Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 182

The feeling of being in a different place, a different setting than just yesterday. But the feeling is amplified when the person you’re facing is the same person you saw yesterday.

“…What.”

…Describe how that feels. 5 points.

“Didn’t you see me yesterday?”

“Yeah, so what.”

A player who lives in a cold city and always does his best at his job. But he must be warm to his people.

“I’m talking about my interview yesterday.”

“……”

Is the image of a cold city man all dead?

I don’t know if he threw away that image, or if he’s just transforming into someone else when he’s in front of me.

“Actually, that statement seems to have been a bit distorted.”

“How so.”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be the 8th inning. It could be the 7th, or even the 9th.”

“Whatever.”

“Any inning is fine as long as you, senior [referring to a senior player], are pitching.”

Park Haejin came up to me again before the game today and made a simple provocation.

“I want to hit my 60th home run of the season against you, senior, and no one else.”

Shoo, shoo―

“Yeah, good luck.”

“Don’t you feel anything?”

“Yeeeah, good luck to youuu.”

“As expected, I feel relieved that I seem to be the only one who can stand up to you, senior.”

Is he crazy?

“Why do you specifically want to hit it off me? There are plenty of other pitchers.”

“Well…isn’t it cooler to hit it off the best pitcher in Korea?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

What a random thing to say.

“It’s just…it’s really fun to play baseball with you, senior.”

“You must be living a really boring life these days.”

“That’s right. I’ve been living a pretty boring life because I haven’t been able to see you, senior.”

Oh, please.

“Haven’t you also been living a pretty dull life because you haven’t been able to see me, senior?”

“…Hey. Hey, Haejin. I’m really sorry, but.”

“Yes.”

“Hyunjin is already doing that concept.”

“Yes?”

“Try something different. It’s getting a bit tiring for the people watching.”

“Hmm….”

No, seriously, don’t think about it.

“I’m not particularly looking forward to competing against you, senior, but since it’s come to this, I’ll play along. You better be prepared.”

Son of a B [Son of a Bitch].

* * *

The bottom of the 1st inning, with the order of attack switched from yesterday.

Whether it was a change of pace or just warming up,

Tap-!

Park Haejin created the first run for the Sangsoo Tigers with a clean hit, leaving a runner on second base.

He steps on first base, but he doesn’t seem particularly happy, more like he expected it.

Resignation?

No, he got a good record with a hit, there’s no room for resignation.

That’s really just expecting it. He feels it’s natural for him to get a hit, and even more natural for him to hit a home run, that kind of expectation.

Park Haejin, who had started the engine with a hit in his first at-bat, in the bottom of the 4th inning,

Ttaak―

As the lead batter, he pushed the ball that was barely on the outside, touching the line behind Giseong.

Seonghyun quickly ran over and twisted his body to second base to catch the ball,

Chwak―

“Safe-.”

The second base umpire indifferently equated both arms with the shoulder line, ensuring Park Haejin’s safety.

“What’s with that guy.”

Batting average, home runs, runs batted in (RBIs), stolen bases, and on-base percentage, the five stats that represent baseball.

I already knew that Park Haejin was a fraudulent character who had maxed out all five of these stats.

Guaranteed power to the point where people are interested in whether he’ll hit 60 home runs this season.

Outstanding accuracy to the point where he’s practically confirmed to be the league’s batting king with a .351 average.

He doesn’t run to avoid overdoing it, but if he wanted to, he could easily steal 40 bases.

Defense that receives all kinds of crazy balls flying from the infield, even though defensive stats don’t seem important for a first baseman.

Similarly, he’s stuck at first base, but he can throw up to 145km accurately.

But besides those obvious things.

“…That’s how you should play baseball.”

Something cool, or in a more sophisticated expression, something stylish.

When you see Park Haejin playing baseball, you get that kind of feeling.

Ttak―

It’s like that now too.

“What is he….”

In the bottom of the 6th inning, after Lee Yongho struck out, Park Haejin, who came to the plate, forcibly pushed a mis-hit ball,

Tung―

And eventually hit the fence.

While the relay was slightly delayed due to the outfielders misjudging the reflection angle of the ball,

Waaaaaah-!

