Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 128

The sun is setting beyond the outskirts of Progressive Field.

Whether I see it in Korea or in the United States, it’s still the same sun and the same sunset.

Nothing different.

However, the sunset seen from this stadium, filled with memories of my past, gave me a special feeling.

“Han Su-hyeok! Han Su-hyeok! Han Su-hyeok!”

“Su-hyeok! Please! Please!”

“Oppa! Su-hyeok oppa!”

Among the shouts of tens of thousands of spectators, Min Ye-rin’s voice especially pierced my ears.

I turned my gaze here and there, trying to find her, but failed.

There are so many people. How long has it been since I threw a ball in front of so many spectators?

I turned my gaze to our team’s dugout.

My teammates were looking at me with expressions as if they were praying.

What am I? I’m just a baseball player who throws and hits well.

But to the Korean team’s fans, teammates, and the countless people watching the broadcast, I was becoming a special existence.

It’s a feeling I’ve never felt in my previous life. It’s a completely different feeling from when I was reluctantly pushed to participate at Seong-hoon hyung’s earnest request.

I made a decision in that moment.

Today, as long as I stand on this field, there will be no defeat for the Korean team.

“Play!”

Fourth batter Lucas Anderson, I know him well.

In my memory, he’s the franchise star representing the Yankees, but now he’s a washed-up player who couldn’t overcome the passage of time. He’s glaring at me with a fresh, 30-year-old body.

Precision and power, eye for the ball, endurance, and even speed.

He is truly a player representing America, possessing all the abilities a batter needs.

I don’t care.

The current me is not the pitcher from before who was suffering from a shoulder injury.

Maybe it’s an over-pace to go all out from the first inning.

But the limit on the number of pitches in the WBC [World Baseball Classic] Final Round is only 95.

I plan to put all my strength into all 95 of those pitches.

Am I not worried about injuries?

Well, Jacob, the trainer I trust most in the world, who checked me last before today’s game, said this:

‘Damn, what the hell is this body….’

‘Hehe, why? Do you want to find flaws but can’t?’

‘You son of a bitch, just don’t do crazy things. As long as you don’t do crazy things like catching a batted ball with your palm, you can do whatever you want on the mound.’

He proved that it’s a body that won’t collapse with at least 100 pitches.

If he didn’t have that much confidence, he would have tied me up somewhere to keep me from going on the mound.

When I think about it, I owe him a great debt.

Of course, it’s not just Jacob alone.

Seong-hoon hyung [older brother/friend], who is always my pillar, Park Jae-cheol, the reliable middle manager, the team’s seniors who now feel like real brothers, and the two classmates who become my punching bags when I’m feeling down.

And a suspicious neighbor who appears like a ghost when I need something.

Thinking of those people, I gather all my strength once again.

The most powerful ball I can throw at this point, even if it’s not perfect.

That ball flew towards Lucas, the fourth batter of the American team.

Whoosh

Pa-pow!

“Strike!”

* * *

‘Hehehe, this is really fun. The world is wide after all.’

Lucas Anderson, the captain who has supported the giant ship called the Yankees for the past 10 years and is also the captain of the American team, exclaimed inwardly.

A 104-mile fastball swept past his knee and was sucked into the zone.

One thing was certain.

That ball was one of the most powerful balls he had ever seen in his career.

The really interesting thing is that the pitcher who threw that ball is just a rookie in his first year, and a player who plays in the KBO League [Korean Baseball Organization], which is far below the Big League level.

If a guy like that is playing, his team must be running away with first place, right?

Lucas, who wished the remaining KBO team batters good luck in facing such an absurd monster, adjusted his bat grip.

Four-seam, two-seam, cut fastball, changeup, and two speeds of curve.

In the meantime, he can throw a wide variety of pitches. Even all of those balls are powerful.

In a normal situation, guessing is impossible for a pitcher. It’s really stupid to aim for only one of the five or more pitches.

But Lucas knows.

That a monster who throws such ridiculous balls, a rookie who has absolute confidence in his balls, has no choice but to pitch with a focus on the four-seam.

He must be dying to throw a four-seam with a top speed of 105 miles.

That’s why he’s aiming for it.

The 104, no, 105-mile four-seam that Han Su-hyeok will throw.

He grips the bat very slightly shorter, moves the hitting point forward, and a little faster than usual.

Okay. This should allow him to respond to the guy’s ridiculous fastball.

As Lucas finished his preparations, Han Su-hyeok’s second pitch came flying.

Whoosh

Boom

“Strike!”

“…….”

This time he was wrong. He was completely robbed of his timing by a 58-mile slow curve that was slower than before.

What great guts. To be able to throw such a slow ball in this situation.

‘Hehehe.’

It’s getting more and more fun.

For Lucas, who has dedicated his life to baseball and has always been called the best in the world during that time, the match against Han Su-hyeok reawakened the fun of baseball.

This time it’s certain.

Fast ball, then slow ball, so this time the deciding pitch will come right away.

Looking at the guy’s eyes now, he can’t even imagine running away from this.

He will throw the best ball he can throw.

‘Okay, let’s go, kid.’

But Lucas didn’t know.

The real essence inside that kid.

That inside him is a veteran of 15 years in the Big League.

Whoosh

“Kaaaah!”

