Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 100

#99. Recapturing Second Place

Pow pow pow pow!

“Wooaaah!”

“Min Ye-rin! Min Ye-rin! Min Ye-rin!”

– For those of you just tuning in, let me assure you, this isn’t a music show; it’s a high-quality professional baseball channel. You are currently watching a special performance by singer Min Ye-rin to celebrate the Warriors’ three-game winning streak. Commentator? Uh, commentator?

– Ah, just a moment. What’s that drone over there?

– I have no idea. It’s my first time broadcasting a congratulatory performance after a baseball game.

The commentator, who isn’t usually in great shape, is half out of his mind, intoxicated by the Warriors’ three-game winning buzz and Min Ye-rin’s performance.

The announcer, suddenly struck by reality, began to reflect on why he was broadcasting a singer’s performance.

The three-game series between the second-place Suwon Commanders and the third-place Seoul Warriors at Jamsil Stadium had come to an end.

Suwon wanted to shake off the persistent third-place team and challenge for first place once again, while the Warriors aimed to sweep the second-place team and seize their spot.

In that fierce three-game series, the Warriors achieved a miraculous clean sweep.

The winning streak, which began with the second game against Changwon in the last week of June, had now reached eight games.

And the Warriors, ahead in win percentage without any game difference, surpassed Suwon to climb into second place.

So, to put it simply, the commotion currently unfolding on the Jamsil Stadium field was a special performance prepared by Min Ye-rin to celebrate the Warriors’ three-game winning streak and their ascent to second place.

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!”

Tossing strange interjections as she ran around the field after finishing her first song, Min Ye-rin was met with a roar of cheers from the crowd.

“Min Ye-rin! Min Ye-rin! Min Ye-rin!”

“No, everyone! You should be shouting the names of the Warriors players, not mine! Again!”

“Woooaaah! Han Su-hyeok! Cheon Sang-jin! Jo Seong-oh! Seo Hyeong-ju! An Chi-wook!”

“More! More! More names of other players!”

“Jang Deok-su! Lee Chang-mo! Choi Min-seok! Lee Man-sik! Yang Gi-cheol! Kim Du-yeong!”

“Good! Keep that energy up!”

“Woooaaah! Show us the safety net performance!”

“Safety net? Aha! Should I?”

Spurred on by the crowd, Min Ye-rin ran to the infield seats and skillfully climbed the safety net. Laser lights temporarily installed around the stadium’s perimeter shone on her.

Climbing the safety net under the colorful lights, she looked like a spider. Even the security guards, who would normally rush to stop her, were now watching the spectacle with amusement.

Speechless, the announcer stared blankly at the scene, the intense game scenes between the two teams over the past three days flashing through his mind.

* * *

In his opinion, the turning point of this three-game series was none other than the first game, Han Su-hyeok’s 32nd home run of the season in the midst of an 8-8 tie.

The tense atmosphere between the two teams was completely overturned by that one home run.

The Suwon pitchers were completely demoralized by the home run that flew directly and hit the pole, and eventually, the next batter, Jo Seong-oh, hit a back-to-back home run, ending the game with an 11-8 score.

And that momentum continued into the next day’s game.

The second game was a showdown between Suwon’s homegrown ace, Choi Gyeong-jae, and the Warriors’ ace, Ryan Stark.

Suwon’s nightmare began with Han Su-hyeok’s 33rd solo home run in the bottom of the first inning.

Choi Gyeong-jae, who had even cut his hair short with the determination not to be a pushover for Han Su-hyeok anymore, allowed consecutive home runs to Walter Smith and Jang Deok-su in the bottom of the fourth inning, eventually leaving the mound after 5 innings with 3 runs allowed.

On the other hand, Warriors’ starter Ryan Stark tied up the Suwon lineup, allowing only 1 run in 7 innings, and Kim Du-yeong in the 8th and Yang Gi-cheol in the 9th continued to pitch without allowing any more runs.

The Warriors won the second game 3-1.

