Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 148

#147. Monster Above a Monster

From a boy breadwinner single-handedly supporting a collapsing last-place team, to an ace of a prestigious club after transferring teams.

Lim Jun-yeong has reigned as one of the best pitchers in the country for over 10 years.

What is the best way to describe the pitcher Lim Jun-yeong?

A right-handed orthodox pitcher who throws a fastball reaching a top speed of 156 km/h [approximately 97 mph], a cutter, and curves and changeups that deceive hitters? The ace of Incheon who is still growing based on his natural flexibility and stamina?

That’s not wrong. That would be the most appropriate explanation of the outwardly visible Lim Jun-yeong.

But now, a more fundamental approach to the pitcher Lim Jun-yeong was needed, not just his outward appearance.

‘It’s already been 12 years.’

He has played a full season every year for 12 years since his professional debut. No, this season is not over yet, so he is still playing.

For other pitchers, there would certainly be concerns about durability. But in that respect, Lim Jun-yeong was blessed with a body from God.

Natural flexibility, strong shoulder muscles, and thorough self-management.

Based on that, Lim Jun-yeong has dominated the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] for the past time.

But he himself thought that what had helped him endure that long time was not his skills or physique.

Pride and self-esteem.

A strong pride in making his team the best.

Perhaps that is the most fundamental force that sustains the baseball player Lim Jun-yeong.

That was the case with the Warriors, who made him a professional, and the same was true with Incheon, where he transferred as a free agent.

He was a man who could not be satisfied unless he was the best.

No, to be more precise, he was an incarnation of tremendous competitive spirit who couldn’t sleep properly unless he made his team the best.

Lim Jun-yeong had the best rival in Ryu Han-gyeol.

The number one player he must overcome someday.

Lim Jun-yeong’s consideration of advancing to the American stage after this season may have been more influenced by his rivalry with Ryu Han-gyeol than by money or fame.

A desperate desire to overcome him in the United States, even though he had never surpassed him in Korea.

“Senior, are you okay?”

“Yeah, Yong-jae.”

The game was temporarily stopped due to cleaning time [a break to groom the field].

Kim Yong-jae, a junior, approached Lim Jun-yeong, who was sitting on the bench.

The next-generation ace of the Incheon Rangers who participated in the WBC [World Baseball Classic] national team together.

Although he tasted bitterness in the game against Japan, even that bitter experience will be good medicine for this young pitcher.

Of course, there is a monster sitting in the opposing dugout who doesn’t even need such bitter experiences.

Thinking of Han Su-hyeok’s face, his chest suddenly felt tight.

How long has it been since I threw the ball with all my might like this? Is this what it means to put your soul into each ball?

But it’s not enough. It’s not enough to catch Han Su-hyeok.

Both recorded 5 innings without a run, but while he threw 77 balls, Han Su-hyeok tied up Incheon’s hitters with only 58 balls.

“Yong-jae.”

“Yes, senior.”

“I told you last time, right? You’ll have to face Han Su-hyeok in the future, so get your act together.”

“…Yes.”

“At that time, I just thought of that guy as a hitter, but now I have to consider him as a pitcher. Haha, what kind of guy is that… Anyway, Yong-jae. Han Su-hyeok will continue to block you as long as you play as a player. Sometimes it may feel like an obstacle.”

“…I.”

“But don’t do that. Don’t think of it as an obstacle, but as a milestone that marks the path you have to take. Then you will be able to reach that guy someday.”

Although the probability is not high… Lim Jun-yeong swallowed those last words and got up from the bench.

Perhaps those words were what he wanted to say to himself, not Kim Yong-jae.

Lim Jun-yeong, who always wanted to surpass Ryu Han-gyeol, a story about himself.

I don’t know what choice I will make after this season.

To overcome the rival Ryu Han-gyeol, he may choose to go to the United States to gain more money and fame.

Or he may continue to stay in Incheon, where he has been treated as an ace for the past four years.

If the Warriors give him a reasonable offer, he may return to his parent team.

But what’s important now is not that.

Winning against that monster who is much stronger and more destructive than Ryu Han-gyeol, whom he has always thought of as a rival, and whom he may never be able to catch up with in his life.

Lim Jun-yeong’s head was filled with that thought.

* * *

– Ah… A female fan wearing Lim Jun-yeong’s uniform is shedding tears. The scene captured by the camera is heartbreaking.

– Yes, I should have replaced him a long time ago, but coach Gu Yong-sik must be feeling complicated right now. Just now, he recorded his 119th pitch while catching Walter Smith with a fly ball. He threw a lot. Lim Jun-yeong’s distorted expression seems to break the hearts of fans.

– But the problem is….

– That’s right. Han Su-hyeok and Lim Jun-yeong, who started as starters today, are both, um… I’m sorry. I can’t help but explain this. Yes, both players are recording perfect games. In that situation, the bench can’t recklessly take Lim Jun-yeong down.

– He looks very tired. Commissioner Go Dong-sik, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lim Jun-yeong look so tired.

– That’s understandable. He’s been pitching almost full force since the first inning. Lim Jun-yeong also knew it. To win against the monster Han Su-hyeok, he had to squeeze out everything he had. Lim Jun-yeong endured by throwing 119 balls, which is really amazing.

– As I speak, Incheon’s pitching coach is coming down from the mound. Ah, he can’t replace him after all. Lim Jun-yeong stays on the mound.

