Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 113

#112. Korea-Japan Game

[Han Su-hyeok’s Great Performance with 4 RBIs, Korean Baseball Team Defeats Australia and Achieves 2 Wins in Round 1]

[4 to 0, Korean Team Erases the Humiliation of Last 2023 Tournament with a Perfect Victory]

[Two Home Runs, One Double, and Intentional Walk, Perfect Day for Batter Han Su-hyeok]

[Lim Jun-yeong, Aiming to Advance to the US After This Season, Skyrockets His Value with 6 Innings of Shutout Pitching]

[New York Yankees Scout Who Watched the Game, “A Pitcher as Good as Ryu Han-gyeol”]

[Big League Scouts Seeing Han Su-hyeok for the First Time, “Why is a Player Like That in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization]?”]

[Han Su-hyeok’s Warriors Joining Story Re-examined, “My Only Wish is Warriors’ Championship”]

[Korean Team with 2 Wins, The Problem is the Absence of Key Relief Pitchers Blocked from Appearing in the Japan Game Due to Pitch Count Limits]

“Oppa……”

“I heard you got dragged out during yesterday’s game.”

“Yes… I’m so upset I could die. I couldn’t even see Oppa’s second home run. Huhu.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t keep climbing on things like safety nets. Why would you do that……”

“When I get excited, I do it without even realizing it……”

With the victory against Australia, the Korean team has virtually secured their advancement to the second round.

Currently, Korea has 2 wins, Australia has 1 win and 1 loss, Taiwan has 2 losses, Japan has 1 win, and China has 1 loss.

Considering the remaining game schedule, Taiwan and China are virtually eliminated. In Taiwan, which was confident of advancing to the second round, there seems to be enormous criticism of the national team.

Well, that’s none of my business. Now Korea has only two games left: the Japan game tonight and the Taiwan game the next day.

To think calmly, it would be wise to conserve energy in the Japan game and focus all our efforts on the last Taiwan game, but……

“Oppa, then I’ll go! I’ll never get kicked out today and cheer until the end! We can’t lose to those Japanese bastards!”

“Yeah, okay. Be careful going in.”

As you can see from Min Ye-rin’s reaction, who came to see me this morning, it is impossible to do anything half-heartedly when facing Japan. It’s just not an option.

Of course, it’s obvious that today is also an all-out war.

However, there were some problems.

Park Do-yul of the Suwon Commanders and Lee Ha-young of the Seoul Magicians, the most reliable closing pitchers selected for this Korean national team, are unavailable today.

This is because the two pitchers each threw more than 30 pitches to close out yesterday’s tight 4-0 game.

According to the tournament rules, they are required to rest today.

Even if starter Ryu Han-gyeol pitches well for 5 innings, there’s no guarantee how the game will unfold in the remaining 4 innings.

Perhaps that’s why the Japanese team, which has much greater pitching depth than our team, was confident of winning today’s game.

[Director Hoshino, “The Korean team is heavily dependent on specific players. They are no match for Samurai Japan [Japanese National Baseball Team].”]

[Japan’s Starting Pitcher Tanaka Yamato, “Han Su-hyeok? I face that kind of hitter every day in the big leagues”]

[Samurai Japan’s Star Hitter Eto Iori, “I can hit an out-of-the-park home run whenever I want to”]

[Big League Experts Predict Japan’s Victory with 8 to 2]

└Honestly, it’s a bit frustrating, but their predictions make sense.

└What sense does it make?

└It seems like a mistake that Park Do-yul and Lee Ha-young threw more than 30 pitches yesterday. Who are we going to use today?

└Can’t Gu Cheol-jung go back to closing?

└The pitcher who started on the first day? He can’t pitch anymore in the first round because of the rules.

└Wow… WBC [World Baseball Classic] pitch count limits are really strict. Then who can we put in today?

└First, Ryu Han-gyeol starts… Kim Yong-jae or Yang Ji-ho?

└What about Choi Kyung-jae?

└He’s starting tomorrow’s game against Taiwan. If we use him today and lose the Japan game, the schedule will be completely messed up.

└Kim Yong-jae, Yang Ji-ho… ha, they’ve both been terrible this year. And they’re not good against Japanese hitters either.

└Honestly, our pitchers are all terrible against Japanese hitters who throw 155, 160 kph [kilometers per hour].

└The more I think about it, the more frustrating it is. What were we doing while they were increasing their speed so much?