Park Haejin! Park Haejin! Park Haejin!

Unlike the double in the previous at-bat, he stepped on third base with plenty of time to spare.

A triple?

“Hey, don’t tell me that bastard….”

In his first at-bat, I thought it was just one of the common scenes.

In his second at-bat, I thought he was just good at hitting without much thought.

Seeing his triple in the third at-bat, I thought something was seriously wrong.

A cycle hit [hitting a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game].

Again?

After hitting a cycle yesterday, today Park Haejin has created a recipe to make ‘another’ cycle hit.

“Hanwool.”

“Ah, yes?”

The pitching coach came up to me after the bottom of the 6th inning ended with the 7th batter striking out,

“Let’s get ready for the 8th.”

He asked me to pitch in the 8th inning.

“Uh….”

“Why? Do you just want to rest today?”

“No, it’s not that….”

Can he really see the future?

“Then please.”

“Yes….”

Since the bottom of the 6th inning ended with the 7th batter, the bottom of the 7th inning starts with the 8th batter. Assuming the three batters, 8, 9, and 1, will definitely get on base, if the inning ends around the 2nd and 3rd batters,

“…Eh.”

I’ll really meet Park Haejin in the 8th inning.

“Hey, Gunyoung.”

“Yes! Are you preparing!”

“Uh, please do me a favor.”

“Yes!”

I don’t like the situation that’s unfolding as Park Haejin said, but there’s nothing I can do.

Just,

The scene where Wonha adds a point in the top of the 7th inning, increasing the lead to two points.

The scene where Seungjin strikes out all three batters in the bottom of the 7th inning, solidifying the lead.

The scene where our batters end the inning with three strikeouts, just like Sangsoo did in the top of the 8th inning.

All I could do was watch the flow of the game from the bullpen.

Is this really a garbage game [a game with little importance]?

Is this really a game between two teams that have accepted the standings that won’t change no matter what they do in the future? In such a fierce flow, the bullpen door opened.

I wish I had pitched yesterday with my entrance music. Or it would have been nice if today was our team’s home game.

The path to the mound felt somewhat bland,

You love it is your world, calling is your heart!!”

Kim Hanwool! Kim Hanwool! Kim Hanwool!

Seeing the fans in the third base stands shouting my cheer, a sly smile spread across my face.

I glanced back and turned forward 90 degrees to check the scoreboard.

4 Kim Hanwool Right-handed pitcher/batter 188cm 107kg 1989-10-21

4 wins 0 losses 39 holds 9 saves

53 games 61 innings ERA 0.00 strikeouts 89 walks 8 WHIP 0.393

“…I did well this year.”

Just as I was confirming my stats for this season, which made me laugh in disbelief, I felt the gritty texture of the dirt on the mound.

Standing slightly behind the plate, I picked up the rosin [a sticky substance used by pitchers for grip] and tasted its powdery texture,

Pack―

I threw it down on the ground appropriately, took a step forward, and stepped on the plate.

The last game of the season.

Peong-!

“Ugh, nice!”

I plan to perfectly shut down today’s game and add a line to my name in the legend book,

Peong-!

“Nice, good!!”

Park Haejin was already waiting for his turn, fully equipped with batting gear, to make a big scar on my name.

Bang-!

Before the start of the inning, I checked all the pitches one by one.

The fastball was fine as always, and the other pitches were going in normally, but the curveball felt like it was slipping out of my hand a bit.

“Should I take out the curveball….”

As I was questioning my own sense of touch, the end of the practice pitches was approaching.

It’s true that people,

Bang―

Are obsessed with what doesn’t work.

“Ah, got it.”

2nd batter, Kang!! Dae!! Hyun!!

Oh my, a sucker has arrived.

The announcer’s voice, which I heard while reorganizing the pine tar [another sticky substance used for grip] that flowed out of the ball, made me smile involuntarily.

I don’t know what he took this smile to mean,

“Play!”

But Kang Daehyun himself knows it best.

“Ugh!”

Ah, I feel like I can do a little more.

Ttak-!

Really, if I could just do a little more, I feel like I could hit it.

“Foul!”

Why can’t I do it?

After hitting a foul on the sinker that curled from the center to the body, Kang Daehyun immediately stepped out of the batter’s box, not understanding why.