And the third game, which had just ended, was a game of, by, and for Han Su-hyeok.

Warriors’ starter Brooks Parker was taken out after allowing 4 runs in 5 innings, and Hong Yeong-sik and Choi Jeong-su, who followed him, also gave up 2 runs each, resulting in another 8 runs allowed.

So, with Suwon leading 4-8 until the top of the 9th inning, Suwon’s setup man took the mound.

At that moment, when it seemed like the Warriors’ surge for second place was about to end.

Crack!

Kang Jin-seok’s home run, which no one had expected, exploded.

As the score difference narrowed to 3 points, Jamsil Stadium suddenly heated up.

Min Ye-rin, who had prepared a special performance to commemorate the team’s three-game winning streak and rise to second place, shouted for the Warriors’ comeback with a voice so loud that she didn’t even need a microphone.

And so it began. The Warriors’ great come-from-behind victory.

Choi Min-seok, the ninth batter, didn’t avoid the ball coming towards his body and was hit on the buttocks.

The Suwon bench protested, but it was not accepted, resulting in a runner on first with no outs.

Seo Hyeong-ju, who was at bat, glared at the pitcher with a serious look that he had never shown before.

A look that clearly aimed for something big.

Tap.

But Seo Hyeong-ju’s choice was a surprise bunt.

The first baseman flinched at Choi Min-seok’s start, creating a very slight gap. The brilliant bunt that flowed between the pitcher and the first baseman became a hit.

The game atmosphere, which seemed like it would end as it was when the bottom of the 9th inning began, was completely reversed.

Three points behind, no outs, runners on first and second.

And then An Chi-wook, the second batter, stepped up to the plate.

Perhaps it was a trick of fate. Han Su-hyeok, who had been batting second until yesterday, was placed third on this day, and An Chi-wook, who had been in the cleanup hitter position, moved up to second.

No outs, two runners on base, three points behind.

Neither Suwon nor the Warriors had a choice.

It was all-out offense. Bunting with a three-point difference was meaningless.

Suwon’s pitcher was replaced. A specialist who mainly faced left-handed batters took the mound and focused on attacking An Chi-wook’s body.

Three fielders were positioned between first and second base, where An Chi-wook’s batted balls mainly went. The first baseman, second baseman, and shortstop filled the space between first and second base without any gaps, and the third baseman abandoned the base and moved to the original shortstop position.

And the right fielder took a few steps forward, completely blocking the space where a hit could come out.

An extreme defensive shift.

“Wooo!”

“Is this baseball!”

“You cheapskates!”

Boos poured from the stands, but it didn’t mean much. In any case, the defensive shift itself was not against the rules.

The showdown began.

Against An Chi-wook, who was trying to push the ball to the opposite field, the Suwon pitcher continued to throw inside pitches. On the other hand, An Chi-wook countered by cutting off all ambiguous balls.

That tedious battle was finally over on the 11th pitch.

Crack!

The ball, which was not hit with full force, flew over the second baseman’s head at a speed that was neither fast nor slow.

The second baseman jumped with all his might, and the right fielder ran forward.

In a situation where it was difficult to judge the trajectory of the ball, the runners on first and second base couldn’t even start.

Thud.

But the ball miraculously passed slightly over the second baseman’s head and fell right in front of the right fielder.

At the same time, Choi Min-seok on second base and Seo Hyeong-ju on first base ran madly towards the next base, and the right fielder, realizing that it was impossible for the runners to enter home, gave up the home throw and threw the ball to the shortstop.

It could have been a timely hit, but the scoring failed due to the defensive shift.

Choi Min-seok on third base, Seo Hyeong-ju on second base, An Chi-wook on first base, the bases were loaded.

The Suwon bench immediately put Park Do-yul, the league’s top closer, on the mound.

And then he appeared at the plate.

Han Su-hyeok, the hottest hitter in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] right now, stepped up to the plate in a bases-loaded situation with no outs and a three-point deficit, 8-5.

“Ah…….”

“Shit…….”

