Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 141

#140. Tanking General

Kang Dong-ha, a 10-year veteran right-handed pitcher who traded his Fighters uniform for a Warriors one during the last WBC [World Baseball Classic] break, thought,

‘This team is really unique.’

The Seoul Fighters, where he had played, was a team with a storied history, having experienced the highs and lows of Korean baseball.

Once, it was a wealthy club backed by one of Korea’s top conglomerates, but when the conglomerate’s owner was replaced by his son, who had no interest in baseball, the club was eventually disbanded.

The club’s history, which seemed to be over, was rekindled by the challenge of an investment expert, and the club was re-founded in the form of sponsor naming, which was unprecedented at the time.

Instead of having a parent company, the system of selling the club’s naming rights to receive sponsorships to pay players’ salaries and operate the season was introduced, and the full-fledged history of the Seoul Fighters began.

There were tearful days when other teams stayed in hotels while they spent the night in motels, and team dinners after games were held at kimchi stew restaurants. One day, a large foreign company acquired their management rights.

And everything changed. The treatment of players, the support for the team.

But such luxury did not last long.

The company relinquished its management rights again, and the Fighters’ finances returned to what they were before, solidifying their position as the poorest club in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] to this day.

‘Um, what are those guys?’

In such a history of ups and downs, Kang Dong-ha has been one of the pillars supporting the Seoul Fighters for the past 10 years.

Of course, the meaning of that pillar is a little different.

Generally, the pillar of a baseball team refers to the most skilled players, the center of the team, but in the Fighters, the meaning was used a little differently.

It’s often called tanking.

Teams that are deemed unlikely to contend for the championship deliberately stay in the bottom ranks for several years to collect top prospects.

It’s a little less common in the KBO, where there are only 10 clubs and baseball teams are used as a means of promoting the parent company, but it’s an extremely common sight in the big leagues [Major League Baseball].

Anyway, one of the most necessary things for such tanking is the tanking general.

Tanking General.

It sounds very plausible. It feels like tremendous strength.

But once you know the inside story, your thoughts will change a little.

The tanking general, in simple terms, refers to a player who plays a role necessary for the team to stay in the bottom ranks for a long time.

A typical example is a starting pitcher who can eat a lot of innings.

A pitcher who is not at all daunted by situations that can shake the pitcher’s mentality, such as runs allowed or other things, and can handle at least 5 or 6 innings or more in every start.

A player who is physically strong and not prone to injury, and who can also pitch as a long reliever if necessary, and who recovers quickly.

Earned run average doesn’t matter. 5 points? Or 6 points? It doesn’t matter.

You just have to keep the starting rotation and eat innings.

Even if you give up on challenging for the fall baseball, you still have to play 144 games in the season.

Kang Dong-ha, who is now wearing a Warriors uniform and staring blankly at the other players, was one of the most representative players of that tanking general.

A pitcher who has been going back and forth between starting and long relief for nearly 10 years in the Seoul Fighters, digesting around 130 innings every season, truly a textbook tanking general.

‘Um… why did they bring me here?’

Today is the day Kang Dong-ha will have his first debut game after transferring to the Warriors.

The Warriors, who completely crushed their rivals, the Magicians, with Han Su-hyeok’s perfect game yesterday, put Kang Dong-ha as the starting pitcher for the second game.

A right-handed pitcher who has pitched 105 innings in the Seoul Fighters this season, recording an ERA of 5.85, 2 wins and 10 losses.

Park Jae-cheol gave the Fighters the second-team pitcher and 300 million won in cash that they wanted to fill the void left by Lee Man-shik and Cheon Sang-jin and brought Kang Dong-ha.

The person himself had no idea why the Warriors had chosen him.

“Tell me honestly.”

“What?”

“Did you pee during yesterday’s game? I think I smelled pee near third base.”

“Wh, wh, what are you talking about? Who would pee?”

“Seong-oh hyung [older brother/senior], Chi-wook peed yesterday, right? I’m not the only one who smelled it, right?”

“Hmm… I definitely smelled something…….”

“No, why even Seong-oh hyung!”

The one-year rookie who achieved the first perfect game in KBO history in yesterday’s game, and who is being scouted by big league clubs with their eyes wide open, began to tease his classmate as if nothing had happened.

And the captain of this team joins in, amplifying the joke.

What is it?

He also watched yesterday’s game. Aside from the greatness of the perfect game, that rookie, Han Su-hyeok, was definitely out of his mind.

To think that a pitcher facing a perfect game would encourage the fielders by counting down himself.

Kang Dong-ha, who does his part in any situation and has been holding his own in the pros for 10 years despite his unremarkable stuff, thought Han Su-hyeok was crazy.

“How about this? Su-hyeok gave it to me today.”

“Uh… Deok-su hyung, shouldn’t you adjust the band a little? It looks like it’s going to burst……?”

Jang Deok-su, who has a thick wrist that looks like it will burst the watch band at any moment, approaches him with a satisfied smile.

“Dong-ha sunbaenim [senior], are you feeling okay?”

“Oh, oh, yeah, Deok-su. I’m always good. This is how I make a living.”

“That’s a relief.”

When he was with the Fighters, Jang Deok-su was the epitome of a fierce god.

The CCTV footage of him slapping Hwang Seong-min, and the incident of him planting a giant foreign pitcher on the mound as it was.

Decisively, the way he literally crushed a Cuban pitcher of similar size in the last WBC was closer to a mixed martial artist than a baseball player.