It seems like a legitimate trick to buy time to think, but,

“…Will that work.”

Following the umpire’s urging to quickly end the game and go home, Kang Daehyun reluctantly returned to the plate with an uncomfortable expression.

Trait ‘Uncomfortable’, definitely.

I glanced at Kang Daehyun’s posture, picking out the next sign one by one.

His face is full of discomfort, and his twitching posture seems to feel the pain of being strangled.

“Hmm….”

I think it would be better to let him hit here. A swing and a miss or a looking strike are the worst, and it’s okay to get a hit. An outfield fly would be the best.

Why, you know how it is. There are times when you feel frustrated and suffocated, and you think it would be better for both of us if I just stepped aside.

Of course, that range of ‘both of us’ doesn’t include me or the Wonha Challengers. It only includes Kang Daehyun himself and the Sangsoo Tigers team.

“Hmm…would Hooni’s side be better.”

If everything ends with today’s game, there’s no need to worry about this.

However, there is a very high probability that I will meet Kang Daehyun again in the Korean Series [championship series].

Therefore, wouldn’t it be more efficient to get a bigger out count in the Korean Series than to strike out and end the game in this garbage game today?

Then, in which direction should I let him hit to help Kang Daehyun regain his confidence?

I guess…….

Ttaak-!

Even if he gets out, the direction where he can feel that he has created a well-hit ball by pulling it properly,

“Left field!”

“Back! A little further back!!”

A slightly deep fly to the left fielder would be good.

The fastball that was stuck in the upper part of the body, slightly diagonally from the center, seemed like a mistake at first glance, but that was the point from the beginning.

What if he hits a home run?

Eh,

Pakk―

“Out-.”

He can’t hit it.

There’s no way a perfectly trained batter can connect a 158km fastball to a home run.

Nevertheless, the batter himself feels ‘disappointed’. Watching the well-hit and well-extended ball, he will probably be trapped in that fantasy for a while.

All I have to do is create that fantasy now.

Kang Daehyun will probably dig into that fantasy on his own, and the fantasy that has sprouted once will gradually eat him up,

“I’ll get one count for free.”

If I meet Kang Daehyun again in the Korean Series, this mercy will probably return as a great favor.

3rd batter, Lee!! Yong!! Ho!!

Ah, but you can’t.

As soon as I heard the call for the next batter, my face contorted. At this point, I suspect it’s almost an automatic reflex.

“Hoo….”

In fact, it’s been almost 15 years since that old incident, and it’s true that my animosity towards Lee Yongho has faded a lot, as it’s good to be a good person.

Behind that is a sense of superiority similar to ‘I’m much better than you’, but what can I do if it’s a fact.

“Gasp!”

Boom―

“Swing-!”

Look at him decorating the opening with a clumsy swing on a splitter that dropped to ankle height from the first pitch.

See, I’m right.

But no matter how much the animosity has faded, it’s also true that other emotions are more clearly contrasted thanks to it.

What kind of emotions are those,

“Ugh!”

Peong-!

“Strike, two!”

I don’t know about other people, but I’m going to destroy you. Even if I can’t physically destroy you, I’m going to absolutely destroy you as a baseball player against a baseball player.

“Kkeuak!”

Boom-!

“Swing, out-!”

Because that’s revenge. Nod.

I took my eyes off Park Haejin, who was passing by Lee Yongho as he returned to the dugout, and watched the infielders rounding up.

4th batter, Park!! Hae!! Jin!!

Waaaaaah-!!

However, the voice of the announcer who magnificently calls out his voice, or the voices of the Sangsoo Tigers fans who fervently follow him, were obstacles that distracted my concentration.

In fact, the people who know about the story that Park Haejin and I shared before the game yesterday and before the game today can be said to be just the two of us.

The conversations that baseball fans or people interested in baseball know are just that he will hit a home run in the 8th inning today to achieve his 60th home run.

I don’t know if the people who heard that interview thought of the pitcher ‘Kim Hanwool’ when they heard the word ‘8th inning’…

But one thing, only one thing, I can say for sure.

“Are you laughing?”

If you don’t do well, you’re going to shit blood?