what it’s like, but you’re the one who feels like crap.

“It’s because he’s a shitty bastard, what else could it be?”

How shitty must it be?

It was a conversation half-filled with curses, but that’s why Kyu-jin hyung’s mood gradually improved.

Because when he met Lee Yong-ho again in the bottom of the 6th after shutting down the bottom of the 5th with a three-up, three-down inning, he gave him a clean punch-out.

Clap clap clap!

“Good job, hyung, good job.”

“Kyu-jin, nice pitching!”

“Great job!”

In the end, 7 innings, 2 hits, 1 run allowed.

If you could just take away the fact that all 2 hits and 1 run were created by Lee Yong-ho alone, it would have been a perfect game.

“Haa….”

But Kyu-jin hyung couldn’t get rid of that one blemish. The person who should have been happy with the good performance disappeared towards the back of the dugout with a gloomy face.

“He must be in a really bad mood….”

I thought about following him and offering a word of comfort, but I just left him alone.

It’s no use saying things like the game was good anyway, or you’ll get him next time, without any tact.

Rather than that,

“Ah, Seung-jin, let’s go!”

“We have a lot of points, pitch comfortably!”

It’s more beneficial to cheer for Seung-jin, who will block the bottom of the 8th. For me, for Kyu-jin hyung, for our team.

Seung-jin, who received plenty of support from his seniors, stepped onto the mound with confident strides.

In the top of the 8th, our lineup scored two more points, giving Seung-jin a whopping six-point lead.

Besides, who is Seung-jin? Isn’t he a strong-hearted player who can just throw it in based on his powerful fastball?

With a six-point lead in the 8th, even the losing team starts to prepare for the next game rather than today’s game.

Bang-!

“Ball, ball four!”

Unless we spoon-feed them like this.

“Why is he doing that?”

“Something seems off with his balance….”

“He was pitching well in the bullpen earlier.”

“He’s still young, so it can’t be helped.”

For now, I thought it was understandable that he walked seventh hitter Shin Tae-beom on four straight balls.

Everyone shouted that he could start catching up now, even though he allowed another walk to eighth hitter Park Myung-gi.

But just one person,

“Han-wool.”

“Yes?”

“Get ready for now.”

“Ah, yes.”

Our pitching coach quickly called me, sensing that the atmosphere was turning strange.

If it were his usual personality, he would have just thought that he would do well on his own, that it could happen, and moved on, but it seemed a bit dangerous now.

Seung-jin, the team, and the league standings.

After giving me the order, the coach called a timeout and slowly walked to the mound. It was probably to buy me time to warm up.

Seeing his sincerity, I quickly raised my body temperature by stretching and playing catch at the same time.

After a while, the coach came back, but I didn’t pay much attention to him and quickly moved on to bullpen pitching.

Bang—

“Hyung, Seung-jin will pitch slowly for now, so we won’t be short on time.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Warming up quickly is important, but balance is more important. Seung-jin will probably handle it until Min Jong-hyun at least.

But that handling,

Thwack—

“Oh dear.”

I didn’t know he meant handling Min Jong-hyun’s hit.

“Cut it off at first!!”

Ki-sung, who cut off Sung-hyun’s throw from inside the infield, called another timeout after confirming that the third base runner was no longer moving.

“Should I go up now?”

“No, the hit is okay. We have some points too. Let’s see until the next one.”

If he wanted to cut it off for sure, it would have been right to send me up now, but the coach decided to trust Seung-jin one more time.

In fact, he didn’t throw any balls when facing Min Jong-hyun. The ball he got hit on wasn’t a mistake either.

‘He got hit, but let’s watch him one more time.’

We focused on the back part of this phrase, but Seung-jin seems to have unconsciously paid attention to the front part.

Bang-!

“Ball-!”

Where did the strong heart we believed in go? Seung-jin even allowed a bases-loaded walk,

“Han-wool, let’s go up now.”

“Yes.”

I was replaced.

“…I’m sorry, senior.”

“What are you sorry for? You worked hard.”

I simply comforted Seung-jin, who was passing by me, and stood on the mound. Looking around, all the bases were packed with runners.

Moreover, it was a truly desperate situation with no outs on the scoreboard.

“Hyung, just do what you always do!”

But Kyu-hak, who actually had to solve this situation, didn’t seem to think of it as much of a crisis.

‘Bases loaded with no outs, so what. It’s a five-point lead, and the pitcher is Kim Han-wool. Just stop them,’ he seemed to be thinking.

In fact, I was thinking pretty much the same thing as Kyu-hak right now.

Bases loaded with no outs, so what. We have a five-point lead. Just stop them.

“Play!”

After finishing the practice pitches, the umpire restarted the suspended game. Accordingly, the batter who reluctantly stepped into the plate was Kang Dae-hyun.

Oh my, who is this?

Ding-!

[Nemesis]

– Prevent the inherited runners from scoring and pitch a scoreless inning. (0/1)

– Reward – All pitches +1

It’s a bases-loaded crisis with no outs, but it’s a five-point lead and the opponent is a batter under my nemesis.

What an 8th inning, isn’t it quite manageable?