He has never been at bat, so he has never experienced it himself, but according to the Fighters’ hitters, they had to forcibly endure the Warriors’ pitchers’ beanballs [pitches thrown intentionally at the batter] because of that Jang Deok-su more than once or twice.

‘Um… wait, so now I can get that effect too?’

When I think about it, I can now receive the benefits of such Jang Deok-su.

Speed, stuff, pitch type, control, everything is ordinary Kang Dong-ha, but if you have to pick the only advantage, it is that he knows how to compete deep inside the body.

However, when he was playing for the Fighters, he had to seal that ball almost completely.

Anyway, what the team wanted from him was to pitch long innings. It was a matter that would seriously affect his salary if he caused a fight or was ejected for throwing a ball at the body.

In addition, the catcher was very poor.

Good catchers are expensive. Even if the Fighters raise such a catcher, most of them are sold to other teams without lasting a few years.

Kang Dong-ha has never thrown the ball the way he wanted to throw it.

“Okay, here’s today’s lineup. Everyone check it out, and let’s help Dong-ha a lot today since it’s his first start. That’s all.”

“Yes, manager.”

I already know it roughly, but I checked today’s game lineup again.

1st Center Fielder Seo Hyeong-ju

2nd Left Fielder Choi Min-seok

3rd 1st Baseman Jo Seong-oh

4th Right Fielder Walter Smith

5th 3rd Baseman Ahn Chi-wook

6th Designated Hitter Han Su-hyeok

7th Catcher Jang Deok-su

8th 2nd Baseman Lee Chang-mo

9th Shortstop Yoo In-cheol

Starting Pitcher Kang Dong-ha

Han Su-hyeok, who pitched 9 innings as a starting pitcher in yesterday’s game, moved to 6th designated hitter.

It’s a little disappointing that I can’t get the shortstop defense support from Han Su-hyeok, who may be the best in the KBO, or perhaps in the world, but I received comfort from the names of the other players without even realizing it.

A sense of reassurance that is incomparable to the Fighters, felt in both offense and defense.

Feeling that reassurance, Kang Dong-ha’s first starting debut game for the Warriors began.

* * *

‘How should I throw in this situation?’

The Warriors’ attack in the top of the first inning, which was like a storm, has finally ended.

A complete turn at bat.

The Warriors’ strong batting line, which was silent for a day yesterday, exploded again today.

The top of the first inning attack, which started with a hit by leadoff hitter Seo Hyeong-ju, barely ended after a whopping 7 points were scored, including a grand slam by Han Su-hyeok.

It’s something I couldn’t even imagine when I was with the Fighters. I had never received such scoring support at that time, and I didn’t throw to win, but only to eat innings.

How should a starting pitcher with seven points on his back throw?

Jang Deok-su took the initiative in leading the pitcher for Kang Dong-ha, who was half out of his mind.

Nod

First pitch, deep fastball inside.

I can’t even compare myself to players like Han Su-hyeok, but I can still reach 145 km/h if I throw with all my might.

Kang Dong-ha, who nodded cautiously, began to wind up.

Whoosh

Thwack!

“Aaaagh!”

Oh dear, but that ball hit the elbow of Yang Seon-woo, the Magicians’ number one hitter.

Yang Seon-woo, who was hit right on the border between the protective gear and the bare skin, rolled around on the floor, complaining of pain.

Massive run allowed in the first inning, followed by a hit-by-pitch on the first pitch.

Kang Dong-ha sensed it. From his long professional experience, he knew that this was the time for a bench-clearing brawl to break out.

He took off his hat and bowed his head, but quickly scanned his surroundings. Anxiously wondering if the Magicians players would rush towards him.

But nothing happened. Really, nothing at all.

Yang Seon-woo was screaming in pain and rolling on the floor at the plate, but none of the Magicians players showed any signs of excitement. Instead of anger, a deep sense of defeat was on their faces.

Kang Dong-ha, who shook off his fear, looked at his battery [pitcher and catcher]. Only then did he understand the Magicians players’ feelings.

Jang Deok-su, who took off his mask, was slowly approaching him, puffing out his nose.

Like a general guarding a king, like Guan Yu guarding Liu Bei [famous figures from the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms].

With a strong will to plant sweet potatoes on the mound if a Magicians player attacked him.

He turned his gaze to the Warriors dugout.

The fellow players who were sitting on the bench after finishing their attack, especially Han Su-hyeok, who hit a grand slam in the first inning, were looking at him with an expression that they would jump onto the ground at any moment.

“Waaaaa!”

Suddenly, cheers erupted from the stands.

He turned his head to see what was going on, and one of the Warriors’ die-hard fans, known for being willing to do anything for the Warriors, was sitting on top of the safety net and shouting.

“It’s a mistake! I won’t let you touch our oppas [term of endearment for older brothers/male idols]!”

“Min Ye-rin! Min Ye-rin! Min Ye-rin!”

I don’t know.

My skills are still unremarkable.

The painful truth gnaws at my heart when the first pitch I threw with all my heart hits the hitter’s elbow instead of the catcher’s mitt.

But in Kang Dong-ha’s heart, there was a hope for victory that was a little different from when he was with the Fighters.

Although all I can do is eat innings, if I do my part, wouldn’t these great teammates take care of the rest?

“Are you okay? Don’t worry about it. Just throw comfortably.”

“Yeah, thanks, Deok-su.”

Kang Dong-ha smiled brightly and answered to the battery who had already approached him.