A desperate sigh from the Suwon fans was heard from the away cheering section.

Han Su-hyeok, who was in the on-deck circle, slowly entered the batter’s box.

Watching him, the announcer unknowingly stopped breathing.

Han Su-hyeok’s entrance music, which he usually listened to without much thought, sounded like a funeral march foretelling the death of the opponent.

Dozens of players from both teams playing on the field, and over 20,000 spectators, were overwhelmed by the presence of Han Su-hyeok, that one player.

Whoosh.

Han Su-hyeok, who was at the plate, slowly swung his bat once and immediately took a batting stance.

The broadcast camera alternately captured the faces of Han Su-hyeok and Suwon’s closer, Park Do-yul.

The best closer, who played a decisive role in Suwon’s third-place finish last season, was sweating profusely and in agony.

On the other hand, Han Su-hyeok was staring at the pitcher with a face that showed no tension at all, as if he was enjoying this moment too much.

At that moment, commentator Go Dong-sik muttered to himself.

“Shit, if I were standing there, I would have already crapped my pants.”

He agreed. Meeting Han Su-hyeok with the bases loaded and no outs while tens of thousands of people were watching?

He wasn’t a baseball player himself, but just imagining it sent shivers down his spine.

“Play!”

The umpire urged the game to start.

But Park Do-yul couldn’t throw the ball easily.

Eventually, Suwon’s coach and catcher went up to the mound to encourage the pitcher.

The announcer couldn’t help but cheer for the pitcher in his heart.

Baseball isn’t everything in life, and it’s okay to get hit hard and get messed up sometimes.

And then it happened.

Craaaaaaaaaack!

The loudest hitting sound he had ever heard while broadcasting baseball.

The first pitch thrown by Park Do-yul disappeared somewhere with that hitting sound.

Even the cheers were not heard.

All the spectators were so busy tracking the ball with their eyes that they couldn’t even breathe, and Han Su-hyeok, who had finished his swing, stood there and admired the ball he had hit.

The ball, which had soared tremendously as if it would penetrate the clouds, slowly began to fall.

And then it disappeared.

It was literally that. Han Su-hyeok’s signature home run, his 34th of the season, which drew a tremendous trajectory, fell in a place where no one could catch it.

It was a home run out of the stadium.

There was a time when he secretly ridiculed what a man named Go Dong-sik had said.

That if Han Su-hyeok went straight to the major leagues, he would be at least a Rookie of the Year, and that he would receive worldwide attention after this WBC [World Baseball Classic].

No matter how great that rookie was, he thought it was a bit of an exaggeration.

But it wasn’t.

When he thought about it, it was really ridiculous.

Whenever the team needed him, whenever a decisive blow was needed, Han Su-hyeok never failed to meet those expectations.

‘Oh my god…….’

When you think about it, it’s really absurd.

Is that really the same guy who was a buzz-cut high school student until recently?

“Woooaaah!”

The announcer’s thoughts were broken by the sudden cheers of the crowd, and he returned to reality.

Min Ye-rin, who had been building up the atmosphere for a long time, was finally preparing to sing her second song.

Next to him, commentator Go Dong-sik was humming Min Ye-rin’s hit song with the expression of an excited child.

The announcer, after making sure the microphone was turned off, opened his mouth without realizing it.

“Commentator.”

“Ehehehe~ Yes? Are you calling me now?”

“Yes, I think I’ve been ignorant all this time. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm, ignorant… well, I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s okay. I’ll forgive everything, whatever it is. Let’s just put everything down and have fun today!”

Although his knowledge of baseball was inferior to that of Go Dong-sik, an expert, he had a broad understanding of the world gained from hosting the news.

From the announcer’s point of view, Han Su-hyeok was an existence that could destroy the entire ecosystem on his own.

An existence that should not be in the narrow arena called the KBO.

Where will the name of the Warriors, or rather, Han Su-hyeok, be placed at the end of this season?

Now, more than anything else, that was what he was most curious about.