Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 179

#178. A White Dot

A man should have goals, both for the day and for his life.

My goal was for people to say:

“There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.”

The dream of a boy born in a rural Texas town, who dreamed of becoming the next .400 hitter in Major League Baseball like Ted Williams, ultimately went unfulfilled.

When he was first drafted by Seattle and playing in the minor leagues, he thought he would soon become a superstar.

But he wasn’t.

His talent, which he thought was genius-level, was just average, and he was kicked out of the big leagues with a miserable record that didn’t even reach a .200 career batting average, let alone .400.

Looking back now, I don’t even know where it all went wrong.

Was it a mistake from the start to disobey my father’s wishes to inherit the farm, have a large family, and live happily? Or was it a bad choice to rush into the big leagues by playing catcher?

‘Damn it.’

Walter Smith, who was seriously considering a career change to become a farmer after being released from Seattle, was now wearing a Warriors uniform and facing a crucial moment.

At thirty years old, Walter, who would have been Seattle’s fifth-string catching option, bouncing between the minors and the majors, came to Korea due to the butterfly effect of Han Su-hyeok’s regression and became the Warriors’ cleanup hitter.

The dream of a big leaguer had vanished.

Walter’s mind was filled with regrets about the past.

‘I should have tried harder and been more careful.’

To become like his idol, Ted Williams, he needed so much more.

It took too long to realize that, and he could never go back to those days.

‘Damn it…….’

Having set foot on the Korean stage, Walter began to project his lost dream onto someone else.

The monster among monsters who recorded a batting average of 0.432 this season.

Han Su-hyeok.

Some say that ridiculous batting average just reflects the lower level of the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].

That’s bullshit.

Walter, who watched the monster Han Su-hyeok up close, knew the truth.

That .432 batting average was the result of team-oriented hitting amidst the pitchers’ relentless focus on him.

‘Hehehe.’

‘I want to show those experts obsessed with Big League supremacy what would happen if that monster named Han Su-hyeok was unleashed on a top Big League team.’

What if Han Su-hyeok, with hitters protecting him from the front and back, threw away team batting and focused only on personal records?

Walter was sure.

Another Major League .400 hitter, a feat unseen since Ted Williams, would emerge again.

“Play!”

Every time I see that rookie, who is only in his debut year, I feel that the world is unfair.

What’s even more frustrating is that I keep being drawn to him.

Why do I feel so happy every time he achieves a .400 batting average, breaks the Asian home run record, and accomplishes something new?

Why do I feel awe rather than jealousy?

A rookie who is ready to do anything for the team’s victory.

As a hitter, as a pitcher, and now as a team leader…

He is already a perfect player.

Such a perfect player is watching him from second base.

There’s no need to listen to what he has to say.

It’s obvious what that guy wants to say to him now without even hearing it.

‘Do whatever it takes to bring him home.’

His eyes are blazing with that desire.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it.’

The hardest thing for an athlete is accepting that he is not the main character but a supporting actor.

What he has to do now is not a flashy play.

He has to bring those two arrogant rookies home, no matter what.

Deudeudeuk

Lim Jun-yeong, who has been tormenting Walter all season, seems overflowing with determination today as he slowly begins his pitching motion.

About 82% of the first pitches that pitcher Lim Jun-yeong threw to him this season were outside low fastballs.

He is an ace among aces who rarely throws a bad pitch.

So there are no second chances.

If that ball doesn’t come, or if he can’t hit it even if he knows it,

In this lineup, he won’t even be able to play the role of a supporting actor.

‘I’m going to hit it.’

‘I’m going to hit it.’

‘I will definitely hit it.’

‘Come on!’

The moment a white ball flashed from Lim Jun-yeong’s hand,

Walter’s bat swung powerfully.

And the ball and the bat met at one point.

Ttaaahh!

Success.

Walter shouted as he watched his batted ball pass through the infield.

“Fucking baseball!”

* * *

“Waaaa!”

“Well done! Cheon Sang-jin, well done!”

“You’re the best! Please take care of us next year too!”

The crowd is giving Cheon Sang-jin, who is coming down from the mound, a standing ovation.

Incheon, who had been trailing after giving up 2 points early with Walter Smith’s two-RBI hit in the bottom of the first inning, finally tied the game with a two-run home run by catcher Son Young-jin in the top of the seventh inning.

It was a mistake.

Cheon Sang-jin, who had been pitching his best game of the season, shutting down the Incheon lineup, gave up the tying run because of one mistake, one bad pitch that led to a home run.

It was the moment when Cheon Sang-jin’s spirit, who had wanted to become a winning pitcher in today’s game and respected Lim Jun-yeong, one of the best pitchers in Korea, but wanted to surpass him today, faltered.

But he did not give up and continued pitching.

The moment he came down from the mound after handling all three of Incheon’s next batters, 8th, 9th, and 1st, the Warriors fans who filled Jamsil Baseball Stadium gave him a standing ovation.

103 pitches in 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks, 2 runs.

Cheon Sang-jin’s last pitch of 2027 ended like that.

