A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 113

31. Just One More Game (2)

A few days later.

Almost midnight.

Jisub was hailing a taxi in front of the KH Cannons field.

“Please go to Cheonhwa-dong.”

“Yes, sir.”

The taxi started with a ‘Vroom.’

However, Jisub couldn’t relax.

Almost as soon as the taxi started to speed up, his phone started ringing.

“Yes, Manager! The coach left work a little while ago. Yes, he said he’ll be in early tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, Reporter! What’s going on? Ah… Yes, Jangho is fine. It’s just a minor bruise, so he should be able to play in Game 5.”

“Yes, this is Kim Jisub.”

“Ah, yes, yes…”

The calls came in like a tidal wave.

After dealing with all the work calls, Jisub couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

‘Postseason… It’s exhausting.’

A bitter smile appeared on Jisub’s face.

He remembered what Coach Do Jincheol had said to him a few days ago.

‘The postseason is fun, isn’t it?’

‘The players grow so much.’

‘I’d play another game right now if I could.’

The KH Cannons pitching coach said with a faint smile.

‘It feels like walking on thin ice every day… What fun are you talking about?’

I need to win the regular season next year, no matter what.

If we only have to play seven games in the Korean Series, I can manage.

Jisub was shivering at the thought.

“…Hmm?”

It was at that moment that Jisub noticed something strange.

“Excuse me… driver?”

Jisub called the taxi driver.

“Yes?”

“Is the meter broken? It doesn’t seem to be going up.”

It would be a big problem if the fare wasn’t going up.

No, it wasn’t a big problem, but rather a hassle.

Jisub was a little embarrassed because he didn’t want to argue with the taxi driver about the fare.

But then.

The taxi driver, who had stopped at a red light, turned to Jisub with a smile.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.”

A very kind voice.

“I won’t charge you today.”

“Yes? No, why…”

“Sir, you work for the baseball team, right? The KH Cannons. I overheard you on the phone…”

The taxi driver pointed to the keychain hanging from the rearview mirror.

Looking closely, it was a keychain with the KH Cannons logo on it.

Then the conclusion is clear.

“I’ve been a Cannons fan for 20 years.”

“Ah…”

“The last few years have been frustrating… But these days, baseball makes my life worth living! Every day is so much fun!”

Ha ha ha ha.

The taxi driver laughed loudly and put the car in gear.

“Take today’s game, for example! Everyone said the series would end today, right? Because the UB Guardians won the first two games…”

“…”

“But you guys pulled off a come-from-behind win in the bottom of the ninth! Haha, I was so happy that I drove to the stadium on purpose! I was going to give a free ride to any player who was leaving work.”

And then Jisub, a member of the baseball team staff, got into his taxi.

That seemed to be why the taxi driver had been driving without turning on the meter.

“I’ll take you home comfortably today. For free, of course!”

Instead…

The taxi driver continued.

“Please put in a little more effort.”

“…”

“The series is tied at 2-2… If you win just one more game the day after tomorrow, you’ll be in the Korean Series!”

Advancing to the Korean Series.

The ‘dream stage’ that the KH Cannons had never reached since its founding.

“I’ve already prepared everything! I’ve got uniforms for all my family members, and I’m ready to buy tickets…”

The taxi driver continued, looking happy, as if just imagining it made him feel good.

Jisub appreciated the sentiment, but he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

If this taxi driver was a big fan of the Cannons and had been watching the playoff games without missing a single one.

There was one thing he would definitely ask Jisub, who was a member of the baseball team staff.

“But…”

Sure enough.

Jisub’s prediction was once again correct.

“Is Ryu Jangho okay?”

The taxi driver smacked his lips.

“He seems to be completely tied up by that guy from the Guardians, Ma Gangsik or Mabangjin.”

* * *

The taxi driver was right.

Ryu Jangho, the KH Cannons’ best hitter.

He had shown great hitting in the semi-playoffs, but he had not been able to perform well in the four playoff games.

-Ah, it’s a walk. A walk! Ryu Jangho gets on base with a walk!

Looking back at the four games in the series, he was actually not bad at the beginning of each game.

He didn’t get a clear hit, but he got a walk and a ground ball.

However, in the middle and late innings, when the cleanup hitter’s home run was needed, he remained silent.

And the person who turned Ryu Jangho away at that crucial moment was UB Guardians’ left-handed bullpen pitcher, Ma Gangsik.

-Strikeout, strikeout! Ma Gangsik strikes out Ryu Jangho in a bases-loaded situation with two outs!

-This hit is right at the shortstop! The shortstop catches it and throws it to the second baseman! The second baseman throws it back to the first baseman… double play!

-Ah, this hit is going high into the infield! The third baseman… catches it! Ma Gangsik continues to maintain his advantage over Ryu Jangho!!

Four at-bats in four games, with no hits and two strikeouts.