As Lucas expected, a fast ball came flying towards the center of the zone.

Lucas let out a shout and started swinging vigorously at the ball.

But.

Boom.

“Swing! Out!”

He couldn’t even imagine that the ball, which was flying like a four-seam, would suddenly break out of the zone.

Ryan, who struck out, stared at the scoreboard with a blank look.

There, the number 97 miles was clearly marked.

The ball just now was not a four-seam, but a 97-mile high-speed slider.

* * *

“Now I remember. Who that guy is.”

“Damn it, what nonsense are you talking about? You didn’t even know where the country of Korea was.”

“No, that face and physique… I’m sure I saw a video of that guy throwing a punch?”

“Are you drunk again? This isn’t a fighting arena, it’s a baseball stadium. Damn it, you sons of bitches! If you’re going to keep striking out like that, I’d rather put my dog at the plate!”

As all four of the players representing their country were struck out, complaints and curses began to pour out from various parts of the American audience.

What they wanted, having paid ticket prices ranging from at least hundreds of dollars to more than a thousand dollars, was an overwhelming victory for the American team.

It was a bit surprising that the Korean team came up as the final opponent, but they paid a lot of money to see the sight of completely overwhelming whoever the opponent was with force.

But the game started to go a little strangely.

In the top of the first inning, a pitcher named Han Su-hyeok from the Korean national team struck out all of the American team’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd batters.

It was a bit unexpected, but they could let it go for now. In the bottom of the first inning, Ryan Thibeault, one of America’s best pitchers, also struck out the Korean batters with three up, three down.

And then the American attack returned.

They thought it was time to slowly show the real power of America. Especially since Lucas Anderson, the captain of the Yankees and a player symbolizing America, was at the plate.

But that was just the imagination of the American fans.

That’s when America’s nightmare began.

Following the 4th batter Lucas, even the 5th batter was struck out. If Patrick Mason, who came out as the 6th batter, hadn’t touched Han Su-hyeok’s cut fastball, he would have been struck out for six consecutive strikeouts.

The American attack ended so futilely in the top of the 2nd inning.

Ryan Thibeault, the American starter who felt that today’s game was unusual, began to throw the ball with all his might.

The American cheering section erupted in applause the moment he struck out the Korean 4th batter in the bottom of the 2nd inning.

The American spectators, who had previously looked down on Korea, finally began to recognize their opponent as an enemy.

And then Han Su-hyeok stepped up to the plate.

The starting pitcher and 5th batter for the Korean team.

A pitching and hitting match between the two pitchers who had perfectly blocked their opponents’ batters until the 2nd inning.

Tta-ak!

And Han Su-hyeok won that match.

Han Su-hyeok, who perfectly hit Lucas’s 100-mile four-seam, advanced to first base.

The pitcher’s face was distorted. It was reminiscent of the face of a wounded beast.

Fortunately, the Korean national team’s attack did not continue any further. The inning ended as Kang Woo-chan, the 6th batter, hit a double play.

Ryan’s forehead was dripping with cold sweat as he looked down on his opponent by one or two levels.

In the ensuing 3rd and 4th innings, both teams failed to score.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, Korea’s leadoff Lee Chan-ho got a walk, but the ensuing three batters were all struck out and grounded out, nullifying the attack.

Han Su-hyeok, the 5th batter who was on deck, looked at Ryan with a bitter smile as if he was disappointed.

The best pitcher in America felt a sense of fear as if his heart was dropping at that insignificant gaze.

“Swing! Out!”

“Wow! Another strikeout! Isn’t this crazy? How many is that, anyway?”

In the top of the 5th inning, Han Su-hyeok easily ended the inning by striking out two of the three batters on the American team again.

Until then, none of the American batters had stepped on first base. And the number of strikeouts recorded by Han Su-hyeok reached a whopping 10.

Perfect pitching that was more than overwhelming, literally putting the opponent in fear.

The American dugout, which had been slightly loose and noisy to the point of resembling an All-Star game, fell into silence.

Curses began to pour out from various parts of the audience, and a few impatient spectators were jumping around as if they were about to jump onto the ground right away.

“Ryan, don’t be conscious of your opponent. Just do what you can do.”

“Damn it, I know. I know.”

Ryan Thibeault frowned and answered roughly to the catcher’s words.

He knows, he knows. And he admits it.

That Korean team’s pitcher is the best enemy he has ever met.

A team that is one level below? Was this final going to be a waste of time?

He wants to grab the guy who said that and tear his mouth apart.

Yes, as that guy said, the overall level of the Korean team was clearly one level below that of the United States.

But what about that guy? Didn’t they consider that there was such a monster?

He can only resent the idiots on the power analysis team who didn’t notice that such an existence existed in the first place, or who knowingly tried to downplay and ignore it, and the American media who unconditionally promoted their own team.

Ryan barely overcame the rising irritation and went to the mound to pitch in the bottom of the 5th inning.

And he appeared again.

The pitcher who made him feel defeated for the first time is now holding a bat and stepping up to the plate.

Boom

His mind becomes dizzy with one light swing.

The guy’s physique, which is almost similar to his, looks so huge.

It feels like facing a giant in mythology.

‘Holy shit…….’

Ryan’s head began to fill with negative thoughts.