“Okay, now it’s our turn. Sang-jin did that much, so we have to show something too, right?”

“Let’s do it! Let’s do it!”

Cheon Sang-jin’s fighting spirit energized the Warriors players.

Kim Su-hak, who usually had zero presence in the dugout, stepped forward, encouraging his juniors first.

He, who had struck out in both of his previous at-bats, started to choke up on the bat and foul off Lim Jun-yeong’s pitches.

He is always good-natured and easygoing, so people said he was too soft to be a professional player.

He, who had even been pushed out of the starting outfielder position due to the arrival of Seo Hyeong-ju and Choi Min-seok, gritted his teeth and summoned his old self.

His past self, who was called a tough guy in high school and was considered the best in terms of tenacity, if nothing else…

Tik

“Foul!”

Tik

“Foul!”

Peoeong

“Ball!”

Normally, it might have been a useless act.

But no matter how great a pitcher he is, Lim Jun-yeong was also human.

The number of pitches continued to increase, his concentration wavered, and the ball flew to unwanted places.

“Ball!”

“Waaaaaa!”

“Kim Su-hak! Well done!”

“Kim Su-hak! Kim Su-hak! Kim Su-hak!”

Kim Su-hak, who created a golden opportunity with an unearned runner on first base, looked at the stands with reddened eyes.

He is no longer a starter on this team.

He may not even be guaranteed a backup position when the roster is reinforced next year.

That’s why Kim Su-hak was deeply anxious about his future.

But,

‘So? So what the fuck! What are you going to do?’

Today, this small change, the golden walk he earned by facing Lim Jun-yeong, who is throwing with all his might…

He wants to take another step forward with this as an opportunity.

Kim Su-hak, who had been in a rut for a long time, is now dreaming of a new future.

“Jun-yeong, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay, I trust you.”

The pitching coach who went up to the mound tapped Lim Jun-yeong’s shoulder once and returned to the dugout.

He rested well for the past four days, and his shoulder condition has improved a lot.

He also has pitches left before reaching his limit. His desire to continue throwing is strong.

Above all, there is no pitcher as reliable as Lim Jun-yeong to trust and entrust in the 7th game of the Korean Series with a 2-2 tie.

With such trust from the bench, Lim Jun-yeong continued pitching again.

It seemed that the Incheon bench’s choice was right when Kang Jin-seok, No. 8, and Choi Min-seok, No. 9, were struck out in succession.

No, it was okay even when Seo Hyeong-ju’s ambiguous batted ball was ruled an infield hit after two outs.

But,

The moment An Chi-wook’s fateful pitch was called a ball,

The atmosphere on the field and in the dugout chilled the hearts of the Incheon players.

[No. 3 hitter, shortstop Han Su-hyeok]

The announcer’s voice flew and pierced the hearts of the Incheon players like a dagger.

Han Su-hyeok, who was watching the game in the on-deck circle, stepped up to the plate, tilting his head left and right.

That one insignificant action froze the opposing team’s players and raised the morale of his teammates to the extreme.

Two outs, bases loaded, nowhere to run.

“Manager, should we request an intentional walk?”

“Hoo…….”

Give up one point by walking Han Su-hyeok and compete with the next hitter?

But he is concerned that Lim Jun-yeong gave up a two-RBI hit to Walter Smith earlier.

He could create a bigger problem by avoiding Han Su-hyeok.

Incheon still has two chances to attack in the 8th and 9th innings.

No matter how good Han Su-hyeok is, he can’t get a hit every at-bat.

“Coach Kang.”

“Yes, manager.”

“Jun-yeong told me before the game today. It might sound a bit arrogant, but if there is a pitcher on our team who can stop Han Su-hyeok, it’s none other than himself.”

“…….”

“Do you know what’s funny?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think that’s right. Even that Jun-yeong kid, who seems quite tired from pitching until the 7th inning, is the most reliable at this moment.”

“That means…….”

“Let’s go. We can’t avoid Han Su-hyeok here, and we can’t bring in another pitcher, right? What do you think, Coach Kang? Who should we bring in instead of Jun-yeong to increase our chances of winning?”

“…I think Lim Jun-yeong is the best.”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

The Incheon dugout’s decision was made.

The sign to have a head-on match was delivered to Lim Jun-yeong, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

It’s the moment he’s been waiting for.

Lim Jun-yeong, who had been avoiding Han Su-hyeok to win today’s game, was ironically grateful to be competing with him in an absolutely desperate crisis.

No matter what happens to his future after this season, it seemed meaningless without ever beating that worst opponent, Han Su-hyeok.

‘I’m going to win.’

‘I will definitely win.’

Seureureuk

The powerful fastball reaching 155 km/h [~96 mph] that had made him one of the best pitchers in Korea for 12 seasons since his debut,

Before Han Su-hyeok appeared, everyone praised him as the best in Korea,

flew towards home plate.

And just 0.4 seconds later,

Ttaaarraaaaaaak!

A white dot flew far, far away, drawing a huge trajectory.