As the Wiki site said, he was ‘Ryu Jangho’s nemesis’.

The KH Cannons coaching staff’s analysis of this was as follows.

“It’s Ryu Jangho’s personality problem.”

That’s what the hitting coach said.

“You all know what he’s like. Jangho… once he gets fixated on someone, he doesn’t see anything else.”

It seemed that he was now fixated on the match against his ‘nemesis’ Ma Gangsik.

“Ma Gangsik? He’s a good pitcher. His speed is in the high 140s [kilometers per hour], and his pitching form is unique, so he’s good at deceiving opposing hitters.”

In other words, he has great ‘deception’, the ability to hide the ball.

Because he throws the ball with a unique pitching form, the ball appears later to the hitter than it does to a normal pitcher.

“But Ma Gangsik only has one changeup, a slider. He’s a two-pitch pitcher who only throws a fastball and a slider.”

What does this mean?

“If our Jangho just focuses on contact… he’s more than capable of hitting him.”

“I think so too.”

Go Changdeok of the power analysis team agreed with the hitting coach.

“If you look at the video now… Ryu Jangho is swinging bigger in the game against Ma Gangsik.”

Click, click.

When Go Changdeok clicked the mouse, Ryu Jangho’s swing trajectory began to be displayed in fluorescent color on the wall of the conference room.

“His swing trajectory is larger than usual. It’s getting even bigger as the game goes on. I think it’s because there’s been a lot of talk about the game against Ma Gangsik…”

It seemed that Ryu Jangho, who has a strong sense of pride, was reacting to it.

“So, is this the situation?”

The head coach took off his hat and scratched his head.

“A short hit isn’t enough. He has to hit a big one to wash away the humiliation… Is Ryu Jangho thinking that right now?”

“Yes, based on the data collected from the swing trajectory… that’s right.”

At Go Changdeok’s words, the Cannons’ coaching staff grabbed their heads as if they had made a promise.

“Damn it, what are we going to do with this baseball maniac?”

“The postseason is in full swing, but Jangho is just sitting there drawing a shonen manga [Japanese comics targeted towards young boys].”

“Well, he’s still a young player, so what can we do? I think it’s better than being crushed by the pressure of the postseason.”

The cleanup hitter is only focused on the game against the opposing pitcher, even though the Korean Series berth is at stake.

While the coaching staff was saying one thing or another, Freeman, who had been quietly listening to Jisub’s translation, opened his mouth.

“So, what’s the plan?”

When Jisub conveyed the coach’s words, the hitting coach hesitated and opened his mouth.

“I don’t think there’s any other way. We just have to keep persuading him.”

Swing with a focus on contact.

Even a short hit against Ma Gangsik is enough.

It was advice that he had been giving throughout the series, but now there seemed to be no other way than to repeat that advice.

“It would be best to change Ryu Jangho’s mind, but if that doesn’t work out…”

Sigh.

The hitting coach continued, looking around.

“If Ma Gangsik comes up to the plate again in Jangho’s at-bat in Game 5 tomorrow… then I think you should consider using a pinch hitter.”

* * *

The final persuasion of Ryu Jangho.

That role was given to Jisub and Go Changdeok.

The judgment was that it would be better to entrust it to the people who were closest to Ryu Jangho than to have the hitting coach come forward.

And Jisub and Go Changdeok also had a track record of helping Ryu Jangho overcome his slump during the spring camp.

“Jangho, this is what I think.”

The ‘persuasion’ began at the KH Cannons field’s indoor training facility.

Go Changdeok took out the tablet PC that he carried around like a part of himself and began to explain to Ryu Jangho.

“It’s true that you lost to Ma Gangsik until last season. Well, the head-to-head record shows that.”

Swipe, swipe.

Go Changdeok flipped through the tablet PC screen.

“But look at this data! While Ma Gangsik was out for a season with an injury… you’ve stepped up your game! You’ve become the hitter with the best ball speed in Korean professional baseball!”

“…”

“Anyone can see that you’re better, so why do you have to be so obsessed with the game against Ma Gangsik? In tomorrow’s game, just swing lightly with a focus on contact…”

In fact, until this point, Jisub had believed what people were saying.

Ryu Jangho is a baseball idiot.

He’s a proud guy.

He’s losing in the head-to-head record against Ma Gangsik, so he’s trying to show off a big one this time.

Jisub had seen Ryu Jangho as that kind of character, so he didn’t bother to argue with what people were saying, but-

“…”

Ryu Jangho was listening to Go Changdeok’s story with a nonchalant expression.

At that very moment, as he ‘closely’ looked into his eyes, Jisub began to think that what people were saying might be wrong.

[What is this hyung [older brother or close male friend] talking about?]

[The game against Ma Gangsik? Is the game against Ma Gangsik important now?]

Ryu Jangho blinked.

[It’s the postseason.]