* * *

“Han-gyeol, how’s your condition today? Can I trust you?”

“Yes, Coach. I’ll try to pitch as long as possible while minimizing my pitch count.”

He’s a smart pitcher. Seeing Ryu Han-gyeol, who understands what he needs to do today without being told, Director Jung Yun-seok smiled softly.

Having won both the China and Australia games, they’ve cleared an important hurdle.

But the Japan game was scheduled for the third game, making the situation difficult.

Having put all their effort into the Australia game, their resources were stretched thin.

As a manager, if I were to judge objectively, it would be wise to conserve energy in today’s Japan game.

The last opponent, Taiwan, is almost certain to be eliminated in the preliminary round, so they are unlikely to be a strong opponent for Korea in terms of skill or motivation.

But all of this is just Jung Yun-seok’s personal opinion.

Playing half-heartedly in the Korea-Japan game? Public sentiment would never allow it.

Not only baseball fans, but even ordinary people who have no interest in baseball will gather in front of the TV today and cheer for Korea.

In this situation, pull out the starting players and prepare for the next game?

No matter how much you’re criticized, you can still live a long life, but Director Jung Yun-seok didn’t want to live that long.

In the end, he had no choice but to field the best lineup in today’s game as well.

The five teams take turns having a day off, and the four-game series is in progress. Korea, which is assigned a day off on the very last day, can enjoy a sweet two-day break if they finish the Taiwan game successfully.

In fact, the conclusion is very clear.

If we beat Japan, everything will be fine.

“Coach, I’m all ready.”

“Hmm, okay.”

Director Jung Yun-seok decided to place his last hope on the last card that he had saved and never revealed to anyone.

* * *

– Hello, everyone who is cheering for the Korean baseball team. This is New York City Field, where the WBC Round 1 preliminary game between Korea and Japan, Japan and Korea, will be held. Commissioner Go Dong-sik is with me.

– Hello, this is Go Dong-sik. It’s a really tense moment. To be honest, when I first started commentating, I never imagined that I would come to New York and broadcast the Korea-Japan game.

– Is that so?

– Yes, I was just doing a small personal broadcast, but I was given such an important position……

– Ahem, Commissioner.

– Ah, I’m sorry. Anyway, I’ve come all the way to America at great expense and sat in this position, so I’ll do my best to deliver the best commentary, even if I have to pour my heart and soul into it. Thank you again.

– Yes, let’s take a look at the Korean national team’s lineup. From 1st batter Lee Chan-ho to 9th batter Kim Se-jun, the batting order is exactly the same as the last two games.

– That’s right. Considering the current batting condition within the national team, the coaching staff seems to have judged that this is the best lineup.

– Ryu Han-gyeol from Daejeon will be the starting pitcher. It’s a bit unexpected, but this is Ryu Han-gyeol’s second career start in a game against Japan. Once in his debut season, and this is the second time.

– Yes, Ryu Han-gyeol’s pitching style is more effective against American or Taiwanese hitters than Japanese hitters. Previously, Gu Cheol-jung mainly started in the Japan game.

– Anyway, Ryu Han-gyeol is the ace of the Korean national team at this point. I hope he shows a good performance.

– Of course. Some people were saying that we should conserve energy in today’s Japan game and go all-in on tomorrow’s Taiwan game, but… Director Jung Yun-seok eliminated any possibility of controversy by putting Ryu Han-gyeol on the mound. All that’s left is victory. People, please trust the players and send your support until the end.

– Thank you. We will broadcast the game between Korea and Japan shortly. This is City Field.

* * *

To be honest, national competitions don’t particularly excite me.

It was nothing in my previous life, and to be honest, I still don’t feel much differently now.

But there is one exception.

[Korean Team Ace Han Su-hyeok Seen Through a Microscope, “A Hitter with Clear Weaknesses”]

[Too Big to Play as a Shortstop, Can Be Exploited by Concentrating on Low Balls]

[Japan Team’s Five Current Major Leaguers, “Han Su-hyeok Needs a Lot More Experience to Play in the Big Leagues”]

The Japanese media is constantly buzzing around and bothering me.

It was like that before.

Whether I’m doing both pitching and hitting because I admire Ohtani [Shohei Ohtani, a famous Japanese baseball player], or because the secret to becoming a Cy Young winner [award for best pitcher] is the splitter [type of baseball pitch] I learned from a Japanese pitcher.