– Yes, there’s no choice. If it wasn’t a perfect game, I could have just taken him down, but… this is too great an honor for the player. It may be a matter of becoming the second perfect pitcher in Korea after Han Su-hyeok.

– But the next opponent is not good at all. With one out and no runners, Han Su-hyeok enters the plate. Han Su-hyeok hasn’t even stepped on first base today. He was retired with a left fielder fly and a strikeout in the previous two at-bats.

– Han Su-hyeok has no hits today. The fact that he didn’t have a hit in two at-bats means that it’s time for him to come out. From Lim Jun-yeong’s point of view, he met the worst opponent in the worst situation.

– Ah, even in the midst of all this, Lim Jun-yeong looks back at the fielders and calms them down. He’s such a great player.

└Ah, this feels so ominous.

└Look at that guy Han Su-hyeok’s expression. He’s so serious.

└I think it’s the first time I’ve seen him being pushed by a pitcher like that. Our ace is really awesome ㅠㅠ

└But he threw too much… It’s not just the number of pitches, but he threw 155 from the first inning.

└It’s too much to replace him. A perfect game might come out.

└Haa… This feels really strange. I’m worried that he might get injured while holding on like that?

└The best thing would be for Han Su-hyeok to hit the first pitch and get out…

└That monster-like guy?

* * *

“Huff, huff.”

Lim Jun-yeong’s rough breathing, which is spewing out from the mound far away, seems to be heard here.

I turned my head and glanced at the catcher’s expression behind home plate.

The catcher’s expression, who has been forming a battery [pitcher-catcher duo] with Lim Jun-yeong for four years, was also frozen coldly.

He threw 119 balls with all his might.

No matter how strong Lim Jun-yeong’s shoulder is, he should be replaced now.

No matter how great a perfect game is, and no matter how valuable one win against the second-place team is, it cannot be more precious than the ace’s shoulder.

Is Lim Jun-yeong guarding the mound now because of his will, or the bench? Or the club owner?

I don’t know.

I can’t know the internal affairs of the opposing team, but now I knew exactly what I had to do.

For the victory of the Warriors, and to prevent that great pitcher from breaking down.

I’ll hit it.

I will take him down here.

I will give him a rest.

Deudeudeuk [sound of flexing/preparing]

Lim Jun-yeong’s ball was great today.

I don’t know what kind of determination or mind he threw it with, but it was so great that it could be compared to the aces of each team he faced in the last WBC.

I will do my best to take him down.

And Lim Jun-yeong will also do his best.

Because he knows better than anyone that there is no turning back if he can’t overcome me here.

He nodded his head once towards the catcher and slowly began to wind up.

The first pitch was fired from a clean and powerful form that made Lim Jun-yeong the pitcher he is today.

[Sometimes there are hitters who read the rotation of the ball. There are hitters who read the pitch with the release point, and there are monsters who catch the rise of the curve as it is launched. But if the pitcher can change the speed, no hitter can distinguish it with their eyes. Except for one person, that shitty Tony Gwynn.]

Greg Maddux, who is recorded as the last 350-win pitcher in modern baseball history, praised Tony Gwynn, who was called the strongest hitting machine in history.

We call a hitter who can predict the pitch depending on whether the baseball rotates in reverse or forward, or where the pitcher’s release point is, a genius.

The time it takes for a pitcher’s ball to enter the catcher’s mitt is approximately 0.4 seconds.

To figure out the pitch the pitcher threw in that short moment? You might think that doesn’t make sense, but there are monsters like that in the world.

The hitters who dominated the past and present Big League are the ones who developed themselves based on that genius.

But that’s not the end.

Great pitchers like Greg Maddux chose to vary the speed to make those monster hitters miss the bat.

Fast fastball, slow fastball, slower fastball.

Fast curve, slow curve, slower curve.

From the same release point, balls with completely different speeds but the same pitch fly alternately?

There would be nothing more terrible for hitters who can’t predict the pitch than to just close their eyes and swing the bat.

But even that wasn’t a perfect solution.

There is a hitter in this world who can figure out the pitch in a short time of 0.4 seconds, and even check the change in speed with a moment of brilliance.

Tony Gwynn was like that in the past, and here now….

Shyung [sound of the ball being thrown]

I saw it clearly the moment the ball left Lim Jun-yeong’s fingertips.

Unlike other balls, the ball slightly rose and sank as it left his fingertips.

It’s a curve.

And I realized intuitively.

Lim Jun-yeong, who had only thrown a slow curve of 120 km/h [approximately 75 mph] all day, threw a fast curve for the first time to me.

A curveball of around 138 km/h [approximately 86 mph] that would inevitably result in a swing if you only thought about the usual curve speed, but would inevitably become a batting ball if you could know it in advance.

My bat was powerfully fired towards that ball.

Ttaaaaaaaak! [sound of a clean hit]

– Aah! It was hit properly! The batted ball soared up darkly! The ball continues to fly, whether it goes over or not, ah, the left fielder gives up the defense and stops there. It’s over! Grand slam! Han Su-hyeok hits another grand slam! Lim Jun-yeong’s perfect march, which had continued until the 7th inning, ends like this!

– It’s a pity. It’s really sad to see Lim Jun-yeong collapsed on the mound. But what can I do? Baseball is a sport where winners and losers are destined to be divided.

– It was a game between two pitchers that was more exciting for the viewers, so it was more heartbreaking.

– He fought really well. Lim Jun-yeong has fully proven his worth just by being able to throw this much against Han Su-hyeok. I want to give a lot of applause to the two pitchers who have shown great pitching so far.