I don’t know why they are so interested in players from other countries, but the Japanese media, who bother me 24 hours a day, have made me feel very resentful towards Japan itself.

Perhaps that’s why I feel like my fighting spirit is burning fiercely today.

“Su-hyeok, why do you look like that?”

“Hehe.”

“Um, I don’t know what it is, but you can’t beat people up. You know what I mean, right?”

Jung Dae-han, who will be wearing the starting catcher’s mask today, looked at me with a worried expression and walked past.

Does my expression look that bad?

I don’t know. My body feels so light that I can’t even describe it.

“Play!”

The game started with Japan’s first at-bat.

First batter Hamasaki Akinori, a shortstop representing Japan who recorded a .300 batting average and 20 stolen bases for the Cincinnati Reds last season.

Come to think of it, that guy also had a lot to say.

What did he say? Did he say that I’m still not good enough to play in the big leagues?

Hmm.

No matter how much you think and say, that’s your freedom, but……

When I was just starting to make a name for myself in the big leagues, that guy was at the peak of his career as a player.

Of course, since I wasn’t exclusively a shortstop, a direct comparison was impossible, but my name was sometimes mentioned alongside his because we were both Asian hitters.

Of course, in terms of skill, value, and everything else as a player, that guy didn’t even come close to my level.

I can’t help but get angry when that guy is so cocky and talking like that.

Above all, that guy strangely hated me. And it seems like he still hates me.

Maybe he really feels a sense of rivalry with me just because we’re both Asian and play the same shortstop position.

Well, to be honest, I don’t want to know anything about that kind of reason. I just have to destroy all the guys who show their teeth to me.

As I always say, the only people I will treat kindly are my teammates.

Swish

I looked around.

Lee Su-young, the first baseman, Lee Tae-woong, the second baseman, and Kim Se-jun, the third baseman, who will be guarding the infield with me today.

There are pros and cons, but it is definitely a top-class combination based on KBO standards in terms of defense alone.

But it’s a little different when facing Japan.

To face Japanese hitters who are far ahead of the KBO in terms of average ball speed, runner speed, and teamwork, you have to react much more quickly than usual.

But it is impossible for me to give instructions to team seniors here.

I can’t help it. I just have to do what I can do.

That guy, whose name I’m still confused about whether it’s Hamasaki Akinori or Akisaki Hamanori, likes to attempt surprise bunts on the first pitch, especially in important games like today’s game.

However, it is a bit difficult to play a close-in defense because he has considerable power for long hits compared to his physique.

Ryu Han-gyeol, who complained of mild gastritis symptoms just before taking the mound today, tried to maintain a calm expression and started his windup.

He, who is said to be the most mentally strong player among Korean pitchers of all time, seems to be suffering quite a bit from the weight of the Korea-Japan game and the pressure of being watched by big league scouts.

Swish

Finally, the first ball was released from Ryu Han-gyeol’s fingertips.

A sinker heading towards the lower part of the left-handed hitter’s body.

One of Ryu Han-gyeol’s main weapons that is difficult to hit, and even if you make contact, it is likely to be a ground ball.

Hamasaki lightly swung his bat at the ball.

Thud

“Uh, shortstop… no, third base!”

“Get out of the way!”

A surprise bunt that passes by the pitcher and rolls to an ambiguous spot between the third baseman and the shortstop.

As expected. People don’t change easily.

Jung Dae-han’s call was a bit ambiguous. Third baseman Kim Se-jun was slightly startled by the repeated call.

But it doesn’t matter. I was already expecting this situation.

Instead of the third baseman who had frozen in place, I jumped forward and grabbed the ball with my bare hands.

Maybe the Japanese guys’ analysis is correct. That analysis that I’m too big to be a shortstop.

The moment I pick up the ball, my body inevitably sways slightly. This is probably due to my high center of gravity because of my height.

But at that moment, the training I had been repeating endlessly paid off.

The movements I repeated countless times with Jacob to cope with the changes in balance that come from having a large body.

My lower body, which I can confidently say is more well-trained than any other player in the world, forcibly corrects my collapsing posture and moves forward powerfully.

One step, just taking one step after picking up the ball, and I regained my balance perfectly.

And a throw to first base.

“Out!”

A perfect out timing that doesn’t even need to be reviewed.

Hamasaki, who was out at first base, looked at me with a blank expression.

Ah, I feel a little relieved now.

Let’s shut them down ten more times.